Information for International Students

Eligibility and Enrolment

Before submitting your application, please ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria. The access conditions for each programme are detailed in the training offer under the section “Access conditions”. This is essential for all applicants, including those concerned with ULB foreign students enrolment, international student registration ULB, and non-EU students enrolment ULB.

Equivalencies

An equivalence of your foreign secondary school diploma is always mandatory to apply for a bachelor's programme, whether your qualification is European or non-European. The equivalency process allows study programmes completed abroad to be recognised as equivalent to those completed at institutions within the French Community of Belgium.

Your application for equivalency must be submitted to the Equivalency Office of the Brussels-Wallonia Federation, and you should take care to respect the official ULB enrolment deadlines for international applicants. Missing the deadline will affect your ability to register.

All information on equivalency requirements.

Eligibility Requirements

EU Student

If you have a foreign degree, you can be eligible for a bachelor's programme:

• If you hold a foreign degree recognised by the equivalency office of the Brussels-Wallonia Federation, or a foreign degree
• If you hold a certificate recognised as equivalent to those mentioned above, pursuant to federal, community, or European regulations, or to an international convention:  the European Baccalaureate delivered by the Board of Governors of the European Schools;  the International Baccalaureate delivered by the International Baccalaureate Office of Geneva;  the baccalaureate delivered by the SHAPE school in Casteau.

Admission without a required degree
Students who do not meet the degree requirements must take the university's admission exam (in FR). 
 

Non-EU Student

Specific access requirements for bachelor-level programmes

Students from non-EU countries are subject to the criteria laid down by the admission board for the first year of bachelor's studies. If you are a student from a non-EU country, please make sure you meet the requirements before you submit your application to the first year of a bachelor-level programme, as administrative fees (€200) are non-refundable.

Read the admission requirements for bachelor-level programmes for non-EU students.
 

Admission without a required degree:
Students who do not meet the degree requirements must sit the university's admission exam. 

Access Conditions

The access conditions for each programme are outlined in the training offer under the section “Access conditions”. Applicants should review these carefully before starting the ULB foreign students enrolment process.

Foreign Diplomas

If you wish to apply for a master’s or specialised master’s at ULB and you have completed higher education studies abroad, the admissions jury will assess the comparability of your previous studies with the programme you intend to pursue. This evaluation forms part of the ULB eligibility for international master programmes.

If the jury recognises the value of your foreign higher education diploma for at least 180 credits, an equivalency will not be required for admission to the second cycle. However, equivalency remains necessary if you plan to apply for the aggregation. This distinction is particularly relevant for applicants concerned with ULB equivalency foreign diploma masters and ULB enrolment instructions for non-European students.

French proficiency for Master's with a focus on teaching or ‘agrégation’ programme

If you do not hold a degree delivered in the French Community of Belgium and wish to sit the entrance exam for a master's with a focus on teaching or the ‘agrégation’ programme, you must provide proof of French proficiency following the procedure laid down by the faculty's admission board.
Other master-level programmes are not subject to this requirement, which concerns only the master's with a focus on teaching and the ‘agrégation’ programme.

All information on the French proficiency exam for applicants to a master 's-level programme

Make sure your desired study programs are open for admission, and be aware of the deadlines to complete your application
Adhere to the submission deadlines

Gather the required documents
Some documents will be mandatory for your application.
Check the required documents

Candidates are requested to pay administrative fees. This payment is a precondition for the examination of the file.

All the information regarding the payment of those fees will be available on your application portal.

Please note: international transfer fees are at the applicant's expense.

As these administrative fees are not refundable in the event of refusal of admission or in the event that the applicant does not finalise their registration for the academic year in question, applicants are invited to check carefully whether they meet the access conditions of the studies envisaged.

If you are a non-European student but meet one of the assimilation criteria, you will be considered a European student, which could lead to a reduction in registration fees.

More information about assimilation

If you are from a non-EU country, you will need a visa to study in Belgium.

Visa procedure:

More information about the visa procedure.

Students from China who have completed part of their higher education in China and wish to pursue studies in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (WBF) must follow the APS procedure before they can obtain a student visa from the relevant Belgian authorities in China. More information