List of universities in Belgium

This is a list of universities in Belgium. In Belgium, which is a federal state, the constitution attributes legislative power over higher education to the Communities.[1] The Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, the French Community and the German Community thus determine which institutes of higher education they organise or recognise, and which diplomas may be legally issued by these institutes. Below is a list of recognised institutes of higher education in Belgium sorted by the responsible Community.[2]

Institutes of higher education in the Flemish Community

The Central Library of the KU Leuven

Universities

Five Flemish universities issue academic bachelor, master and doctoral degrees:

As a result of an international treaty between the Netherlands and Flanders, a co-operation between the Hasselt University (Flanders) and the Maastricht University (the Netherlands) is recognised as the

According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities[3] and the THES - QS World University Rankings,[4] four Flemish universities (University of Antwerp, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ghent University and KU Leuven) are among the top 150 universities in Europe and top 300 universities worldwide.

University colleges

All recognised Flemish university colleges (hogescholen) are associated with a Flemish university. The following university colleges, which issue professional bachelor, academic bachelor's and master's degrees, are recognised by the Flemish government:

Antwerp University Association: university colleges associated with the University of Antwerp

Ghent University Association: university colleges associated with Ghent University

University Association Brussels: public university college associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel

K.U.Leuven Association: catholic university colleges associated with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Limburg University and College Association: public university college associated with Hasselt University

Registered institutes of higher education

Finally, the Flemish government has recognised a number of "registered" institutes of higher education, which mostly issue specialised degrees or provide education mainly in a foreign language:

Institutes of higher education in the French Community

Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

The French Community distinguishes between universities, colleges (Hautes Écoles) and arts colleges (Écoles supérieures des Arts). A list of all recognised institutes is maintained in the Annuaire de l'enseignement supérieur.[5]

Universities

According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, two of these universities (Université catholique de Louvain and Université libre de Bruxelles) are among the top 150 universities worldwide.

According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities,[6] two of these universities (Université catholique de Louvain and University of Liège) are among the top 150 universities in Europe and top 350 universities worldwide.

University colleges

Arts colleges

Institutes of higher education in the German-speaking Community

A single college is operated by the German-speaking Community of Belgium:

Federal institutions

The school of the Belgian Armes Forces officers is organised by Belgium's Federal Government, and has the status of university:

Institutes recognised by foreign countries

The following institutes are not recognised by the Flemish or French speaking communities, but by a foreign country:

Institutions with external validation

The following academic institutions offer accredited degree programmes which are externally validated by foreign institutions of higher education and learning:

International rankings

Below are shown the international rankings of the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking universities in Belgium, and the number of times they rank in the top 200 of one of the six prominent global rankings:

University QS World
(2025)[7] 		THE World
(2024)[8] 		ARWU World
(2023)[9] 		USNWR World
(2024–25)[10] 		CWTS Leiden
(2024)[11] 		CWUR World
(2024)[12] 		#a
Dutch-speaking universities
Catholic University of Leuven 63= 45 86 48= 61 103
6b
Ghent University 169= 115 84 109= 98 129
6
University of Antwerp 267= 161= 201-300 213= 361 297
1
Free University of Brussels 278= 201–250 301-400 306= 542 380
0
University of Hasselt 554= 351–400 601-700 761= 1074 832
0
French-speaking universities
Université catholique de Louvain 203= 168= 201-300 201= 349 223
1
Université libre de Bruxelles 230= 201–250 101-150 260 485 242
1
University of Liège 396= 301–350 301-400 381= 490 290
0
University of Mons 781-790 501–600 801-900 935= N.A. 1028
0
University of Namur N.A. 601–800 N.A. 1601= N.A. 1456
0
Saint-Louis University, Brussels N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.
0

Notes:
N.A.: Not Applicable
a Number of times the university is ranked within the top 200 of one of the six global rankings.
b The university is ranked within the top 150 of all six global rankings.
c The university is ranked within the top 100 of all six global rankings.

See also

References

  1. ^ Belgian Constitution (Dutch). Belgian Senate. Retrieved on November 20, 2007
  2. ^ Ministry of Education. Retrieved on November 20, 2007
  3. ^ Webometrics Ranking of World Universities Cybermetrics Lab, Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain. Retrieved on January 16, 2007
  4. ^ THES - QS World University Rankings 2007 QS Education Trust. Retrieved on January 16, 2007
  5. ^ Annuaire de l'enseignement supérieur Administration générale de l'Enseignement du Communauté française de Belgique. Retrieved on November 20, 2007
  6. ^ Webometrics Ranking of World Universities Cybermetrics Lab, Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain. Retrieved on November 20, 2007
  7. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2025". Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  8. ^ "World University Rankings 2024". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  9. ^ "2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  10. ^ "2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  11. ^ "CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024 - P(top 10%)". Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologische Studies (CWTS), Leiden University. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Global 2000 List by the Center for World University Rankings; 2024 Edition". Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). Retrieved 17 July 2024.