 He enrolled at the University of Leuven at the age of sixteen, originally studying philosophy.He obtained his "license" in 1899 in the study of Physiology and the psychology of sleep, and in 1900, his doctorate in philosophy with a thesis on Spencer's ethics.His interest was drawn toward experimental research, and so enrolled in the department of natural sciences where he joined the laboratory for two years, the same which had once been used by Arthur Van Gehuchten.