Ghent University

General information

• Location: Ghent, Belgium (Flanders). The university also has locations in and around Kortrijk, Bruges and Ostend, and a Global Campus in Songdo, South Korea.
• Founded: 1817
• Language of instruction: all bachelor's programmes you can enrol in at Ghent University are taught in Dutch. The exceptions are the Bachelor of Social Sciences, for which you apply to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and three four-year bachelor's programmes in bioscience engineering at the Global Campus in South Korea. English-taught programmes are mainly at master's level (69 master's programmes).
• Main fields: medicine and health sciences, law and criminology, psychology and educational sciences, economics and business, engineering and architecture, bioscience engineering, sciences, arts and philosophy, pharmaceutical sciences and veterinary medicine. The university has 11 faculties and more than 200 programmes. On 15 October 2025 it had 50,936 students.
• Length of a bachelor's degree: usually 3 years, 180 ECTS
• Fee for EU/EEA students: for 2026/27 the tuition fee is a fixed amount of 305.40 euros plus 14.60 euros per credit – 1,181.40 euros for a full year of 60 credits. The fee for 2027/28 has not been published yet.

Deadlines

With a foreign diploma you first submit an application for admission, and only then enrol. For applicants who do not need a visa, such as Bulgarian citizens:

• October – May – you start the online application. It is possible from 1 October of the year before you begin.
• Before 1 June – your complete application, including a verified diploma, must reach the university.
• Before 1 April – if you apply for a Dutch-taught programme but first need the Preparatory Year of Dutch at the University Centre for Language Education (UCT), the deadline is 1 April before the preparatory year.
• 3 August – 30 September – enrolment period once you have been admitted.
• Medicine and dentistry – registration for the Flemish entrance exam runs from 1 March to 17 May 2027.

Processing an application takes about three months on average.

Requirements when applying from Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Диплома за средно образование (academic stream) is on Ghent University's list of foreign diplomas that are considered equivalent to the Flemish secondary school diploma. You still have to go through the online application. There is no application fee; your diploma is verified through the Qualification Check service, and documents not in Dutch, French, German or English need a sworn translation.

Dutch: you cannot enrol without proof of Dutch, which must be submitted at the latest at enrolment. Most bachelor's programmes require B2; Applied Language Studies requires C1. Accepted proofs include ITNA B2, a B2 certificate from a Belgian or Dutch university language centre, CNaVT Educatief Startbekwaam, Staatsexamen NT2 Programma II, or passing the entrance exam for medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine.

Medicine and dentistry: you can start only if you pass the Flemish entrance exam (toelatingsexamen arts / tandarts) and are ranked favourably. In 2027 the exams take place on 2 July (medicine) and 3 July (dentistry). After the 2026 exams, 1,881 candidates were ranked favourably for medicine and 280 for dentistry across all Flemish universities.

Programmes – bachelor's

Medicine (Geneeskunde)

• Duration: bachelor's 3 years, 180 ECTS; the basic medical training takes six years in total
• Location: Ghent, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Start: in September
• Language: Dutch
• Fee: for 2026/27 – 1,181.40 euros a year for 60 credits

Entrance exam: compulsory. The first part tests your understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology; the second part tests generic competences important for a future doctor. Register from 1 March to 17 May 2027; exam on 2 July 2027. You must obtain your secondary school diploma by 30 September of the year in which you are ranked favourably.

Structure: the programme is organised in integrated blocks rather than classic subjects. About half of the first year is shared with dentistry.

Law (Rechten)

• Duration: 3 years, 180 ECTS; with the master's, the full law degree takes five years
• Location: Ghent, Faculty of Law and Criminology
• Start: in September
• Language: Dutch
• Fee: for 2026/27 – 1,181.40 euros a year for 60 credits

Requirements: a diploma giving access to university studies and Dutch at B2 level. There is no entrance exam.

Bioscience Engineering (Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen)

• Duration: 3 years, 180 ECTS; in the third year you choose a specialisation
• Location: Ghent, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
• Start: in September
• Language: Dutch
• Fee: for 2026/27 – 1,181.40 euros a year for 60 credits

Requirements: a diploma giving access to university studies and Dutch at B2 level. Before you can start, you must have taken part in a compulsory starting test (ijkingstoets). The university advises a strong background in mathematics.