Belgium: Overview of support for refugees at university

Accessing studies and acquiring formal qualifications is an important aspect of migrant integration. While Belgium does not have a systematic strategy for facilitating this, several universities have developed their own support programmes, particularly in response to the great influx of refugees from Ukraine since 2022. Several initiatives have been expanded across the country to accommodate these and other refugee students, and this article examines those at Belgian universities.

Project Goal

Access to higher education in Belgium is handled directly by each institution, so admissions processes can vary according to the principles of each institution as well as the relevant region of residence. An admission jury reviews documents proving language level as well as previous school or academic curricula on an individual basis. Taking into consideration those with refugee status and the specific difficulties they may face when deciding to resume an academic course or choose a new professional path, a number of universities devised plans to facilitate access for this target group.

How it works

ULB

The Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) offers a programme called Welcome Desk For Refugees to help students with administrative questions, French courses, counselling, and other questions concerning housing and everyday life. The welcome desk provides guidance with different stages, from the application process to settling down in Brussels. It also offers a free course in French as a second language.

People can take part in this programme if they’re an asylum seeker or have refugee status in Belgium. It is important to highlight that participation in this programme does not mean that students will automatically be able to enroll in a formal university programme as a result: the goal of the welcome desk is to better prepare their applications and make them stronger candidates.

UC Louvain

The Catholic University of Louvain has a programme called “Access2university”. This initiative aims to prepare applicants with refugee status who have little or no French knowledge to join higher education at the university. The main focus is to develop French language skills through different activities and classes.

People with refugee status or candidates for asylum can apply for this programme. The student should provide previous educational documents such as diplomas, transcripts of records, identification, and CVs, but if it is not possible to provide any of these there is the possibility of providing an explanation and other forms of proof. The programme does not guarantee students’ admission to the university's higher education programmes.

Université de Liège

The University of Liège has been adopting several new practices to host and integrate refugee students. Those with refugee status or asylum seekers can benefit from financial support and access to some classes without enrolling as a full student, as well as from access to the library, university restaurant, activities on campus, and language classes.

There are also French courses free of charge for those who want to achieve a B2 Level in the language in order to join higher educational courses.

Université de Mons

This university has been offering French courses since 2015, in partnership with Centre de Langues Vivantes de l’UMONS and Ecoles de promotion sociale de Mons – Borinage et de Jemappes. Alongside language courses, they offer different social and cultural activities such as conversation events. Their language course offers 240 hours of classes per semester.

In addition, the university also offers diverse integration practices, such as preparatory courses, free access to some classes while not officially enrolled, help with administrative procedures such as diploma equivalence and admissions exams, and for doctoral studies, one scholarship could be provided for a refugee student.

VUB

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) runs the InCampus Programme, created to facilitate access to higher education for refugees. Through professional supervision, it aims to assist these students with academic and administrative procedures so that they can apply for formal VUB courses.

The programme offers personalised, continuous support for the students, taking into consideration each situation individually. There are follow-up meetings with students to check that their questions have been answered, and even a psychological team to answer their concerns.

To access this programme a student must have B1-level proficiency in English, and refugee status.

KU Leuven

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) centralises all relevant information on a dedicated webpage. The website - available in English – directs visitors towards all useful documents and services: study advice, costs, admissions procedures, student housing, dedicated scholarships and research positions. They also display diverse initiatives taking place on campus, directed towards making foreign students feel at home. These include, for example, the Interculturality Contact Point, buddy projects, and the intercultural meeting centre.

Who benefits

With these programmes, universities are hoping to offer more opportunities to people with refugee status, whether they have already undertaken studies in their home countries or would like to build an entirely new career in Belgium. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) alone - which is Belgium’s smallest Dutch language university - reported that 700 applications have so far been made by people with refugee status.