The college was opened by ISKCON in 2002 and aspires to be a Vaishnava university. The main offering of the college is the Ministerial Program. This program educates devotees to become preachers, teachers, leaders, scholars, and managers. Bhaktivedanta College is part of the educational vision for ISKCON developed by its Ministry of Educational Development. The Ministry creates institutes of higher education in Vaishnava Theology.
Accreditation and validation
Bhaktivedanta College is in partnership with the University of Chester, a center for Theology and Religious Studies in the UK. This partnership enables Bhaktivedanta College to offer accredited academic courses for which students are awarded certificates and diplomas, leading to a degree externally validated by the University of Chester. Formerly, accredited degree programmes were externally validated by the University of Wales, Lampeter.
Goals
As an educational institution training young Vaishnava theologians. Bhaktivedanta College is preparing a new generation of ISKCON scholars trained inside ISKCON's educational institutions. Bhaktivedanta College also aims to provide professional and practical training, through programmes such as the degree in Education, to train devotee students and enable devotees to serve in professional roles within as well as outside of ISKCON.
Campus
The campus of the college is located at Radhadesh, set in the hilly rural Ardennes region of Belgium. Radhadesh is a devotee center for ISKCON and receives tens of thousands of visitors a year.
Programmes
The college offers multiple degree programmes, accredited and externally validated by the University of Chester. The college offers a Bachelor of Arts with honours degree in Theology and Religious Studies, both on-campus and online. Additionally, the college offers Bachelor of Arts with honours degree in Education, Theology, and Religion. In addition, the college offers non-degree courses on the study of sastra, including the Bhakti Sastri certificate administered by the Vaishnava Training and Education organisation and the ISKCON Examination Board, as well as the Certificate in Bhakti Yoga Studies. All non-degree certificate programs offered by the college are also offered online. The Bhakti Sastri course modules are also studied as part of the degree programmes.
Leadership
In February 2009 ISKCON’s GBC body approved the sannyasa initiation of Yadunandana Swami who is the principal of Bhaktivedanta College. Disciple of Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Yadunandana Swami is originally from Spain, teaching among other subjects Bhaktivaibhava course at the college and is specialising on History of sannyasa in ISKCON.
Staff
Yadunandana Swami Principal of Bhaktivedanta College.
