Study in Belgium

The education system in Belgium is based on linguistics. There are three official communities speaking either Dutch, French or German. These communities each have separate governments and parliaments and as a result, the higher education system differs depending on where you are studying:

Flemish Community

This is also known as the Dutch-speaking Community. It is merged with one of the three Belgian federal regions – Flanders, situated in the North.

Higher education institutions here include:

• Universities – providing academic Bachelor programmes, which prepare students for continued learning, rather than a profession. Once complete, students will then take a Master programme, advanced Master programme or PhD programme.
• University colleges – offering vocational professional Bachelor programmes, as well as advanced Bachelor programmes, which are more specialist, profession-oriented courses.
• Registered institutes of higher education – accredited institutions that provide courses on specialist degree subjects.

French Community

This community is made up of French-speaking Belgians, its parliament and its government. The majority of its citizens live in Wallonia, one of the three federal regions.

Provision of higher education is split between university and non-university institutions:

• Universities – as in the Flemish Community, degrees gained from universities tend to be split into two ‘cycles’. The first lasts three years, after which a Bachelors degree is attained. The next step is a two-year Masters degree. The third cycle is only available for holders of a Masters degree, and leads to a Doctorate.
• Hautes Ecoles – similar to Flemish university colleges, these institutions combine practical and academic learning and often lead directly into professional work. They offer three-year and five-year courses covering subjects such as teaching, economics and translation.
• Ecoles Supérieures des Arts – these offer courses in artistic disciplines, which last for three or five years.

German-speaking Community

This community is made up of around 77,000 citizens, the majority of whom are German speakers. Some speak French. The majority of German speakers in Belgium tend to enrol in either French or Flemish institutions, or study in Germany.

In order to apply to study in Belgium at undergraduate level, you must hold a secondary school leaving certificate that is recognized by the relevant authorities, or an equivalence statement for that certificate. There are different authorities to contact for equivalence statements, depending on whether you’re applying to attend a university in the French Community, in the Flemish Community, or in the German-speaking Community.

Applications to study in Belgium are submitted individually to each university, and specific admissions requirements are set by each institution. In general, those wanting to study medicine/dentistry, arts, management and (only in the French Community) engineering sciences must take an entrance exam. You may also need to take an exam to prove your proficiency in French or Dutch. You’ll also need to pay your tuition fees before you can be fully enrolled.

Foreign students (from outside of the European Union) who wish to study in Belgium must in principle file a student visa application with the Belgian the country of origin. Information may be obtained from the said representation or from the Foreigners Office in Belgium.

New procedure for students from the P.R. China

From the academic year 2007-2008 onwards all students from the P.R. China will have to obtain a certificate of academic screening issued by the Academic Evaluation Centre(APS) at the German Embassy in Beijing before being allowed to enroll at any higher education institution, language course or other preparatory course in the French-speaking Community of Belgium. The APS certificate is also required for obtaining a student visa to Belgium. Students planning to study in the French-speaking Community of Belgium in 2007-2008 are advised to contact the Academic Evaluation Centre in Beijing, e-mail: info@phoenixsolution.org as soon as possible in order to make the necessary appointments and this before applying for a visa at the Belgian Embassy.

Students from a European Union Member State must carry a national identity card in order to come to Belgium. Within eight days following their arrival in Belgium, students (including those from the European Union) must register with the local  administration of their place of residence in Belgium.

Degrees

1st CYCLE

Foreign students wishing to register for an initial cycle of higher education in an Institute of Higher Education or College of the Arts or for one of the years of the  1st cycle of studies organised by the Universities or Higher Institutes of Architecture must obtain a certificate of equivalence for their secondary education qualifications versus the corresponding qualifications issued in the French Community of Belgium.

For certain areas of studies, foreign students must, in the same way as Belgian students, pass an entrance examination  (art college, engineering sciences) or an examination on completion of their first year of studies (medicine and dentistry studies). Furthermore, access to certain 1st cycle programmes of study is subject to quotas for foreign students not resident in Belgium.

2nd AND 3rd CYCLES

Students who hold a foreign higher degree and who wish to sign up for a master must file a request with the establishment in which they want to register. They will eventually valorise credits acquired after the first cycle abroad and so reduce the duration of their master programme.

Students who hold a foreign degree and who wish to sign up at a university for an advanced master or postgraduate studies (doctorate) must either obtain a valuation for their degree of at least 300 credits from the university panel or full equivalence of their degree with a master or advanced master from the Ministry of the French Community.

Belgium uses the Euro (€) for its currency and enjoys a high standard of living. Belgium isn’t an expensive place to live, making it a great place to study abroad for the cost-conscious student. In Brussels, there are also many discounts available for students, and elsewhere in Belgium there are opportunities for international students to save money with offers on many recreational activities.

Belgium has basic tuition fees that are standard across the country. Whilst they fluctuate each year, you should expect to pay around 900 euros for one year of studies in Belgium. In addition to these basic tuition fees, students from outside the EU will be required to pay additional fees of between 2,000 euros and 4,000 euros.

Scholarships are available for studying in Belgium, although they are not always that easy to find. You’ll have to be prepared to look long and hard for suitable scholarships for studying abroad in Belgium, looking at study abroad scholarships with no specified destinations, which are generally competed for more.

If you choose to study in Belgium, you’ll be allowed to work part-time in order to earn some extra money whilst you study. If you’re an international student, you may need to gain a work permit, so it is worthwhile checking with your embassy once you arrive in Belgium on your study abroad experience.

Most courses in Belgium are taught in French, although there are an increasing amount of internationally aimed courses that allow you to study in Belgium in English. If you’re applying for a course that is taught in French, you’ll have to hold excellent French language skills. You’ll quite often have to pass a French proficiency test in order to be offered a place on the course.

If you choose to study in Belgium in English, you’ll have to provide proof that you hold appropriate English language skills by showing the results of an accepted English Language test. You typically need a score of at least 6.0 IELTS or TOEFL 550 (Paper Based), 213 (Computer Based) in order to study in Belgium in English.

1. Gent University
2. Catholic University of Leuven
3. Catholic University of Louvain
4. Université Libre Bruxelles
5. University of Antwerp
6. University of Liege
7. Vrije University Brussel

Area: 30,528 km²
Inhabitants: 11,239,755
Capital:  Brussels (1,138,854 inhabitants)
Official language: Dutch, French, and German

There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium.

Belgians consume in average 150 liters of beer per person per year.

The world’s first beer academy opened in Herk-de-Stad, in the Belgian province of Limburg, in 1999.

Jean Neuhaus invented the pralines chocolate in Brussels in 1912.

Belgium produces 220,000 tonnes of chocolate per year. This amounts to 22 kg of chocolate per inhabitant annually, i.e. 61 grammes per day in average.

The world’s biggest chocolate selling point is Brussels National Airport.

Belgians claim to have invented chips (French fries), and indeed about all towns and villages have their own friterie/frituur(chips seller).

There are 3 main sorts of Belgian waffles : Liege waffles (the most common), Brussels waffles (bigger, lighter, rectangular, and eaten with toppings such as strawberries or ice cream), and galettes (thinner, softer, and typically eaten for breakfast, sometimes with jam – nothing to do with French galettes from Little Brittany, which are a kind of pancake).

Belgium is renowned for its bakeries. Local specialities include cramique (bread cooked with egg yolks and raisins),cougnou (a speciality from Wallonia eaten mostly in winter), gozettes (turnovers) and tarts. The most typical tarts are cherry tart, plum tart, apple tart, sugar tart, and especially rice tart (originally from Verviers, near Liege).

Belgium has one of the lowest proportion of McDonald’s restaurants per inhabitant in the developed world, with only 0.062 per 10,000 people, or 7x less than the USA, 4x less than Japan, and twice less than France or Germany.

The Foire de Libramont is the largest agricultural, forestry and agri-food fair in Europe.