60 Credit Master - Leuven

#15

Looking at a Master's degree in Leuven Uni.

I'm a bit confused about the credits required. The course requires 60 credits, yet other Master level courses in other countries all require 90 credits.

I remember hearing that some European states have two types of Master's degrees, but can anyone explain the difference?

The course is interesting but I don't want to do it if it is not at the same level as other courses.

Thanks

Lockstep

#15 wrote: »

Looking at a Master's degree in Leuven Uni.

I'm a bit confused about the credits required. The course requires 60 credits, yet other Master level courses in other countries all require 90 credits.

I remember hearing that some European states have two types of Master's degrees, but can anyone explain the difference?

The course is interesting but I don't want to do it if it is not at the same level as other courses.

Thanks

I'm guessing it's the masters in European Studies?
It's a good degree, when I was in Leuven, most of my friends were studying the course, mainly international students. You're given a fair bit of scope in terms of subject areas.

Belgium does indeed have two types of Masters. They have initial masters and post-initial masters. In the faculty I was in (law), the, initial masters is an MA whereas the post-initial masters (LLM) is something like the M.Litt in terms of its academic ranking. They have these in a fair few schools within the college.

I'm not sure why it's only 60 credits but it's a masters in itself (MAES). really can't help you there. Apologies.

Would be happy to answer any other questions you may have about Leuven though.

#15

Ah, thanks for clarifying the difference between the courses. I'm looking at a few courses there.

A major attraction is the low tuition fees for what seems like good quality courses.

Is it an expensive place to live for a year?

Lockstep

Yeah, the fees are excellent. It's also a very reputable university.


It's a cheap enough play to live. The city is very centralized and as a student, you get a free bus pass. I never bothered using it though, I just walked everywhere.
THere's a great supermarket near the city centre called Colruyt. Basically a wholesaler that anyone can use, I lived off the place for a year. Great place.
Rent is fairly good. A few of my friends were staying in absolute dives. I found a place right beside the city centre. Landlord was a nutter but the rent was very reasonable and the place was nice.
The university offers a housing scheme where private landlords who pass the university requirements are able to advertise through the university. The university provides the contract and runs a dispute resolution service if you have any problems getting your deposit back.

#15

Just on that - what are the average rents for student places?

Is the university near the city centre or is it in the suburbs?

Lockstep

Leuven is a small city and was pretty much built around the university. Science, engineering and sports facilities are all on the outskirts of town (around 20 minutes walk from the city centre) but arts, law and so on are all right in the city centre.

Expect to pay around €250-400 a month for rent.

If you're of a religious nature, then you can easily find cheap accomodation run by religious orders (Keep in mind KUL is a Catholic university; the oldest in the world). These range from relaxed ones to those run by Opus Dei where part of your contract is to attend communal meals.

Otherwise, accommodation run by the university is usually reserved for home students so you'll need to check out the private market.

#15

Is it the norm for courses to be assessed by oral exam?
Seems to be the main mode of assessment (except for the thesis). Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

Lockstep

I much prefer oral exams. Had them when I was over there for around 75% of my subjects. I found them much easier than written ones, as long as you're not shy you'll be fine.
Oral exams are much more fluid and much less fixed than written ones.

I wouldn't worry about them.

Monty Burnz

#15 wrote: »

Is it the norm for courses to be assessed by oral exam?
Seems to be the main mode of assessment (except for the thesis). Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

Oral exams are common in Belgium: but they are not necessarily oral exams in the sense that you just talk about the subject area. What will often happen is that you will sit a written exam and during the course of the exam you will be called out and asked to explain your project work, asked to explain some general concepts , that sort of thing.

I can't recommend Leuven highly enough, it's a fantastic place to study and one of the top universities in Europe. Living isn't very expensive - you can rent a room for maybe 250 per month, food is not expensive, and there isn't as much pressure to spend all your money on booze as there is in Ireland. Leuven also has great sport facilities. The city is also a very nice place too.

Why not pop over to check it out? You could probably be over and back for a 50 euro with Ryanair, 20 euro for a hostel overnight, and €10 for sandwiches.

#15

Thanks to both of you for the help. I think I will take a trip over there to check it out.

The defining factor will probably be the overall cost of the course (living expenses, etc.). It will mean giving up my job, so a thorough cost/benefit analysis is in order first!

Lockstep

The course is dirt cheap, especially when compared to other masters in the likes of the UK or Ireland.

BElgium is fairly cheaper to live than here, infrastructure and healthcare are much better as well.

You could find a job easily enough, even if you've no Dutch. I was working in the Irish pub when I was there and there's loads of pubs and cafés around the town. Working while studying isn't very popular over there so when I was there, these places were crying out for part time staff. Everyone there speaks better English than I do so finding a job in a pub or café is often easy enough, especially if you have some French.