Belgium is a multilingual country that offers quality education at a cheap price. It is one of the few countries that provides education at a minimal cost, requiring only very affordable registration fees.
Though the living expenses in the country can be costly, you can reduce the overall costs by choosing to study at a low-cost university. Don’t worry about the quality, as the education system in Belgium is exceptionally good. You’ll be provided with exceptional education whether you enroll in an expensive or a cheap institution.
Belgium used to offer a very affordable education, especially at universities that were in French. It used to be that French-taught universities like UCLouvain, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the University of Liège charged €835 per year for both EU students and non-EU students. However, starting in 2025-2026, they’ve increased the tuition fees for non-EU students to €5,010 per year unless a student is from a developing country. If you are from a developing country, studying at a French-speaking institution might be the cheapest option for you; if not, there are other affordable options as seen below. So, let’s go over these cheapest universities in Belgium for international students; we’ll break it down by degree and citizenship (i.e. whether you are from a developing country or not).
Affordable Schools in Belgium for International Students
1. Université Libre de Bruxelles
The brainchild of lawyer and politician Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, the Université Libre de Bruxelles or ULB is a free-education university established in 1834. Although it started as bilingual (teaching in Dutch and French), the university has become predominantly French-speaking.
Starting from the 2025-2026 intake, the institution has implemented a tiered tuition fee for non-EU students. Those from least developed countries will pay a €835 tuition fee per year, which was sthe ame as the previous years, and those who are not from that list will pay an increased fee of €5,010 per year. If you are from one of those countries that are exempt, Université Libre de Bruxelles is among the cheapest universities in Belgium.
Labeled as one of the best universities in the country, ULB is famous for its social, physical, and life science programs. It also ranks globally in business, arts & humanities, clinical health, and computer science.
2. Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles
Saint Louis University in Brussels, or UC Louvain Saint-Louis Brussels, is an institution specializing in the Social and Human Sciences. Formerly, the Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis has taken its current name to denote its relationship with the UC Louvain system. The university, which has campuses in Saint-Louis and Marie-Haps, is divided into the Faculties of Philosophy, Law, Economics, Translation & Interpretation, and European Studies. All in all, these departments oversee 25 bachelor’s programs and 2 master’s degrees.
Although this affordable university in Belgium only has about 4,500+ students enrolled, it continues to attract students worldwide due to its unique offerings such as trilingual programs and an English-taught Business degree. It also offers evening classes and an opportunity to complete a double degree in certain disciplines.
Same with other Francophone universities in Belgium, Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles charges €835 per year for students from developing countries and €5,010 per year for the rest of non-EU students.
3. University of Liège
The University of Liege, one of the cheapest universities in Belgium, is an institution in the French region of Wallonia, Belgium. It first opened its doors in the year 1817 through the efforts of King William I of the Netherlands. The university has become a major institution from a simple mining school with various faculties. Today, students can specialize in philosophy, social science, law, medicine, veterinary medicine, psychology and education, and architecture to name a few. 20% of the university’s almost 21,000 students are from outside the country.
Same with other Francophone universities in Belgium, starting in 2025-2026 year, the University of Liège charges €835 per year for students from developing countries and €5,010 per year for the rest of non-EU students.
4. Ghent University
Ghent University, popularly known as UGent, is a state university in East Flanders’s capital. Founded in 1817 by Dutch King William I, it is the first university in Belgium to use the Dutch language. This affordable university in Belgium is currently organized into 11 faculties that oversee 130 departments. As one of the biggest Flemish universities, UGent has a whopping population of 50,000+ students, including more than 7,000 grouped as foreign nationals.
The tuition fee starts from €1,157 per year for both bachelor’s and Master’s, and some degrees have higher tuition fees, like Master’s in European and International Law and Master of Science in Statistical Data Analysis. Ghent University can be a good choice if you are not from a developing country and can’t get an exemption from non-EU tuition fees in a Francophone institution.
5. Hasselt University
Hasselt University was founded in 1971 as the Limburgs Universitair Centrum before it changed its name in 2005. Today, the institution, considered one of the world’s best ‘young’ universities, has campuses in both Hasselt and Diepenbeek. Despite having a student population of 6,700 students, the university has a growing international community. Currently, around 1,200 of its students are foreigners.
The university offers various graduate programs through the Faculties of Medicine & Life Science, Science, Engineering Technology, Business & Economics, Law, Architecture & Arts, and Transportation Science. However, it’s widely known for its Life & Clinical Health courses, followed by its Engineering and Physical Science degrees.
Hasselt University does not have a tiered tuition fee for non-EU students, unlike others in this list. So, if you are not from a developing country, then Hasselt University might be the cheapest university for you. What’s even better is that there are many English-taught degrees here as well for Master’s, although Bachelor’s are taught in Dutch.
6. University of Antwerp
Universiteit Antwerpen is a public educational institution established in 1852. Also known as UA, it can trace its roots back to the Jesuit-found Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool. In the 1960s, it was granted university status, named the Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen. As one of the best universities in Belgium, This cheap university leads in the young school rankings – and the fields of social sciences, business and economics, arts and humanities, and life sciences.
Since UA offers 20 master’s degrees in English, it has seen many foreign students searching for European education. 17% of its 21,000+ student population comes from nations all across the globe. The tuition fee is slightly on the more expensive side; however, there can be some tuition discounts for a Master’s program, so take a note of this.
7. UC Leuven-Limburg
UC Leuven-Limburg, or UCLL, is one of Belgium’s youngest universities considered a ‘Catholic applied science school’.
Founded in 2014, it was created following the merger of the Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg and the Leuven University College. As a member of the KU Leuven network, it operates 10 campuses in Diest, Leuven, Hasselt, Genk, and Diepenbeek.
To date, the UCLL is home to 16,000+ local and foreign students. This popularity is attributed to the university’s wide array of English-taught programs, including a Bachelor’s in Management Marketing, International Management, and Design Thinking & Innovation. It also offers English-taught post-graduate courses in International Education, Content and Language Learning, and International Cooperation.
FAQs: Studying in Belgium
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We hope this article on the cheap universities in Belgium for international students was helpful. For more information like this, check out the Study in Belgium and Available Programs in Europe for International Students pages.
