Belgium

Bachelor programmes

Belgium has 8 biomedical laboratory science (BLS) bachelor programmes, organized in 9 campuses in Flanders, 5 in Wallonia and 2 in Brussels:

Flanders:

Wallonia:

  • Haute Ecole Libre Mosane (HELMo) – Campus de l’Ourthe – Liège :  helmo.be
  • Haute Ecole Charlemagne (HECH) CHU – Liège : hech.be/fr
  • Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège (HEPL) – Liège: hepl.be/fr
  • Haute Ecole Louvain en Hainaut (HELHa) – Montignies-sur-Sambre: helha.be
  • Haute Ecole Provinciale de Hainaut – Condorcet (HEPH-Condorcet): condorcet.be

Brussels :

Admission :

All Belgian BLS bachelor programmes require a secondary level degree and adequate skills in Dutch for Flanders or French for Brussels and Wallonia. Apart from that no further admission test is required.

It is important to know that because of the Belgian language law, all bachelor programmes are organized in the language of the region, only 10%  of the curriculum can be followed in English. Master programmes can be done fully in English but they are organized at the universities and not at the universities of applied sciences.

To be allowed to attend a bachelor programme in Dutch or in French, a language test is mandatory.

(Click on the yellow markers for information)

Students’ exchange and international collaborations

The Belgian BLS bachelor programmes have mobility agreements for students’ exchange with different European countries and also outside of Europe. You can find contact information on the web pages of the universities of applied sciences to have more information if you consider to be a BLS exchange student in Belgium.

To be an exchange student only skills in English are required.

National requirements for the BLS education

Requirements for learning outcomes and content of the Belgian biomedical laboratory scientist education is described in national guidelines: https://bvlt-abtl.be/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/KB%2017%20JANUARI%202019.pdf

Requirements for authorization to work as a biomedical laboratory scientist

To work as a biomedical laboratory scientist in Belgian hospital laboratories it is mandatory to have an official recognition and a license or visa authorizing you to practice the profession. The recognition is allocated at regional level, the visa at national level by the Federal Public Service Health, food chain and environment.

The eight listed bachelor programmes in Flanders all qualify for an authorization as “biomedische laboratoriumtechnoloog” , the seven listed in Wallonia and Brussels qualify for an authorization as ”Technologue de laboratoire biomédical”  in Belgium. Automatically, after receiving the recognition at region level, the federal public service will give you the license .

How to get the recognition?

  • If you have an education from outside Belgium but from within the EU, with a EU degree, it will depend on the language in which your application is sent.
  • For the Dutch-speaking region you have to send your application in Dutch via e-mail to the
    Flemish Care Fund and Care Professions Division
    internationaal.niet-universitair@vlaanderen.be
  • For the French-speaking region the application has to be sent in French to Ministère de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
    Administration générale de l’Enseignement  (AGE)
    Direction générale de l’Enseignement supérieur, de l’Enseignement tout au long de la vie et de la Recherche scientifique (DGESVR)
    Direction de l’agrément des prestataires de soins de santé (DAPSS)
    www.fwb.be – https://agrementsante.cfwb.be/
    Email : agrementsante@cfwb.be
  • For the German-speaking region you have to send your application in German to:
    Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
    Gospertstrasse 1, B-4700 Eupen
    Tel : +32(0)87 596 378, Fax : +32(0)87 552 891
    E-Mail : anerkennung.gesundheitsberufe@dgov.be
    www.ostbelgienlive.be
  • If you have an education from outside the EU, it is depending on the region you want to work in:
  • For the Dutch-speaking region you have to send your application in Dutch to:
    NARIC-Flanders
    Department of Education, Higher Education Administration
    NARIC-Vlaanderen, Hendrik Consciencegebouw
    Toren 2C, Koning Albert II-laan 15
    B-1210 Brussels, Belgium
    Phone: 1700
    E-mail: naric@vlaanderen.be
  • For the French-speaking region you have to send your application in French to the same address as mentioned above (Ministère de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles).
  • For the German-speaking region you have to send your application in German to:
    Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
    Gospertstrasse 1, B-4700 Eupen
    Tel : +32(0)87 596 378, Fax : +32(0)87 552 891
    E-Mail : anerkennung.gesundheitsberufe@dgov.be
    Ostbelgien Bildung – Home

If your diploma is not considered adequate for the Belgian recognition, you will be directed to one of the universities of applied sciences to follow an appropriate programme.

Relevant master- and PhD- programmes in Belgium

Biomedical laboratory scientists can choose to proceed their studies in a master- and PhD- programme in Belgium, but they will have to attend a bridge year of two or three semesters, depending on the master programme or the university,  in order to equalize the theoretical level of their studies.