Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels

There are two 'Free Universities' in the town: the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). They are legally independent, but maintain good contacts between each other. The ULB was set up in 1834. Its name is related to the academic freedom and autonomy from domination by both state and church. Like many institutions in this bilingual country, the ULB, which is generally French-speaking, has been divided into a French-speaking and a Dutch-speaking departments.

The university’s philosophy is very liberal, based on the principles of free thinking, rationality and humanism. ULB has about 18,000 students from Belgium and other European countries. Although fees for registration in the Belgian universities are low in comparison to most countries, ULB have been always striving to keep the costs of studies as small as possible. It also tries to provide extensive social and financial support, especially for students from the poorest backgrounds so that they can graduate without discrimination. In addition, ULB offers numerous postgraduates in English.

The ULB has many renowned graduates, such as Jules Bordet, Nobel Prize laureate for Medicine (1919) and Ilya Prigogine, who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1977). The latter was one of the founders of the "Brussels School", has gained global recognition for the discovery of dissipative systems.