KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy FAQ

A. Studying at the Institute of Philosophy

1. Prospective students
1.1 Admission requirements
1.1.1 Eligibility
1.1.2 Transcripts and exemptions
1.1.3 Language proficiency
1.2 Application procedure
1.2.1 Application deadlines
1.2.2 Tuition fee
1.2.3 Letters of recommendation
1.2.4 Letter of motivation
1.2.5 Writing sample
1.3 Registration procedure
1.4 Alternative study trajectories (part-time students, students with disabilities)
2. Current students
2.1 Education
2.1.1 Calendar and course schedule
2.1.2 Study Programmes
2.1.3 Online learning tools (KU Loket, Toledo, Webmail)
2.1.4 Registering my courses: Individual Study Programme (ISP)
2.1.5 Planning my exams: Individual Exam Schedule (IES)
2.1.6 Taking exams
2.1.7 Bachelor Paper
2.1.8 Master Thesis (MA & ReMA)

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 2.1.9 Study results
2.2 Exchange students (ERASMUS+)
2.2.1 Incoming ERASMUS+ students
2.2.2 Outgoing ERASMUS+ students
2.3 Study guidance
2.3.1 Study guidance services
2.3.2 Absence during the academic year
2.3.3 Problems with papers or exams
2.3.4 Contacting teaching staff
2.4 Diplomas and transcripts

B. Doctoral Programme
1. Admission
What are the requirements for getting accepted into the doctoral programme?

You can find all information about admission to and registration for the doctoral programme here.

Can I apply directly to the doctoral programme?

No. Before a candidate can be considered for admission to the doctoral programme of the Institute, s/he must first have been awarded the
diploma of Research Master in Philosophy of the KU Leuven, and distinguished her- or himself in these studies. This research master counts as
a pre-doctoral examination wherein the candidate’s academic abilities and maturity of research are improved and tested. The research
master programme should also give the candidate the opportunity to write a well-focused research proposal for the application to the
doctoral programme and to find a supervisor at the Institute of Philosophy.

More concretely, in order to be considered for admission to the doctoral program, a candidate is required to first complete the Research
Master with at least distinction and 2 x 15/20 for the research master thesis.

Only under very specific conditions can the requirement of first obtaining a research master degree at the Institute be waived (list of grounds
for exemption under Subsection 3, Article 6 of The regulation concerning the attainment of doctoral degrees at the KU Leuven).

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 My student visa will expire before I can get accepted to the doctoral programme: what should I do?

You should submit your application for the doctoral program as early as possible, and at least one month before your student visa expires, in
order to avoid any visa issues. We will no longer allow candidates to enroll for the pre-doctoral program just to finish their doctoral proposal.
We therefore recommend that you start working on your doctoral research proposal well before finishing the Research Master Program.

How do I find a supervisor for my doctoral thesis?

The first thing you should do is figure out on which topic you want to write your doctoral thesis. On this basis, you should decide which
professor can help you best to explore your topic. There are two main criteria for this. First, the topic that you have chosen should correspond
to the research expertise of your supervisor. Second, you should pick someone with whom you think you will have a good report. Writing a
thesis is an intensive process, and being comfortable about expressing your doubts to and receiving critical feedback from your supervisor is
crucial in order to succeed. It is not mandatory to ask the supervisor of your Research Master thesis to also be the supervisor of your doctoral
thesis, but if s/he matches both of the aforementioned criteria, it only makes sense to do so.

I would like to have a co-supervisor for my doctoral thesis: is this possible?

Possibly. It is up to the doctoral committee to appoint a co-supervisor. The committee will only consider a request for co-supervision if the
proposed co-supervisor is a professor from another department or university (in Belgium or abroad) and if that professor’s expertise has an
added value for your doctoral research. As a doctoral student you have supervisory committee members, who you can appeal to for
additional advice, feedback or discussion. Furthermore, you are free to seek informal advise about your research from other faculty members,
but they cannot be officially assigned as a co-supervisor. Your supervisor will have enough expertise to guide your philosophical research,
while having multiple supervisors may lead to interpersonal conflicts that would negatively affect your studies.

Please note that FWO PhD Fellowship holders are not allowed by the FWO to have co-supervisors who are not affiliated with a Flemish
university.

I am a self-supporting doctoral student: will I get a non-student KU Leuven e-mail account?

Yes, you will be contacted about this once you are officially enrolled in the doctoral programme.

2. Funding
How do I find a doctoral scholarship?

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 The Institute itself does not offer doctoral fellowships or doctoral scholarships as such. Doctoral students are thus expected to find funding for
their doctoral research themselves. These are the main sources of funding for doctoral research:

 The FWO offers (highly) competitive PhD fellowships. (Please note that only candidates with a master degree from one of the countries of
the EU, the EER or Switzerland are eligible for this fellowship.)
 Supervisors of research projects based at the Institute will sometimes need doctoral scholars to do (part of) the project’s research,
vacancies are published here.
 The IRO offers competitive scholarships for doctoral students from developing countries. You find more information on the IRO website.
 Working for the Institute’s student counseling service (‘monitoraat’) can be combined with part-time doctoral research, vacancies are
published here.

Some organizations or institutions offer competitive scholarships for candidates with a specific nationality, like the Chinese Scholarship
Council or the Belgian American Education Foundation. Your supervisor and the secretary of the doctoral committee will be happy to advise
you about finding a scholarship.

How do I find resources to cover operating costs related to my doctoral research?

 The doctoral program of the Institute allots a doctoral allowance to most doctoral students and can give financial assistance for the
organization of workshops.
 The Doctoral School of Humanities & Social Sciences offers conference allowances and funding for organizing workshops and
interuniversity or interfaculty initiatives.
 The Academische Stichting Leuven can provide financial support for doctoral students participating in an international conference.
 The International Office of KU Leuven has a mobility program for young researchers at KU Leuven.
 The FWO offers various travel grants.
 The Flemish Government offers a Junior Mobility Program.

This list is not exhaustive. The secretary of the doctoral committee will be happy to advise you about finding funding to cover costs related to
your doctoral research.

I would like to work as a research assistant during my doctoral research: is that possible?

Possibly. The Institute usually hires a number of self-supporting doctoral students to work as a research assistant. If this interests you, you
should contact the Education and Student Office of the Institute at hiw.studiesinfo@kuleuven.be.

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3. Requirements and progress
Which requirements do I have to fulfill to complete the doctoral program?

You can find all information about the requirements of the doctoral program here.

When do I have to submit a progress report?

Every year. Fourteen days before you have to submit a report you will get an automatically generated reminder. This e-mail is sent to your KU
Leuven student e-mail account. You can find an overview of all the deadlines for submitting progress reports in your KU Loket (‘PhD
Progress’).

How do I submit a progress report?

Through the KU Loket application ‘My PhD’. You can find the templates and instructions for submitting progress reports here.

Do I have to submit any other documents besides the annual progress report?

Yes.
 Three months after starting your PhD, you should submit a signed version of the ‘Charter for PhD researchers and supervisors’.
 Once a year you should have a performance interview with your supervisor, and submit a report about this interview.
 In the final year of the doctoral program, you need to submit the ‘Registration of activities form’.

What may I expect from my promotor (supervisor), and what may s/he expect from me?

In order to know what your supervisor can expect from you, and what you may expect from her/him, you can consult the Institute’s Charter
for PhD Researchers and Supervisors.

Who is in my supervisory committee?

You can consult the list of supervisory committees here.

When do I need to give a progress presentation for my supervisory committee?

There are only two occasions on which you need to give a progress presentation before submitting the annual progress report. The first one is
in the second year of the doctoral program and is related to the progress report entitled ‘Annual progress report I’. The second presentation
should take place in the final year of the doctoral program between 6 and 3 months before submitting the dissertation and is related to the

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 ‘Final Progress Report’. The guiding principle for the second meeting with your supervisory committee is the table of contents of your
dissertation.

4. Defence
What do I need to do before I can submit my dissertation?

You can only submit your dissertation after you have given your final progress presentation (and the corresponding progress report has been
approved), after you’ve fulfilled all the requirements of the doctoral program (i.e. your ‘Registration of activities form’ has been approved)
and after your supervisor has given the green light to submit the dissertation. As soon as these conditions have been met, you can submit
your dissertation. In addition, your supervisor should send his/her proposal regarding the composition of your examination committee to the
Faculty Board for approval.

Is there a deadline for submitting my dissertation?

There is a deadline for submitting your dissertation as soon as the members of your examination committee have been contacted and the
date for your doctoral defence has been set. The deadline for submitting is exactly 9 weeks before the date of your defence.

Important: the submission of your dissertation (contact the secretary of the doctoral committee to know how many copies are required) also
entails submitting three additional theses on philosophical issues that are not discussed in your dissertation. Without these theses, your
dissertation will not be accepted and your defence cannot be planned.

How do I organize my defence?

The Institute organizes your defence for you. The Faculty Board appoints the members of your examination committee at the suggestion of
your supervisor, and you are not allowed to make suggestions, let alone contact potential members of your examination committee. The date
for the defence is set based on the schedules of the members of the examination committee after consulting your supervisor about the
preferred timing of the defence.

Do I need to take care of anything else after having submitted my dissertation and before defending it?

Yes. The examination committee gets 6 weeks to decide whether your dissertation can be accepted for defence. If the committee gives the
green light, you will automatically be enrolled for the doctoral defence (the Registrar’s Office will send you a bill for the registration fee.) You
then have to add a popularizing summary of your dissertation in your KU Loket (this summary will be printed on the hand-outs at your
defence) and upload a PDF of your dissertation in KU Loket.

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 If you want to have a reception after you defence, it is up to you to organize it. The Salons or the Raadzaal will be booked for this occasion.

How long does the presentation of my doctoral research at my defence need to be?

Ideally, your presentation takes about 20 minutes. After that, each member of the examination committee gets about 20 minutes for
questions and answers.

5. Teaching opportunities
I would like to teach during my doctoral research: is that possible?

Yes. Doctoral students who receive funding from a Flemish institution (FWO, KU Leuven or the Institute) are automatically expected to
perform a number of teaching assignments over the years of their studies: they are part of the ‘Teaching Pool’ and will be contacted by the
Vice Dean of Education or the Academic Secretary during the summer. It is therefore important to keep an eye on your work e-mails even
during the summer break.

Self-supporting doctoral students are also given the opportunity to teach: they will be contacted by the Education and Student Office in due
time.

C. Former students
1. Diplomas
When and how will I receive my diploma?

If you graduated in June 2014 or later, your diploma is processed by the faculty in the fall of the year of graduation. The Central Logistic
Services of KU Leuven will prints and send your diploma by registered post to your correspondence address. It is therefore of utmost
importance that this address is correct in KU Leuven. You can find all information here.

If you graduated before June 2014, you should contact the student secretary at hiw.studiesinfo@kuleuven.be. Keep in mind that it may take a
few days before you can pick up your diploma or before we can send it out.

Do I have to pay a fee to receive my diploma per mail?

No, your diploma is sent to you free of charge by registered mail.

My post address has changed or is about to change: how do I make sure that my diploma is sent to the right address?

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 You can update your contact info by sending an e-mail to the central student administration at sa@kuleuven.be. Please provide your full
name, student user id (if still known) and your old and new address.

I think the post service returned my diploma to KU Leuven: how can I still obtain it now?

If your diploma could not be delivered correctly (e.g. because of a wrong correspondence address in your student file) it is sent back to KU
Leuven and is archived at Central Logistic Services. You should contact them to make further arrangements. Click here for more information.

2. Transcripts
When and how will I receive the transcripts of my studies at the Institute?

If you still have access to KU Loket, you can request your transcripts from the 2016-2017 academic year or later via your Student File (under
tab 'Certificates') in KU Loket. The authenticity of the document can be verified by the QR-code and the 5-digit code that can be found on the
transcripts.

In all other cases, you should request your transcripts by contacting the student secretary at hiw.studiesinfo@kuleuven.be. You must indicate
how many copies you need and to which (e-mail) address(es) they should be sent. Please give your full name and student user id (if available),
as well as details about your studies/graduation. Be aware that it may take a few days to process your request, so you should contact the
student secretary in a timely manner.

Do I have to pay a fee to receive my transcripts per mail?

No.

3. Letters of recommendation
I am applying for a study programme elsewhere and need letters of recommendation: how do I retrieve them?

You should ask one of your former teachers directly if s/he is willing to write you a letter of recommendation. The Education and Student
Office does not intervene in this matter.

Who should I ask to write a letter of recommendation for me?

It is rather unusual not to ask your (latest) supervisor to write you a letter: even if your bond with her/him was not excellent, your future
school will still expect a letter from your supervisor. Your other letters should come from teachers who know you well enough to write an

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 informed and positive letter about you. Ideally, their specialization matches your main study or research interests, and you received good
grades for their courses.

Which information should I provide to the person who will write my letter of recommendation?

You should tell the writer at which department(s) and for study programme(s) you are applying and when the deadline(s) is/are. In addition,
you should attach your transcript of records from your studies in Leuven, and if possible your curriculum vitae (mentioning academic services,
conference participations, or publications).

4. Staying connected to the Institute

Can I continue to use my student e-mail address after I have graduated?

Unfortunately, no. Once you are no longer a student at KU Leuven, your student e-mail address will be deactivated. It is therefore useful to
enter a secondary e-mail address to your personal information in KU Loket.

I would like to stay up to date about the events at the Institute: can I subscribe to a newsletter?

Yes, you can, by becoming a member of the Wijsgerig Gezelschap te Leuven. Membership is free during the calendar year in which you
graduated. You can find more information about this community here.

You can also register as a KU Leuven alumni in order to keep in the loop about other events at your alma mater.

D. Living in Leuven
1. Residency permit Belgium
2. Housing in Leuven
3. Financing your stay