KU Leuven Motivation Letter: One A4 Page

KU Leuven Motivation Letter: One A4 Page

KU Leuven lists a "Motivation letter (recommended length: one A4-page)" among the core documents for every master's application, and says "It is not possible to submit your online application without" them. Programmes then add their own requirements. Master of Engineering: Computer Science, for example, adds a Summary of Key Application Data, a Selftest and, for most non-European degrees, the GRE.

So the letter is the one document you cannot skip, sitting next to documents that test you in other ways. Our view: do not use your one page to restate what the selftest, the data summary and your scores already show. Use it to explain what they cannot: why this programme, how your courses fit it, and any gap a number leaves open. When the draft is ready, choose the one-page European motivation letter rubric for a free review.

Every KU Leuven and Ghent University page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026, using the 2027–2028 versions where a page offers a year.

What KU Leuven asks of every applicant

KU Leuven's requested documents page gives one core list for "a Master, Advanced Master, Bridging programme, Preparatory programme or Postgraduate programme":

• diploma and transcripts of your higher education, with translations where needed
• an English proficiency certificate
• the identity page of your passport
• "Motivation letter (recommended length: one A4-page)"
• "Curriculum Vitae (CV)"
• proof of payment of the application fee

Then: "Each programme may request additional documents. You can find these in the specific admission requirements of the programme." The additional documents it names are a grading table, "GMAT or GRE test results" where required, and recommendation letters, for which KU Leuven offers a template.

Two things are missing from that page: a word count and a list of questions. "Recommended length" is a recommendation, not a cap, and KU Leuven sets no topics. That puts the structure on you.

Programme extras: two examples

Both pages below are the 2027–2028 admission requirements for applicants with a degree from outside the Flemish Community.

The Computer Science page explains each extra. The data summary is requested "to obtain more information about your previous study program(s) and the courses you followed". The selftest is requested "since we expect you can give correct answers to these kind of questions when applying for our master."

The Economics page also lists GMAT 10th Edition minimums ("48 on the quantitative part and an overall score of 620") and exemptions. In the 2027–2028 version, students with a relevant degree from a university "ranked in the global top 200 in the most recent edition of the THE or QS World Ranking", from "a FEB exchange partner university", or with a Belgian degree "are exempted from the GMAT/GRE requirement". The FEB exchange-partner exemption is not in the 2026–2027 version of the same page. Test results "must be submitted by the application deadline at the latest."

What the letter should do next to those hurdles

The two programmes show why one letter does not fit both. A Computer Science reader already has your course list, your selftest answers and usually a GRE score. An Economics reader has your GMAT or GRE, your transcript and a course-description form, and is checking for "a solid background in (i) microeconomics and macroeconomics, (ii) mathematics, statistics and econometrics, and (iii) other courses in economics."

Our recommendation: spend the page on three things, in this order.

1. Why this programme at KU Leuven. Name the specialisation or option you want and what in it you need.
2. How your background maps to the stated requirement. Computer Science asks for a bachelor's "either in Engineering Science with strong components in computer science and mathematics, or in Informatics or Computer Science with a strong component of mathematics". If your degree title is different, this is where you show the match.
3. What the numbers do not show. A thesis, a project, or the reason for a weak semester. One or two sentences, not a defence.

The countercase: if your degree is a direct match and your record is strong throughout, paragraph 2 can shrink to two sentences. Spend the space on what you want to do with the degree.

What KU Leuven does not publish: how the letter is weighed against the selftest, test scores or grades.

A one-page engineering letter, constructed

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

Context (invented): Li Wen holds a bachelor's in electronic engineering from an invented university outside Europe. She is applying to Master of Engineering: Computer Science. Her degree title is not "computer science", which is the gap her letter has to close.

Dear Admissions Committee,

I am applying to the Master of Engineering: Computer Science at KU Leuven to move from designing embedded hardware to building the software that runs on it. I want to take the [named option] and write my thesis on scheduling for low-power devices.

My degree is in electronic engineering, so the title does not match the programme's. The content does. Of my 160 credits, 48 are in programming, algorithms, operating systems and computer architecture, and 30 are in mathematics, including two semesters of linear algebra and one of probability. My Summary of Key Application Data lists each course; I have marked the six closest to the programme.

My bachelor's thesis built a task scheduler for a sensor board and cut its idle power use by a third in our lab tests. It taught me that most of the hard problems were in the software, and that I had learned that software from projects rather than from courses. That is the gap I want this programme to fill.

My second-year grades dipped while I worked part time. My third- and fourth-year results, in the courses that matter most here, are my strongest.

After the degree I want to work on operating systems for medical and industrial devices, where a software fault is a safety problem. I would bring to the programme a hardware engineer's habit of testing on the real board, not just in simulation.

Yours sincerely, Li Wen

The letter is 241 words (our count) with the greeting and sign-off, comfortably inside one A4 page. It answers why this programme, maps a mismatched degree title to the stated requirement by credits, points to the data summary instead of repeating it, and spends one sentence on the weak year. It does not mention the GRE or the selftest score. Every name, number and course is invented.

Finding your deadline

KU Leuven's application window tool asks you to "Select the relevant academic year, your nationality and the programme of your choice". It says: "The academic year 2027-2028 starts on 22 September 2027." For the two programmes above, the tool's 2027–2028 entries read:

Both open "on 8 October 2026". In 2027, 1 March is a Monday and 1 May a Saturday (our arithmetic). Deadlines differ by programme, so do not copy one programme's date to another. Check your own programme in the tool.

Ghent University: the letter is optional

Ghent University makes the opposite choice. Its application page lists required documents, then says: "Enclose any documents that can add value to your application (certificates of programme-related courses, letter of motivation, ...)." Ghent states "There is no application fee". A GMAT or GRE is "required for all non-EEA students (origin of the diploma, not the applicant's nationality)" applying to the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, and a GRE for the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.

Ghent's deadlines page prints no year: students who need a visa submit "Before 1 APRIL", others "Before 1 JUNE". It adds: "If your programme has a specific application procedure, please adhere to its deadlines and other procedures."

Our view: at Ghent, send a letter when it adds something your transcript does not, such as a degree-title mismatch or a career change. Do not send a generic one.

The Belgian student visa needs its own, different letter. That is covered in the Belgium student visa motivation letter guide.

Questions about the KU Leuven motivation letter

How long should a KU Leuven motivation letter be?

KU Leuven's recommended length is "one A4-page". It gives no word count. If your programme's admission page sets its own limit, follow that. For how one page converts to words, see how long a motivation letter should be in Europe.

Is the motivation letter mandatory at KU Leuven?

Yes for master's applicants. It is on the list of core documents without which "It is not possible to submit your online application".

Does KU Leuven give motivation letter questions?

Not on the central page. Programmes may add documents, such as Computer Science's selftest, but neither programme page we checked sets letter questions.

Is Ghent's motivation letter required?

No. Ghent lists a letter of motivation among documents you may enclose if they "add value to your application". Check your programme's own procedure.

Get a free review of your motivation letter

Get a free Quick Review of your motivation letter against GradPilot's one-page European motivation letter rubric. It reads whether the letter says which programme and why, answers what the programme asked for, ties your preparation to its demands, states where you go next, and uses its one page on lines a reader can check. For layout, see the one-page A4 motivation letter format; for computing degrees across Europe, see the master's in computer science motivation letter guide, or browse all graduate school essay guides.

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.

• KU Leuven, Requested documents (no year stated): core documents, one-A4 recommendation, programme-specific additions.
• KU Leuven, Master of Engineering: Computer Science, admission requirements (2027–2028): extra documents, GRE rule, assessors, access requirement.
• KU Leuven, Master of Economics, admission requirements (2027–2028 and 2026–2027 tabs compared): GMAT/GRE minimums, exemptions, background requirement.
• KU Leuven, Application window (2027–2028 entries in the tool's data): opening date, deadlines, late-file rules, start date.
• Ghent University, How to submit an application for admission (no year stated): optional letter, no fee, GMAT/GRE rules.
• Ghent University, Deadlines (no year printed): 1 April and 1 June deadlines.