University of Liège — Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Founded in 1832 by royal decree shortly after Belgian independence, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of ULiège is the direct heir of the school of rural economics established by Leopold I^st. It successively occupied several Brussels sites — the rue d'Assaut, a Brussels riding school, then Cureghem from 1836 and Anderlecht from 1892 in the neo-Renaissance complex designed by architect Seroen.

The school was administratively attached to ULiège in 1969, then physically installed on the Sart-Tilman university campus in 1991. It is now the only French-speaking university in Belgium to deliver the entire veterinary curriculum (bachelor's and master's) on a single site.

Approximately 1,600 students are trained there by about sixty teacher-researchers organised around the FARAH research unit (Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health), with a stated One Health orientation. The faculty is regularly ranked among the world's top in the QS Subject Ranking in veterinary medicine.

The University Veterinary Clinic (CVU) is a reference veterinary hospital for small animals, equines and production animals, with technical platforms for imaging, surgery, resuscitation and intensive care medicine.

Recognition: the faculty has been accredited by EAEVE since July 2022 (after losing its accreditation in 2019 and implementing the required corrective measures), which guarantees automatic recognition of the diploma throughout the European Union (Directive 2005/36/EC), and in particular in France.

The Faculty is located on the green Sart-Tilman campus, in the south of Liège (building B42, avenue de Cureghem 7A-7D). About ten kilometres from the city centre, the campus is served by TEC bus lines 48 and 58 (TEC is the Walloon public transport operator) from Liège-Guillemins station — count 20-30 minutes.

💡 Transport tip: 18-24 year-olds benefit from a TEC annual pass at €12/year for the entire Walloon network — around €1/month for all buses. The campus ↔ city commute is therefore almost free.

Where to live?

Most veterinary students alternate between:

• ULiège university residence at Sart-Tilman → approximately €420/month
• Kot (Belgian student room) in Outremeuse or near Guillemins station → €300-550/month (median rent ~€380 including charges in 2026)
• Renovated studio in the city centre → €550-650/month

Overall budget: count between €620 and €950/month all-in (rent, food, transport, leisure).

Campus life

The university restaurants (RU) offer a full meal for around €4-6. The Life Sciences Library (BSV) is open in extended hours during the blocus (Belgian intensive exam-prep period). The Sports Service (SUAPS/RUS) offers more than 40 disciplines at student rates.

International community: ULiège welcomes approximately 25% international students university-wide, including many French students in veterinary medicine. Structured student life around the AGEL (General Assembly of Liège Students) and the veterinary circle.

Unlike the Parcoursup application for the French ENV schools, ULiège does not require any prior experience with animals (veterinary internship, farm placement, British EMS) at the time of the Bachelor's application.

Entry selection is based exclusively on:

• Compliance with academic conditions (CESS or equivalent)
• For non-residents, the lottery quota

There is no interview, no motivation letter, no experience file required to enrol in the 1^st year.

However: this absence of formal requirement does not mean that experience is useless. Teachers regularly emphasise that prior immersion (in a private practice, in an equine clinic, on a cattle or sheep farm, in a shelter) helps considerably to confirm one's vocation before the end-of-1^st-year selection test, where the failure rate is high.

Mandatory internships are then integrated from Bachelor's year 2 (rural practice immersion internship) and throughout the Master's, up to the final clinical internship within the CVU or with partner practices.

⚠️ Important: admission to ULiège involves NO interview. Two selection regimes coexist depending on the entry year.

📌 Current regime (up to and including intake 2026-2027)

Selection takes place through a ranking test organised at the end of the 1^st 60-credit block (end of the 1^st year of the Bachelor's).

• Subjects: anatomy, chemistry, physics, cell biology, biostatistics, animal physiology (course units of the 2^nd semester)
• Format: written tests integrated into the exam sessions
• Prerequisite to be rankable: having obtained at least 45 credits out of 60
• Number of access certificates: 276 for the entire Wallonia-Brussels Federation in 2025-2026, including 89 for ULiège specifically
• Non-resident quota: maximum 20% of the certificates

📌 Future regime (from intake 2027-2028)

An entrance and access competition will be organised BEFORE the 1^st year, strictly aligned with the model of the medicine and dentistry competition.

It will comprise two parts:

1. Assessment of scientific knowledge — physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics at secondary school level
2. Assessment of communication and critical analysis of information

Registration: on concoursmd.be
Exam date: August
Number of attempts: maximum 2 over a 5-year period

The current non-resident lottery will be abolished, replaced by this entrance competition, while maintaining the 20% quota for non-residents among admitted students.