UCLouvain in top 15% of universities worldwide

Press release : UCLouvain recognition

UCLouvain ranks 167th in the 2019 QS rankings (almost identical to 2018, 165th), and is the top-ranked francophone university in Belgium. KU Leuven ranks 80th. This shows once again that Belgian universities are exceptional in comparison with other countries and universities in the world, thanks to ample resources allocated to teaching and research.

What are the QS criteria for the 1,620 institutions it analyses?

• Academic reputation (worth 40%)
  Measured via an international survey to identify the most reliable and trustworthy institutions.
• Reputation on the job market (10%)
  Identifies the universities producing the best graduates, thus informing students how universities are considered by the job market.
• Student-faculty ratio (20%)
  Number of academic staff members in relation to the number of students.
  -> Here Belgian universities lose a lot of points, because the objective in Belgium is to make higher education accessible to all.
• Number of scientific citations (20%)
  Evaluates impact of research within universities.
• Attractiveness abroad (10%)
  Evaluates how a university is successful in attracting international students and professors.

UCLouvain stands out for the excellence of its research: this is where the university has made most of its progress and far exceeds the world average (98th out of 1,620 institutions). This is a recognition of the work and especially the discoveries of UCLouvain researchers. Another indicator that propels UCLouvain: its reputation and especially its international trustworthiness.

By field of study, UCLouvain ranks in the top 100 in human and social sciences as well as in computing sciences (second in Belgium); 125th in medicine; and 163rd in engineering sciences (second in Belgium).