Belgium is a historical place and home to the world’s best heritage sites. It is also a very diverse country hosting most of Europe’s largest modern bilingual universities that offer degree programs taught in French, Dutch, German, and English. On top of that, Belgian cities are well-known as the most welcoming places in the world for international students and tourists. Studying in Belgium will provide students with the best quality of higher education unique in the region and the most beautiful experience of living with Belgian people and their culture. In this article, we will be looking at the best English-taught schools in Belgium!

Top English-taught Universities in Belgium for International Students

1. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) is Belgium’s most highly recognized and largest research university. It is the country’s first higher education provider established in 1425 and an excellent English-taught university. The university is also known as one of Europe’s oldest and top-ranking universities. Though it’s a Catholic university that mainly focuses on theology and Catholic heritage, it accepts students of different faiths and backgrounds. It also offers a wide range of research and academic programs in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, humanities, medicine, law, business, and social sciences.

KU Leuven is dubbed Europe’s most innovative research university and is widely known for offering a range of competitive interdisciplinary degree programs. Above all, it is a proud co-founder of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). No wonder it is Belgium’s center for scientific and innovative research and the country’s best university for higher learning!

In addition to an innovative learning and teaching approach at KU Leuven, it also offers a very international community with several thousands of international students from over 140 countries worldwide. It also has strategic partnerships with a selective number of top-level academic institutions abroad. Though the institution’s primary language of instruction is Dutch, it offers a wide range of degree programs and courses entirely taught in English at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels of studies.

2. Ghent University

Ghent University (UGhent) is a major public research university, a top English-taught school in Belgium, and one of the leading institutions in Europe. It consistently ranks among the top 150 best global universities, according to the QS World University Rankings. Founded in 1817, way earlier than the state of Belgium itself, UGhent has undergone many changes and challenges throughout its operation. In 1930, it became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium, and before that, it was a French-speaking university. However, Latin was the university’s main language of instruction during its establishment. As a world-class institution specializing in innovative research, it receives the largest annual endowment from the Flemish Research Council.

UGhent is also known for its prestigious international community, welcoming thousands of international students of different cultures and traditions. The university also sits in one of the most stunning locations in its host city. It houses state-of-the-art facilities that cater to the needs of students, especially for start-up technology companies and marine research. Although its undergraduate degree programs (except for Bachelor’s in Social Sciences) are taught in Dutch, many of its offered postgraduate courses are taught entirely in English.

3. Catholic University of Louvain

Catholic University of Louvain (UCLovain), officially known in French as Université Catholique de Louvain, is one of Belgium’s top-leading comprehensive academic institutions that offer English-taught programs. It is the largest French-speaking university and the oldest university in the country. Its roots trace back to its predecessor, the University of Louvain. It was established in 1425 and has faced many challenges throughout the years of its operation.

The French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain emerged along with its sister university- the Flemish or Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven when the Catholic University of Leuven was partitioned into the two separate universities in 1968.

UCLovain is one of Europe’s most renowned universities, topping many academic league tables in the study of philosophy, theology, and religious studies. It offers an extensive range of academic and research programs in law and criminology, management, psychology, educational science, public health, and architecture. Moreover, it has a dynamic and culturally diverse learning community that welcomes many international students worldwide. Although it’s a French-speaking institution, UCLovian surprisingly offers a range of academic programs and courses entirely or partially taught in English, including economics, business management, European studies, history, philology, geography, computer science, engineering, and statistics.

4. Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is a top-leading Dutch and English-speaking university in Belgium established with the vision of a university that focuses on providing education with no known ideological, political, cultural, or social boundaries. It was founded in 1834 but was eventually split into two academic institutions- the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The two universities have solid strategic affiliations in educational and research projects.

VUB focuses on providing high-quality education with an international focus and cutting-edge research. It also operates with the mission to be of service to the community. The institute receives more than average national and international research citations than any other Flemish university.

VUB is also well-regarded for offering a range of award-winning academic programs in natural sciences, classics, life sciences, social sciences, humanities, and engineering. All degree programs and courses at UVB are internationally recognized with interdisciplinary and interactive approaches. Both undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs at UVB are taught in English or Dutch and English.

5. University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp (UA) is one of Belgium’s top-ranking research universities and a recognized English-taught institution. Its roots trace back to 1852, but it was officially established in 2003 as the university today. UA was built from the merging of three smaller academic institutions with the same mission to provide high-quality education and cutting-edge research for the benefit of society. The university is known in major academic league rankings as one of the world’s top-rising young universities under 50 years old. UA offers a range of award-winning academic programs and is highly recognized for its research breakthroughs in drug discovery and development, ecology and sustainability, transport and logistics, imaging, infectious diseases, materials characterization, neurosciences, etc.

UA offers one undergraduate and a range of master’s degree programs entirely taught in English.

 

We hope that this article on the Best English-taught Universities in Belgium was helpful. Make sure to also check out the Available Programs in Europe!

About the Author: Hyun Lee

Hyun is the founder at Global Scholarships. He has received a full-tuition scholarship at Birmingham-Southern College as well as $1,000 Burger King Scholarship for his undergraduate degree and has been offered a fully funded scholarship consisting of tuition, living stipend, and health insurance for computer science Ph.D. program at North Carolina State University. Read more about his scholarship journey here.

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