University life
Do you want to study or work at Ghent University, a top 100 university in one of the most beautiful cities in the world? Discover the vibrant pulse of Ghent University's campus life!
Ghent: offbeat city in the heart of Europe
Discover Ghent: a human-scale city with the heartbeat of a metropolis, a city of trailblazers and free spritis and an authentic place with a rich past and an exciting future.
Ghent is a vibrant city in the centre of Europe. Combining historical beauty with culture, creativity and an excellent restaurant and nightlife, Ghent is called Europe’s best kept secret by Lonely Planet and ranked as the third most authentic destination in the world according to National Geographic Traveler Magazine.
Ghent is Ghent University and vice versa: the city and the university are complementary partners. Ghent University regularly meets the city council for informative discussions between city, university and students, about hot topics such as environmental and waste disposal policies.
Learn more about what Ghent has to offer
Travel to Ghent
- How to get to Ghent
- Public transport in Belgium
- Video on how to travel from Brussels International Airport to Ghent
Housing facilities
Looking for a comfortable and high quality living unit to rent at a competitive price?
Accomodation for...
Restaurants
Ghent University has a wide range of student restaurants. Staff are also welcome. They are all situated in the vicinity of the faculties. Service and food are of a high quality, the prices are the lowest in town.
Sports Centre
Ghent University boasts a fully-equipped sports centre (called "GUSB"):
- 3 large and 2 small halls for indoor activities
- A 25-meter swimming pool
- An instruction pool
- 2 saunas
- ...
Special attention is devoted to sports for disabled students. The university also offers individual supporting services and counselling for students who are actively involved in top-class sports.
Bicycle rent and transport
The car-free city centre is tailor-made for the pedestrian and the cyclist.
With bus and tram you can reach any part of the city quickly and easily (even on weekend evenings) and taxis are also readily available.
Our university is not located on one campus, like many other universities. Most faculties have a building of their own.
Cost of living in Belgium
How much does life in Belgium cost?
Job service for students
Ghent University has a job database in order to help students find a suitable student job.
Everyday life and family
- Child care and international schools
- Pregnancy
- Intending on bringing your family with you? Read more about the family reunification procedure
- Banking
- Taxes and other payments requests
Discover all employee benefits
For Ghent University related administration, funding and fees, visit the pages for prospective students, current students, PhD or staff.
Culture and leisure
General introduction to Belgium
At Ghent University
- Visit our very own GUM (Ghent University Museum) and Botanical Garden
- Join one of our student associations
- Keep an eye out for news items and planned events, e.g. Welcome Days for international students and PhD candidates
- Co-operation and cultural platforms: the regional platforms bring together all relevant expertise at Ghent University concerning a certain region of focus. They offer support, facilities and advice to Ghent University community to expand existing or set up new forms of cooperation.
- Africa Platform
- East Asia Platform
- ASEANplus
- CESAM Platform (Central and South America)
- Eureast Platform
- Looking for a Ghent University souvenir? Find clothes and gifts in the University shop.
- Stay up to date on the latest news by following us on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn or YouTube
In the city of Ghent
Ghent is a multicultural city which is home to nationals from all over the world. If you know where to look, you will find a lot of people and organisations offering all these newcomers a taste of home.
Programmes
Curious to see if one of our programmes is the perfect fit for you? We offer master programmes, postgraduate studies and exchange programmes taught in English. Or maybe you're more interested in PhD studies or courses for Lifelong learning?