Best Universities in Belgium : Rankings & Study Guide

KU Leuven: Why It’s Belgium’s Best University

KU Leuven is Belgium’s oldest and best university, started way back in 1425 – that’s 600 years ago! It ranks #60 in the world, making it the only Belgian university in the top 100 best schools globally.

What makes KU Leuven so special is how much other schools and scientists use their research. When KU Leuven researchers write about their discoveries, other scientists read and use their work 239 times on average, while most research only gets used 52 times.

What You Can Study

The university has 15 different schools where you can study almost anything you want. They group these schools into three big areas: people and society studies, science and engineering, and medical studies. They teach 74 master’s programs and 6 bachelor’s programs completely in English.

The European Commission gave KU Leuven a special award for being great at research. This means students get to work with the best teachers and use the newest equipment. The university has even helped create important medicines like drugs that fight HIV.

Living in Leuven

Leuven is a real college town where students are everywhere! The city is only 30 kilometers from Brussels (that’s about a 20-minute train ride). The old buildings and streets mix with student bars, libraries, and coffee shops, making it feel like the whole city is one big campus.

How Universities Are Ranked: Understanding the Numbers

Universities get different scores from different ranking groups, kind of like how your teacher might grade you on tests, homework, and class participation. Each ranking looks at different things, so a school might be #90 on one list but #169 on another.

Understanding these rankings helps you pick the right school. Some rankings care more about how famous a school is, while others look at how good their research is or how many important discoveries they make.

QS Rankings: How Famous Is the School?

QS rankings ask thousands of teachers around the world which universities they think are the best. Schools that have been around longer and are more famous usually do better. They also look at things like how many teachers come from other countries and how the school helps the environment.

THE Rankings: A Mix of Everything

The Times Higher Education rankings look at five different things: teaching quality, research, how often other scientists use their research, working with companies, and having international students and teachers. They count how many times research papers are mentioned by other scientists.

ARWU Rankings: Looking for Nobel Prize Winners

The Shanghai Rankings care most about really important research. They count things like how many Nobel Prize winners went to the school, how many super-famous scientists work there, and how many articles the school publishes in the best science magazines like Nature and Science.

All of Belgium’s Top Universities: Complete List

Belgium has 8 universities in the world’s top 1,000 schools. KU Leuven is the clear winner as the best, followed by other great schools like Ghent University and UCLouvain. Each university is good at different things.

Looking at all the rankings together helps you see which schools are best for what you want to study.

The Best School: KU Leuven

KU Leuven is the only Belgian university in the world’s top 100. It’s part of a special group of Europe’s best research universities called LERU, which is like being in an all-star team for universities.

Other Top Schools

Ghent University is really good at research, especially animal science where it ranks #3 in the world. They have a special way of helping young researchers try new ideas. The university has been in the top 100 research schools for more than 10 years.

UCLouvain is the best French-speaking university in Belgium. They’ve won around 60 important research grants from Europe and helped start around 70 new companies based on their discoveries.

Brussels Universities

VUB and ULB are both in Brussels, which means students can easily visit the European Union buildings and meet people from all over the world. One out of every three students at ULB comes from another country!

Dutch vs French Universities: What’s the Difference?

Belgium is split into two main parts: the Dutch-speaking north (called Flanders) and the French-speaking south (called Wallonia). Universities belong to one side or the other, and this affects everything from the language people speak to how the school works.

This split happened because of old disagreements. In 1970, some universities actually split in two! The Free University of Brussels became VUB (Dutch) and ULB (French), and the Catholic University split into KU Leuven and UCLouvain.

French-Speaking Universities

UCLouvain is the biggest French-speaking university. It has a really cool campus in a city called Louvain-la-Neuve that was built just for the university in the 1970s. The whole city is designed for students – you can walk everywhere and cars aren’t allowed in many areas!

ULB in Brussels and University of Liège are the other big French-speaking schools. They’re starting to offer more classes in English, especially for master’s students.

Classes Taught in English: Your Options

Good news! Belgian universities teach more than 200 master’s programs completely in English. This means you don’t need to know Dutch or French to study there. Most English programs are for master’s students, but some schools have bachelor’s programs in English too.

Each university offers different numbers of English programs, so you need to check what’s available at each school.

What Can You Study in English?

Engineering is the most common subject taught in English. Most schools offer engineering programs like computer, chemical, and biomedical engineering in English. Business programs are also popular, especially at famous business schools like Vlerick and Solvay.

Science subjects like biology, environmental science, and medicine often have English options too. This makes sense because Belgium does lots of important research in these areas.

English Tests You Need

Schools want to make sure you can understand English well enough to do your homework and follow classes. You usually need a TOEFL score between 80-94 or an IELTS score between 6.5-7.0. If you’re from a country where English is the main language or you already studied in English, you might not need to take these tests.

Scholarships (Free Money for School!)

The Belgian government offers the Master Mind Scholarship, which gives great students €10,000 per year plus they don’t have to pay tuition! Each university also has its own scholarships for students from different countries.

KU Leuven has a scholarship called “Inspiring the Outstanding” that pays for everything. They also have special scholarships for students from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

How to Apply: What You Need to Get In

Belgian universities look at your whole application, not just your grades. They want to see your school records, English test scores, and sometimes extra tests for business or engineering programs. Most schools let you apply online, which makes it easier.

Different programs ask for different things. Business and engineering programs might want you to take extra tests like the GMAT or GRE, though many programs accept alternative assessments.

What Grades Do You Need?

For master’s programs, you need a bachelor’s degree first. Some programs want you to have studied certain subjects before. For example, to study engineering at KU Leuven, you need to show you’ve already studied some math and science.

Some business schools might want a GMAT or GRE test score, though many accept alternative assessments. These tests help show you’re ready for advanced business classes, but requirements vary by program.

When to Apply

Applications usually open in October for the next school year. If you’re from outside Europe, you need to apply by March 1st. European students can wait until June 1st. Apply early because some programs fill up fast!