Universities in European countries

In Belgium, higher education is run by the language communities, not by the federal state – each community has its own institutions, rules and fees. The two largest are the ones that matter for you.

The Flemish Community (Flanders and the Dutch-speaking institutions in Brussels) – 18 publicly funded institutions:

• 5 universities – including KU Leuven, Ghent University (UGent) and the University of Antwerp,
• 13 universities of applied sciences and arts (hogescholen),
• 3 other institutions.

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation (the French Community) – 40 public institutions:

• 5 universities – UCLouvain, ULB, ULiège, UMONS and UNamur,
• 19 hautes écoles – practice-oriented institutions,
• 16 schools of arts (écoles supérieures des arts, ESA).

There are plenty of international students: around 20% at UCLouvain, 24% at ULiège, and at ULB one in three students and researchers comes from abroad.

Universities in Belgium – profiles