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

  • Transnational University Limburg, Hasselt

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

  • Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen (Antwerp), public
  • Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen (Antwerp), public
  • Karel de Grote-Hogeschool - Katholieke Hogeschool Antwerpen (Antwerp), Catholic

Ghent University Association: university colleges associated with Ghent University

  • Arteveldehogeschool (Ghent), Catholic
  • Hogeschool Gent (Ghent, Aalst, Melle), public
  • Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen (Bruges, Kortrijk), public

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

  • Hogeschool PXL (Hasselt, Diepenbeek, Genk)

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

  • Haute École Francisco Ferrer, Brussels
  • Haute École Bruxelles-Brabant, Brussels and Nivelles
  • Haute École Galilée, Brussels
  • Haute École Léonard de Vinci, Brussels
  • Haute École Lucia de Brouckère, Brussels
  • Haute École Groupe ICHEC - ISC Saint-Louis - ISFSC, Brussels
  • Haute École libre de Bruxelles - Ilya Prigogine, Brussels
  • École pratique des hautes études commerciales, Brussels and Louvain-la-Neuve
  • Haute École Charlemagne, Liège, Huy, Gembloux, Verviers
  • Haute École libre Mosane - HELMo, Liège, Huy, Verviers, Theux and Ans
  • Haute École de la Ville de Liège, Liège
  • Haute École de la Province de Liège, Liège, Seraing, Theux, Verviers and Huy
  • Haute École Albert Jacquard, Namur and Tamines
  • Haute École de la Province de Namur, Namur and Ciney
  • Haute École de Namur-Liège-Luxembourg, Namur, Arlon, Bastogne, Marche-en-Famenne, Seraing, Virton
  • Haute École Robert Schuman, Arlon, Libramont-Chevigny, Virton
  • Haute École Louvain en Hainaut - HELHa, Mons, Louvain-la-Neuve, Braine-le-Compte, La Louvière, Charleroi, Gerpinnes, Leuze-en-Hainaut, Mouscron, and Tournai
  • Haute École de la Communauté française en Hainaut, Mons and Tournai
  • Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut - Condorcet, Mons, Ath, Saint-Ghislain, Charleroi, Mouscron, Froyennes and Morlanwelz

Arts colleges

  • Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles - École Supérieure des Arts, Brussels
  • Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles - École Supérieure des Arts, Brussels
  • Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des techniques de diffusion (INSAS), Brussels
  • École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, Brussels
  • École de Recherche Graphique - École Supérieure des Arts (ERG), Saint-Gilles
  • Instituts Saint-Luc de Bruxelles - École Supérieure des Arts, Saint-Gilles
  • École Supérieure des Arts du Cirque, Auderghem
  • Le 75, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
  • Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD), Louvain-la-Neuve
  • Royal Conservatory of Liège, Liège
  • École Supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Liège, Liège
  • École Superieure des Arts Saint-Luc de Liège, Liège
  • Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie, Namur
  • Arts², Mons
  • Académie des Beaux-Arts de Tournai
  • École Supérieure des Arts Saint-Luc Tournai, Tournai

Institutes of higher education in the German-speaking Community

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

  • Autonome Hochschule in der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft, Eupen

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:

  • American University, Brussels Center for European Studies (headquarters: Washington, District of Columbia, United States)
  • University of Kent's Brussels School of International Studies (headquarters: Canterbury, United Kingdom)
  • Business University, Brussels (headquarters: San Jose, Costa Rica)

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
(2026)[7] 		THE World
(2026)[8] 		ARWU World
(2025)[9] 		USNWR World
(2025–26)[10] 		CWTS Leiden
(2025)[11] 		CWUR World
(2025)[12] 		#a
Dutch-speaking universities
Catholic University of Leuven 60 46 76 50 67 105
6b
Ghent University 162 115 91 107= 110 128
6
University of Antwerp 280 170= 301-400 204= 415 296
1
Free University of Brussels 294= 201–250 301-400 349= 538 436
0
University of Hasselt 597= 301–350 701-800 c 763= 1141 828
0
French-speaking universities
Université catholique de Louvain 191= 184= 201-300 206 365 238
2
Université libre de Bruxelles 227= 201–250 101-150 252= 480 256
1
University of Liège 379= 301–350 401-500 360= 514 297
0
University of Mons 781-790 601–800 801-900 d 937= N.A. 1102
0
University of Namur 801-850 801–1000 N.A. 1425= N.A. 1519
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 ARWU World Rankings 2024 (rankings thereafter are not available).
d ARWU World Rankings 2023 (rankings thereafter are not available).

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 2026". Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  8. ^ "World University Rankings 2026". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  9. ^ "2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  10. ^ "2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  11. ^ "CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition 2025 - P top 10%". Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologische Studies (CWTS), Leiden University. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Global 2000 List by the Center for World University Rankings; 2025 Edition". Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). Retrieved 17 July 2025.
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