Studying at university in Belgium

Two communities, two systems

Belgium is a federal country, and education belongs to its language communities. The Flemish Community runs universities and university colleges (hogescholen) in Flanders and Dutch-speaking institutions in Brussels. The French Community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) runs universities, hautes écoles and art schools in Wallonia and French-speaking institutions in Brussels. A small German-speaking Community has its own college.

In both systems, a bachelor's degree is usually 180 ECTS credits over three years, followed by a one- or two-year master's. Universities offer academic bachelor's degrees; university colleges and hautes écoles offer professional bachelor's degrees and some academic programs in partnership. Grades are given out of 20, with 10 as the pass mark.

Belgium has an open-access tradition: for most programs, anyone with a qualifying diploma is admitted. The real selection happens in first year, when exam results decide who progresses. The exceptions are medicine and dentistry, which use entrance exams in both communities, and civil engineering in the French Community.

Applying in Flanders

In Flanders, you apply directly to the institution, usually through its online portal. The university checks whether your diploma gives access to higher education. For non-EU applicants, institutions set their own deadlines, often in early spring, to leave time for the visa, while EU applicants can usually apply until summer.

Flemish institutions assess Canadian and US diplomas themselves and may ask for extra evidence, such as AP exams, SAT or ACT scores, or proof that you could enter a comparable program in your own country. For medicine and dentistry, every applicant must pass the entrance exam organized by the Flemish government, which is held in Dutch.

Study in Flanders, the official portal, lists English-taught programs and links to each institution's admission pages.

Because each institution runs its own process, applying to two Flemish universities means filling in two separate applications, each with its own document checklist and, sometimes, its own application fee. Keep a simple table of deadlines, documents and fees for each one, and check it weekly during your final year of high school.

Applying in the French Community

French-speaking institutions follow rules set by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Applicants with a diploma from outside the EU usually need an equivalence decision from the Federation's equivalence service, which confirms the diploma is comparable to the Belgian secondary school certificate (CESS). Because a North American diploma is not automatically treated as equivalent, the service may grant a restricted equivalence or ask for additional proof.

French Community institutions also set an earlier application deadline for applicants who need a visa, commonly in spring for a September start. Check the 2027 date with the institution and the equivalence service; missing either step can delay your start by a year.

• Medicine and dentistry: an entrance exam is required, held in French.
• Civil engineering: a specific admission exam in mathematics is required for the bachelor of engineering (ingénieur civil).
• Language: applicants without French-medium schooling must usually pass a French test set by the institution.

First year, progress rules and the language divide

Because entry is open in most programs, the first year works as the selection stage. In Flanders, every student has a learning account (leerkrediet) of credits; you use credits when you register for courses and win them back when you pass, so repeated failures reduce your future options. In the French Community, rules on how many first-year credits you must complete to progress are set by decree and have changed several times recently. Ask your faculty for the current rules in your first week.

The language divide shapes campus life. The university town of Leuven (Dutch-speaking KU Leuven) and Louvain-la-Neuve (French-speaking UCLouvain) were once a single university that split in 1968. In Brussels, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel teaches in Dutch and the Université libre de Bruxelles in French, though both run English-taught programs. Picking a university therefore also means picking a language for your daily study.

Costs and funding

Annual registration fees for EU students are modest and set by each community. Non-EU students may pay higher fees, which depend on the community, the institution and the student's nationality and residence; in the French Community, some institutions charge a set higher amount to non-EU students outside exemption categories. Always check the fees page of your institution for the 2027-28 year rather than relying on figures from a previous year.

Living costs in Brussels are higher than in Ghent, Leuven, Liège or Louvain-la-Neuve, but generally lower than in Amsterdam or Paris. Scholarships for international bachelor's students are scarce; most mobility and development scholarships target master's study.

When you compare budgets, include the cost of the equivalence application, translations, the visa, health insurance and a deposit for a student room. These one-time costs arrive in the months before you leave, often before any scholarship or loan is paid out, so plan for them separately from your monthly living costs.

Language of instruction

Most bachelor's programs are taught in Dutch (Flanders) or French (French Community). English-taught bachelor's programs exist but are fewer than in the Netherlands, and English is much more common at master's level. Dutch-taught programs typically require proof of Dutch at B2 level, and French-taught programs require proof of French. North American students from French immersion or francophone schools may already meet the French requirement.

Our guide to learning French suggests a practical routine if you are building your level.

Visa and residence

Non-EU students staying more than 90 days apply for a long-stay (type D) visa for study at the Belgian embassy or consulate before travelling. You will need proof of enrolment or admission, proof of sufficient means (for example a sponsor or a blocked account), a medical certificate and, in many cases, a criminal record certificate. After arrival, you register with the town hall in your place of residence.

Read the current requirements on the Immigration Office website and your Belgian consulate's page. This guide is not immigration advice.

Practical tips

1. Choose the language community first, since it decides the rules, deadlines and teaching language.
2. For French-speaking institutions, start the equivalence application as soon as your final transcripts allow.
3. Note the early non-EU deadline at each institution.
4. If you want medicine, dentistry or civil engineering, register for the entrance exam and practise with past papers.
5. Plan for a demanding first year: open access means exams decide who continues.

For the habits that matter in that first year, see the study skills for university flashcards and high school to university. Compare Belgium with the Netherlands and France on the universities hub.