Belgium(Louvain,Ghent etc.) Vs. Netherlands(Nijmegen,Amsterdam etc.)


Eno27

Good Morning.
I am a Spanish student and I would like to apply for a LLM in Belgium or The Netherlands. I have seen several rankings about the best Universities in these countries, but their positions change a lot, and I dont know if it is sure.
So, my proposals are the next:
University Ghent BE
University Louvain BE
Universite Libre Bruxelles BE
University Amsterdam NE
University Nijmegen NE

Pd: Personally, the programme of Nijmegen University and Louvain University are the most appealing for me.

So, Is Nijmegen University a well-known Institucion? Does it have international reputation? Which is the main difference between Katholieke Universitat of Leuven and Universite Catholique of Louvain? Any other recommendations?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR THE ANSWERS.

Good Morning.
I am a Spanish student and I would like to apply for a LLM in Belgium or The Netherlands. I have seen several rankings about the best Universities in these countries, but their positions change a lot, and I dont know if it is sure.
So, my proposals are the next:
University Ghent BE
University Louvain BE
Universite Libre Bruxelles BE
University Amsterdam NE
University Nijmegen NE

Pd: Personally, the programme of Nijmegen University and Louvain University are the most appealing for me.

So, Is Nijmegen University a well-known Institucion? Does it have international reputation? Which is the main difference between Katholieke Universitat of Leuven and Universite Catholique of Louvain? Any other recommendations?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR THE ANSWERS.
quote

Louvain is a great university in general and the oldest one in Belgium, however, Ghent`s Law school is considered to be the strongest from academic standpoint. In addition, It was higher ranked during the last evaluation. Brussels is weaker from both academic and fame points.
Dutch universities are more popular in the world but more expensive. From academic point of view I don`t think they are much better then the Belgian ones.
Summary: If you have extra money choose Amsterdam. If you need guaranteed knowledge for reasonable cash your choice should be Ghent.
Katholieke Universitat of Leuven and Universite Catholique of Louvain are the Dutch and the French speaking parts of the University. You should choose the Dutch one.

Louvain is a great university in general and the oldest one in Belgium, however, Ghent`s Law school is considered to be the strongest from academic standpoint. In addition, It was higher ranked during the last evaluation. Brussels is weaker from both academic and fame points.
Dutch universities are more popular in the world but more expensive. From academic point of view I don`t think they are much better then the Belgian ones.
Summary: If you have extra money choose Amsterdam. If you need guaranteed knowledge for reasonable cash your choice should be Ghent.
Katholieke Universitat of Leuven and Universite Catholique of Louvain are the Dutch and the French speaking parts of the University. You should choose the Dutch one.
quote
Eno27

Thank you for your reply!! You are very kind.
To be honest, I am not sure if choose Universite Catholique Louvain (French speaking University), Ghent University, or Nijmegen University (Dutch University).
Ghent University LLM costs 4.300 Euro, and the program is very appealing and interesting
Nijmegen University LLM costs 1.700 Euro, but the program is too much related to Human rights and Migration.
UCL French University,LLM costs 950 Euro, but the whole program(very interesting) is in French and I am better at English.
ULB (Brussels) LLM costs 1.000 Euro, but I am not sure if it is well ranked in the lastest ranking and the city is very expensive.
I am not into in Amsterdam , really. THANK YOU.
So, any conclusion?

Thank you for your reply!! You are very kind.
To be honest, I am not sure if choose Universite Catholique Louvain (French speaking University), Ghent University, or Nijmegen University (Dutch University).
Ghent University LLM costs 4.300 Euro, and the program is very appealing and interesting
Nijmegen University LLM costs 1.700 Euro, but the program is too much related to Human rights and Migration.
UCL French University,LLM costs 950 Euro, but the whole program(very interesting) is in French and I am better at English.
ULB (Brussels) LLM costs 1.000 Euro, but I am not sure if it is well ranked in the lastest ranking and the city is very expensive.
I am not into in Amsterdam , really. THANK YOU.
So, any conclusion?
quote
Lux

I'm not very familiar with the universities in the Netherlands, but as far as Belgium goes: Leuven and Gent are both good universities. One year Gent may be ranked higher, another year it will be Leuven, but in fact they are quite similar reputation-wise. Louvain-la-neuve is probably the best option if you prefer a french speaking university, though I think the dutch speaking K.U.Leuven is slightly better. ULB clearly has a lesser reputation.


I'm not very familiar with the universities in the Netherlands, but as far as Belgium goes: Leuven and Gent are both good universities. One year Gent may be ranked higher, another year it will be Leuven, but in fact they are quite similar reputation-wise. Louvain-la-neuve is probably the best option if you prefer a french speaking university, though I think the dutch speaking K.U.Leuven is slightly better. ULB clearly has a lesser reputation.
quote

As it was said, I don`t recommend Brussels and French Leuven whereas they have a lack of fame beyond Belgium.
If you choose Belgium Ghent or dutch Leuven should be your choice.
p.s. I don`t know much about the dutch university.

As it was said, I don`t recommend Brussels and French Leuven whereas they have a lack of fame beyond Belgium.
If you choose Belgium Ghent or dutch Leuven should be your choice.
p.s. I don`t know much about the dutch university.
quote
phiphil

I don't think there are big differences between all those belgian universities... look for what is most known in Spain ! Nijmegen doesn't have the same prestige in my view.

As a graduate from the french-speaking Louvain, I can say that the level of instruction is very high and surely as good as Leuven or Gent (especially for european law), having friends there too. It can also be a plus for you to speak fluent French... but Leuven and Gent are probably nicer student cities to live in. ULB has a very good program in european law and Brussels is not that expensive to live in (housing in the Netherlands is much more expensive for example) !

Did you look at the program of the College of Europe in Bruges ?

All the best!

I don't think there are big differences between all those belgian universities... look for what is most known in Spain ! Nijmegen doesn't have the same prestige in my view.

As a graduate from the french-speaking Louvain, I can say that the level of instruction is very high and surely as good as Leuven or Gent (especially for european law), having friends there too. It can also be a plus for you to speak fluent French... but Leuven and Gent are probably nicer student cities to live in. ULB has a very good program in european law and Brussels is not that expensive to live in (housing in the Netherlands is much more expensive for example) !

Did you look at the program of the College of Europe in Bruges ?

All the best!
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Eno27

Thank you.
Yes, it is said that College of Brugge is one of the best Law Schools in the world, but it is too expensive for me and there is no high scholarships in my country to apply for it.
I would like to be fluent both French and English, so I will make the most for ULB because the program is bilingual, because anyway all Belgium's Universities have more or less the same quality of education.
(In my opinion)

Thank you.
Yes, it is said that College of Brugge is one of the best Law Schools in the world, but it is too expensive for me and there is no high scholarships in my country to apply for it.
I would like to be fluent both French and English, so I will make the most for ULB because the program is bilingual, because anyway all Belgium's Universities have more or less the same quality of education.
(In my opinion)
quote

I'm currently doing my masters' at Radboud University Nijmegen. I'm very happy that I've decided for it and I'm enjoying my stay here very much.
I can say that the programme in European Law is very good one. First you get a general knowlegle of EU law, because three courses are compulsory for everyone following the programme. But then you can choose one of three tracks for further specialization - European Law Advanced, Human Rights and Migration Law and European Business Law (I'm doing business one). So you see, it is not focused only on human rights.
I like the programme because we are only 24 students and all professors know us by names. It's really a relaxed atmosphere! We often work in groups, there are a lot of assignmets to do and not so much theory to study.
When applying for my masters I found it a great advantage here in Nijmegen that the University arranged almost everything for me. They found accomodation for me and they also help you with getting the visa and residence permit if you need one.
About the University I can say that it is very good one. All facilities are on the campus (libraries, book shop, sports center - a great one!, restaurants, cafes..). And Nijmegen is a reall student city. So you will definitelly not be bored here.

I'm currently doing my masters' at Radboud University Nijmegen. I'm very happy that I've decided for it and I'm enjoying my stay here very much.
I can say that the programme in European Law is very good one. First you get a general knowlegle of EU law, because three courses are compulsory for everyone following the programme. But then you can choose one of three tracks for further specialization - European Law Advanced, Human Rights and Migration Law and European Business Law (I'm doing business one). So you see, it is not focused only on human rights.
I like the programme because we are only 24 students and all professors know us by names. It's really a relaxed atmosphere! We often work in groups, there are a lot of assignmets to do and not so much theory to study.
When applying for my masters I found it a great advantage here in Nijmegen that the University arranged almost everything for me. They found accomodation for me and they also help you with getting the visa and residence permit if you need one.
About the University I can say that it is very good one. All facilities are on the campus (libraries, book shop, sports center - a great one!, restaurants, cafes..). And Nijmegen is a reall student city. So you will definitelly not be bored here.
quote

quote

I agree with the comments above that in Belgium you should choose Dutch-speaking Leuven (KU Leuven) or Ghent University. Those are the best national universities and their LLM programs have the best (international) standing. French-speaking Leuven/Louvain (UCL) is also not located in historical Leuven itself (it is a campus-town to the South of Brussels), so that's a different experience.
KU Leuven and Ghent have better reputation than most Dutch universities which you mention (only Leiden, Utrecht and UvAmsterdam are comparable). If you need to choose between both, Ghent is a bigger city but KU Leuven is the more renowned law school (bigger and older faculty, post above refers to the Shanghai World Universities Ranking which is dominated by exact sciences, in the field of law KU Leuven is clearly higher ranked according to the World Universities Ranking - LAW (TimesHE).

I agree with the comments above that in Belgium you should choose Dutch-speaking Leuven (KU Leuven) or Ghent University. Those are the best national universities and their LLM programs have the best (international) standing. French-speaking Leuven/Louvain (UCL) is also not located in historical Leuven itself (it is a campus-town to the South of Brussels), so that's a different experience.<br>KU Leuven and Ghent have better reputation than most Dutch universities which you mention (only Leiden, Utrecht and UvAmsterdam are comparable). If you need to choose between both, Ghent is a bigger city but KU Leuven is the more renowned law school (bigger and older faculty, post above refers to the Shanghai World Universities Ranking which is dominated by exact sciences, in the field of law KU Leuven is clearly higher ranked according to the World Universities Ranking - LAW (TimesHE).
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ElsD

The Law Faculty of KU Leuven is ranked 25th in THE 2021 international, Gent is at 76th in the same ranking. Leuven is 20 minutes from Brussels, Belgian and EU capital.

The Law Faculty of KU Leuven is ranked 25th in THE 2021 international, Gent is at 76th in the same ranking. Leuven is 20 minutes from Brussels, Belgian and EU capital.
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