Belgium

Country in Europe

Capital: City of Brussels
Dialing code: +32
Currency: Euro
Population: 11.2 million (2013) World Bank
Official languages: French, Dutch, German

Belgium, a country in Western Europe, is known for medieval towns, Renaissance architecture and as headquarters of the European Union and NATO. The country has distinctive regions including Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north, French-speaking Wallonia to the south and a German-speaking community to the east. The bilingual capital, Brussels, has ornate guildhalls at Grand-Place and elegant art-nouveau buildings.

ften called the Essence of Europe, Belgium is both multicultural and multilingual. Flanders in the north, a flatland criss-crossed by canals, is proud of its medieval art cities, Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent. To the south in Wallonia, you will find the rolling hills of the Ardennes, countless castles, and the cities of Charleroi, Liege, Mons, Namur, and Tournai. The city of Brussels is one of the world's great cosmopolitan capitals, home to both the European Union and NATO, as well as a wealth of international trade and finance companies.

Higher Education System

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In Belgium, the communities are responsible for making decisions on services for individuals, such as education. The Flemish Community is therefore responsible for education in the Dutch-speaking part of the country, whilst the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, is the governing authority for the French-speaking part of Belgium.

Universities in Belgium

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Many universities in Belgium have a strong international outlook and composition, as well as a strong position in the international rankings. A total of eight universities in Belgium are featured in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017, all but one of which is ranked within the global top 350 (the University of Mons is a new entry this year in the 501-550 band).

Higher education in Belgium is generally categorized into the country’s two main language communities: the Flemish (a variety of Dutch) Community and the French Community. Alongside Dutch and French, Germany is also an official language of the country, though spoken by a far smaller percentage of the population. German-speaking students typically attend a university in the French Community, or travel to study in Germany. While French and Dutch are the standard languages of teaching, there are also many international programs taught in English.

Higher education institutions in Belgium include universities, university colleges (called hautes ecoles in the French Community), art colleges (called ecoles supérieures des arts and only offered in the French Community), institutes of architecture (only available in the French Community) and the Royal Military Academy.

As in most European countries, a bachelor’s degree usually takes three years to complete and a master’s degree one to two years. Bachelor’s degrees are categorized as either a ‘professional bachelor’ or an ‘academic bachelor’. The first of these has a vocational element, while the second is more academic and designed to prepare students for a master’s degree. Having obtained a master’s degree, students can then pursue research projects leading to a doctorate degree. Bachelor and master’s degrees can be awarded by both colleges and universities in Belgium, while PhDs are only awarded by universities.

The top five universities in Belgium are:

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)

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The highest-ranked Belgian university is KU Leuven, ranked 79th in the world as of the 2016-2017 edition. Translated into English, its name is ‘Catholic University of Leuven’ but it’s more often referred to by its Dutch name. It was Belgium’s first university, founded in 1425 (although it was closed during the Napoleonic period and reopened in 1834). KU Leuven taught around 57,300 students in 2015, making it the largest university in Belgium.

University of Ghent

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Ranked joint 131st in the world, the University of Ghent was established in 1817 as the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. The university ranks 90th in world for life sciences, and 27th for veterinary science. It’s another large university, teaching around 41,000 students in 11 faculties.

Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL)

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The Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) is Belgium’s largest French-speaking university, and is located in Louvain-la-Neuve, a planned city which was built to house the university. UCL has satellite campuses in Brussels, Charleroi, Mons and Tournai. It currently ranks at 154th in the world, and performs particularly well (29th) in the subject ranking for statistics.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

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Ranked 182nd in the world, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) was formed when the Université Libre de Bruxelles split in 1970. Both universities have the same name when translated into English (Free University of Brussels), so both avoid this version to prevent confusion. VUB is known for its high research activity, with its research teams internationally recognized in many disciplines of fundamental and applied research.

Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

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The Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) ranks joint 216th in the QS World University Rankings 2016-2017, and claims Belgium’s strongest scores for internationalization – around a third of its students and faculty members come from abroad. It was founded in 1834 and is a highly respected research university, with three Nobel Prize winners, one Fields Medal, three Wolf Prizes, and two Marie Curie Prizes.