History
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) originated from the French speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), that was founded in 1834 by a Brussels’ lawyer with Flemish roots, Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen. It was his intention to create a university independent of church and state at which academic freedom would roam.
Education
For more than 180 years VUB has helped build a better society as an innovative, free inquiring and critical thinking university. We are linked to the world from within our international capital Brussels. A never-ending quest for knowledge, insights and enlightenment form the golden thread in all we do in education, research and social commitment.
Learn more about our English-taught programmes during the online info sessions: www.vub.be/en/online-info-sessions
Research
- At the VUB, we want to focus on research that is both excellent and has a broad societal relevance. There are many societal challenges faced by Belgium, Europe and the rest of the world. Universities can play a significant role in searching for solutions, helping make policy decisions,…
- Much of this research requires an interdisciplinary approach. The great challenge here is not only bringing experts from different disciplines together, but also understanding one another’s language.
University Ranking
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
201
2024
201
2023
201
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
278 -19
2024
259 -8
2023
251
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
301
2023
301
2022
301
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
306 -14
2023
292
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Housing services
The VUB has 1540 rooms including 1452 single rooms, 35 double flats, 12 studios and 6 rooms for wheelchair users. These student rooms are located on and around the Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Etterbeek) and the Brussels Health Campus (Jette).
Library services
The VUB University Library offers an extensive collection of newspapers, books and periodicals, in both paper and electronic format. At CAVA, the Centre for Academic and Secular Humanist Archives, you will find the heritage and archives of the liberal humanist community and of VUB.
ICT services
As a new student, you must create a network identity (NetID) and a VUB email address. These enable you to access the computers and the wifi on the campus and the various VUB applications.
Medical services
UZ Brussel is a hospital which has its values focusing on one single objective: to provide patients with the best possible care. Because your care is our care.
The hospital is part of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is thus a university hospital. This means that it also has a teaching mission and conducts scientific research.
Campus life
The faculties, services and departments of Vrije Universiteit Brussel are located on several campuses in the Brussels Capital Region: Etterbeek, Jette and Anderlecht. We also have campuses in Gooik, Leuven and Diest.
Sports facilities
Moving is fun and healthy, but it can also reduce study related stress and improve your concentration. Enjoy the various sports the VUB offers, ranging from mere fun to competition!
Student clubs
Being a student is sometimes a bit of partying. The VUB has a rich tradition of student folklore with St-Vé, the Humanistic Singing Festival, Baptism and all kinds of ludic rituals. In addition, you can just go to the legendary TD's, the numerous nice Brussels cafés or dive into some cool Brussels scenes.
Accreditation
All degree programmes offered by VUB are accredited by the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO), ensuring that they meet the highest predefined quality standards. Alongside this official quality control system, VUB has an internal Quality Control Commission in charge of permanently monitoring the quality of education.