List of universities in Belgium

In Belgium, which is a federal state, the constitution attributes legislative power over higher education to the Communities. 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.

Institutes of higher education in the Flemish Community

Universities

Six 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 Universiteit Hasselt (Flanders) and the Universiteit Maastricht (the Netherlands) is recognised as the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Dutch pronunciation: [katoˈlikə univɛrsiˈtɛit ˈløːvə(n)],  listen ; Dutch for Catholic University of Leuven, but usually not translated into English), also known as KU Leuven or University of Leuven, is a Dutch-speaking university in Leuven, Flanders, Belgium.

The University of Leuven was founded at the centre of the historic town of Leuven in 1425, making it Belgium's first university. After being closed in 1797 during the Napoleonic period, the Catholic University of Leuven was "re-founded" in 1834, and is frequently, but controversially, identified as a continuation of the older institution. In 1968 the Catholic University of Leuven split into the Dutch-language Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the French-language Université catholique de Louvain, which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve in Wallonia. Since the fifteenth century, Louvain, as it is still often called, has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. It is considered the oldest Catholic university still in existence.

Belgium

Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E / 50.833°N 4.000°E / 50.833; 4.000

Belgium (ⁱ/ˈbɛldʒəm/; Dutch: België  [ˈbɛlɣijə]; French: Belgique  [bɛlʒik]; German: Belgien  [ˈbɛlɡiən]), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts several of the EU's official seats and as well as the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 11 million people.

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area, and bordering Germany.

Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of government.

Ghent University

Established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands, Ghent University (Dutch: Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. After the Belgian revolution of 1830, the newly-formed Belgian state began to administer the university. In 1930, it became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium—French having been the academic language up to that point. In 1991, the university was granted major autonomy and changed its name from State University of Ghent (Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Gent, abbreviated as RUG) to its current designation. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 41,000 students and 9,000 staff members. The current rector is Anne De Paepe.

Ghent consistently rates among the top universities not only in Belgium but also throughout the world. As of 2014, Ghent University ranks 90th globally according to Times Higher Education, 129th according to QS World University Rankings, and 70th according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.