MBBS in University of Antwerp Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

The Faculty and What Makes It Different

The University of Antwerp is one of Belgium's younger universities on paper. It was formed in 2003 through the merger of three older Antwerp institutions: RUCA, UFSIA, and UIA. However, those institutions' academic roots date back to 1852. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences sits at Campus Drie Eiken in Wilrijk, just south of Antwerp's city centre. Right beside it is the faculty's own teaching hospital, Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen (UZA).

So, what actually sets this faculty apart from Belgium's older medical schools in Leuven and Ghent? It's less about age and more about focus and scale. For example, Antwerp has built a strong research identity around infectious diseases, vaccinology, and global health. This is helped in no small part by its neighbour, the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITG), one of the most respected tropical-medicine institutes in the world, just a short walk from the university's city campus.

Here's a detail worth flagging first. Teaching at the Bachelor's level is conducted almost entirely in Dutch. Several study-abroad and agent pages describe the faculty as broadly "English-friendly." But that's only true for a handful of Master 's-level programmes, not for the six-year Bachelor–Master Medicine track that most prospective MD students actually ask about.

The Campus and Its Setting

Campus Drie Eiken sits in the green, low-rise suburb of Wilrijk. It's roughly a 20–25 minute tram ride from Antwerp Centraal. The campus is purpose-built for health sciences, with anatomy and lab buildings, a library, and nearby student housing. Because it sits directly alongside UZA, preclinical and clinical teaching take place within walking distance of each other, rather than across the city.

Antwerp itself is Belgium's second-largest city and its main port. That makes it a very different setting from a quiet rural campus: dense, international, and well connected by train to Brussels, Ghent, and the Netherlands. Some agent listings describe Drie Eiken as "a self-contained medical village." In practice, though, it's a mid-sized campus embedded in a larger, walkable university city. So, students who want strong in-city amenities alongside their studies tend to be a good fit here.

Course Structure and Duration

Medicine at Antwerp follows Belgium's standard structure: a 3-year Bachelor of Medicine, followed by a 3-year Master of Medicine. That's six years in total, taught in Dutch. Unlike the Indian MBBS model, there isn't a single compulsory "internship year" at the end. Instead, after the Master's degree, Belgian graduates enter a separate, regulated postgraduate specialisation track. This takes roughly 3 years in general practice and typically 3 to 7 years in hospital specialities, depending on the field. In short, this is a structurally different pathway from a one-year rotating internship, so it's worth understanding clearly rather than assuming it maps onto MBBS.

The Entrance Exam and the Quota

Entry into Medicine and Dentistry, anywhere in Flanders, requires passing the centralised Flemish entrance examination: the toelatingsproef Arts en Tandarts. AHOVOKS administers this exam, and it applies to all applicants, Belgian, EU, or non-EU, regardless of prior school grades. It's held before enrolment, and is usually offered more than once a year.

In addition to the exam, a Flemish government decree caps the annual first-year intake. A separate, considerably smaller subquota is reserved for students holding a non-EEA secondary diploma. For the 2026–2027 academic year, the government raised the overall intake cap by 180 seats, to 1,878 for Medicine and 277 for Dentistry across Flanders, to address a doctor shortage. This shows just how much these numbers can move year to year. Therefore, the exact quota for non-EEA students should be verified directly with the faculty or AHOVOKS, rather than relying on the figure on the agent’s page.

What It Actually Costs

Here are the official 2026–2027 rates. EU/EEA students pay Flanders' standardised annual fee of EUR 1,181.40 for a full 60-credit Bachelor or Master year. The Flemish government sets this rate, so it's identical across all Flemish universities, including Antwerp, KU Leuven, Ghent, and VUB.

Non-EEA students, however, pay a materially higher institutional rate: EUR 4,300 per year for the Bachelor's and EUR 7,800 per year for the Master's over the full six-year MD track, totalling roughly EUR 36,300 in tuition alone before living costs. This is a figure that earlier versions of this document understated. Because rates are indexed annually, always confirm the current-year number with the faculty's international office before budgeting.

Why This Faculty Deserves a Closer Look Than the Brochures Suggest

Most third-party "study in Belgium" pages recycle the same handful of claims for every Flemish university: affordable, world-class, English-taught. In reality, though, Antwerp's Medicine programme doesn't fit that template as neatly as the pages suggest.

Myth: "English-Taught MD"

This doesn't match the Bachelor's programme. The Bachelor's and Master's of Medicine are delivered in Dutch. English-taught options do exist within this faculty, but they are offered in adjacent programmes: the research Master of Biomedical Sciences, the Master of Global Health, and the Master of Epidemiology. In other words, none of these is the medical degree itself.

Myth: "Open Admission"

This claim ignores the entrance exam and the quota. Several pages describe the Belgian medical admissions process as straightforward once the fees are paid. In reality, every applicant sits a competitive centralised exam. On top of that, non-EEA diploma holders compete for a capped subquota rather than the general intake.

Myth: "Cheap European Medical Degree"

This claim undersells the real cost for non-EU students. The EU tuition figure of roughly EUR 1,180 a year gets quoted most often, but it applies only to EU/EEA nationals. Non-EEA applicants instead pay EUR 4,300 to 7,800 per year, depending on the Bachelor's or Master's stage, which is several times higher than the fee for EEA applicants. Meanwhile, Belgium's cost of living is not comparable to lower-cost MBBS destinations in South Asia or Eastern Europe.

Myth: "MBBS Plus Internship"

Belgium's postgraduate path is actually longer than this. There is no single rotating internship year. Instead, independent practice requires completing a separate, multi-year specialisation track after the Master's degree. This stage is regulated jointly by the university and Belgium's federal health authorities.

Honest Assessment

So be clear-eyed about the trade-offs here. This is a serious, research-strong faculty, attached to a genuinely well-regarded university hospital, with real depth in infectious disease and global health, not a marketing invention. However, it is not a low-cost, English-taught, easy-entry MD route, and pages that frame it that way are oversimplifying at best. The entrance exam is real and competitive; the non-EEA quota is real and small; Dutch fluency is a practical requirement for the Bachelor's track; and Belgium is a mid-to-high cost-of-living country by European standards.

So, who actually fits here? First, students with strong Dutch or the willingness to reach fluency before enrolling. Second, students targeting the English-taught Master's programmes in biomedical or global health sciences, rather than the MD track. Third, students who value a compact, single-site campus in a proper city with strong transport links, over a larger, more dispersed university. On the other hand, students looking for the cheapest possible route to an English-medium MD should look elsewhere; this isn't that programme.

Student Life and Practical Considerations

Campus-level — Drie Eiken and UZA form a connected health-sciences site. Standard university security, student services, and international-student support are all available through the university's international office.

City-level — Antwerp is a large, well-policed European city. So day-to-day safety concerns are the ordinary ones of any dense city, such as petty theft and standard urban caution, rather than anything specific to the university.

Transport — Antwerp Centraal connects directly to Brussels in under an hour. In addition, Brussels Airport is roughly 45–60 minutes away by train and transfer. The city's De Lijn tram and bus network also reaches Drie Eiken directly, with discounted student passes available.

Visa and Registration — Non-EU students need a Belgian student visa, known as type D. They must also register with the local city administration, or gemeente, on arrival. On top of that, they must show proof of sufficient funds and valid health insurance as part of the visa file.

Monthly Cost of Living for Non-EU Students (Approximate)

Hidden and Additional Expenses

• Application and administrative fees during entrance-exam registration

• Dutch-language preparation or NT2 certification, if not already fluent

• Visa costs, legalisation fees, and document translation

• Mandatory health insurance from day one, not optional

• A housing deposit, typically one to two months' rent

• Return airfare for holidays across a six-year programme

• Costs tied to the postgraduate specialisation stage after the Master's degree

2026 Admission and Regulatory Notes

The Flemish government periodically revisits the total first-year intake and the non-EEA subquota by decree. For 2026–2027, for instance, it raised the total Flanders-wide intake by 180 seats: 1,878 for Medicine and 277 for Dentistry, to address a doctor shortage. So, a figure quoted on an agent page from even a year or two ago may already be out of date.

AHOVOKS sets the centralised entrance exam format and syllabus, and these are occasionally adjusted. Therefore, applicants should check the current-year exam guide directly, rather than relying on older summaries. Anyone quoting a single fixed non-EEA seat number without a source or date should be treated with the same caution the university itself would apply.

City and Student Life

Antwerp has a temperate maritime climate: mild, wet winters and moderate summers, without the extremes of a monsoon climate. The city is known for its port, diamond trade, fashion academy, and Rubens-era art heritage. It also has one of Belgium's larger international student populations, which makes settling in easier than in a smaller university town. Dutch is the everyday language, though English works reasonably well in student-facing services. Even so, day-to-day integration is noticeably smoother with at least conversational Dutch.

Academic Environment

Teaching follows the standard Flemish Bachelor-Master structure, moving from foundational sciences into clinical training at UZA and its partner hospitals. The faculty's research strength is evident in its named centres: the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) and the Centre for Oncological Research (CORE), as well as in its close ties with the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp. As a result, students gain genuine exposure to active global health and infectious disease research, not just classroom theory.

Postgraduate Specialisation: Belgium's Equivalent of "Internship"

After the six-year Bachelor-Master, Belgian law requires a further, separately regulated specialisation period before independent practice. This takes roughly 3 years for general or family medicine, and typically 3 to 7 years for hospital-based specialities, depending on the field. It's completed at accredited teaching sites, including UZA. In short, this is a meaningfully longer and more structured pathway than a single rotating internship year. So prospective students, especially those planning to practise back home, should map out how this stage interacts with their home country's own licensing requirements before committing.

Common Myths vs Reality

Admission Timeline for Non-EU Applicants

1. Confirm current-year Dutch-language requirements, and start NT2 preparation early if needed.

2. Register for the centralised toelatingsproef Arts en Tandarts through AHOVOKS within the published window.

3. Sit and pass the entrance exam; results determine eligibility to apply for a seat.

4. Complete all the necessary paperwork for admission into the university, including providing documents proving that your degree is equivalent.

5. If you are applying under this subquota, apply for recognition of your non-EEA diploma.

6. Get conditional acceptance at the international office of the faculty.

7. Obtain a student visa for Belgium, which is a type D visa, along with the insurance and financial documents necessary for covering living expenses.

8. Find accommodation (kot) and set everything else connected to the arrival.

9. Arrive in Belgium and register with a local gemeente.

10. Finally, complete university enrolment and orientation before the term starts.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

The University of Antwerp offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships for international students through its central scholarship office. In addition, Flemish and Belgian government development-cooperation scholarships, such as VLIR-UOS, may be available to some Master's students, subject to programme and nationality restrictions. Because amounts and seat numbers change year to year, applicants should check directly with the international office for the current cycle, rather than assume availability.

Why Students Actually Choose This Faculty

Set the marketing language aside, and a few concrete reasons hold up. First, there's genuine, active research strength in infectious disease and global health, reinforced by next-door access to the Institute of Tropical Medicine. Second, the teaching hospital sits directly alongside the campus, rather than across town or several kilometres out, a genuinely compact, single-site setup that several larger Flemish medical faculties don't share. Third, it's a large, well-connected city setting with an established international student community, which eases the adjustment that comes with any move abroad.

How This Faculty Compares

Here's the thing: every Flemish university charges the same government-set EU/EEA tuition rate. So, the fee level isn't a real differentiator for European applicants. Non-EEA tuition varies slightly more but remains within a broadly similar band across Antwerp, Leuven, Ghent, and Brussels. Instead, the meaningful differences come down to scale, campus geography, and research focus.

Expert Opinion

In fact, this faculty suits a specific kind of student. Someone genuinely committed to learning Dutch, drawn to infectious-disease and global-health research, comfortable with a mid-sized rather than sprawling institution, and realistic about Belgium's actual cost and quota structure, rather than the simplified version some agent pages describe. On the other hand, it is not the right fit for a student searching for a fully English-taught, low-cost, high-acceptance MD route. That student will be disappointed by the entrance exam, the language requirement, and the non-EEA quota alike. So, anyone seriously considering it should get the current tuition, quota size, and language requirements in writing from the faculty's international office before making any decisions.

Quick Overview

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