In 1852, two commercial institutes were founded in Antwerp: the Rijkshandelshogeschool (the State School of Economics) and the Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool (the Sint Ignatius School of Economics). Initially geared to business and commerce, they helped to make Antwerp a world centre for commerce and culture.
Excellent academic education is closely connected with scientific research. Students acquire knowledge about research results during lectures, through course materials and/or digital media. They gain a better insight by discussing research findings with each other and by writing papers about them. They become proficient in different research methods and also learn to conduct their own research.
The education we provide emphasises the development of competences. In addition to knowledge and insight, these competences will also include particular skills and attitudes. Thanks to competence-oriented education, our academic graduates are able to function successfully in professional environments.
The University of Antwerp, as a true research university, strives to excel in as many research areas as possible. This is why the University Board decided in 2010 to define nine frontline research domains and three emerging frontline research domains in which the University of Antwerp is recognized world leader. Key to the Board's eventual selection was long-term research excellence. As a result, the 12 selected domains are all areas in which the University of Antwerp has a strong tradition of producing cutting-edge research that is considered internationally excellent, in terms of quality, output as well as relevance.
With more than 5000 employees, the University of Antwerp is one of the largest employers in the province of Antwerp. Every day, our employees' efforts ensure that innovative education is provided to more than 20,000 students, that groundbreaking fundamental and applied research is conducted and that the university is able to play its important role as a service provider in society.The University of Antwerp employs people with very wide-ranging profiles and educational backgrounds. 3,700 academic and scientific personnel work in the most diverse disciplines. In addition to this 1,200 employees work in administration, logistics, ICT, technology, infrastructure, communication, management and policy.
The Education Board is the highest advisory body at the University of Antwerp. The Board has three main objectives:
You can explore accommodation options via Kotweb. Kotweb offers the largest range of student accommodation in Antwerp and is moreover the reference for top quality student accommodation.
The University of Antwerp library has a collection of first-rate specialist literature for every field of knowledge. Each campus has its own library, specialising in a specific field of study.
When you come to work in Belgium, you are obliged to join a Belgian health insurance scheme or the HZIV. Contact a health insurance provider or the HZIV as soon as possible after your arrival in Belgium. After registering, you will receive a identification number (national registration number) and identification stickers.
Antwerpen Studentenstad (Antwerp, city for students) works hard for a student-friendly city: sufficient and high-quality housing, a clean and safe student district, cheap rental bikes, cultural offers to great advantage, cheap and safe party areas, clear policies with respect to mounting posters and ragging, and much more.
Sport activities at the University of Antwerp are open for all UAntwerp-students and where possible for UAntwerp-staff, UAntwerp-alumni and college students of the Antwerp University and Colleges Association.
Antwerp has a very broad system of student associations. Nearly every faculty has at least one association, most of the time even one for each subject/discipline. The associations organize several activities throughout the year ("cantus", parties, grand ball and cultural excursions). Students are not obliged to join a students' association, but it is an easy and pleasant way to get to know lots of new people and to speed up the integration process. The leadership (the "praesidium") or the members can also give you some information on student life in Antwerp and about different courses.
There is a (compulsory) educational review that is carried out by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR). These external reviews are organised for all programmes in Flanders and result in accreditation from the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). All study programmes at the University of Antwerp received accredidation from NVAO.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 2 places compared to 2026
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 213 | 204 | 206 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Climbed 3 places compared to 2026
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 267 | 280 | 277 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 168 | 170 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
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.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | 301 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 66 reviews
Good university. Good classes and professors. Nice opportunity to choose classes you want to do extra. Could be a bit more practically oriented, especially in the masters degree. Also not too big of a university so questions ect are responded to relatively fast.
University of Antwerp is one of the top universities in the world and I could see that practically it is well known in quality of education, I like the classes, the competence of the professors and the campus life as well. I would recommend for these who are looking for high quality education to further their studies and carrer.
My overall experience was quite neutral. It's a stressful environment.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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