The ''Katholieke Universiteit Brussel'' (English: Catholic University of Brussels) was a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
university located in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, founded in 1969 as ''University Faculties St Aloysius'' (UFSAL), in many ways the equivalent of a
liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
. It split up from the primarily French-speaking
Saint-Louis University, Brussels
Saint-Louis University, Brussels or UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels (officially, in French Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles) is a public university in Brussels, belonging to the French Community of Belgium and specialized in social and huma ...
to become an independent
Dutch-speaking
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' i ...
institution. It became recognised as a university by the
Flemish Community of Belgium in the early 1990s. It only ever awarded basic undergraduate degrees, which in the older Belgian system of a four-year
licenciate
A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels.
It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...
meant students had to go on to other universities to complete their courses of study.
In the late 1990s, as a result of politically fuelled doubts about the university's survival, student levels fell drastically, with a knock-on effect on government funding. In 2007 the university merged with a number of other tertiary institutions in Brussels (see
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB, European University College Brussels)), and then had a separate existence only as a
legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
for accreditation and funding purposes.
In 2013, the academic degrees of the KUB were integrated in the Catholic University of Leuven.
See also
*
List of split up universities
This is a list of universities which were split into more than one new institution. Over the history numerous higher education institutions were split up or some scholars left already established institutions and established new ones. Some of the ...
External links
More information about higher education in Flanders/Belgium (in English)Find an officially recognised programme of this institution in the Higher Education Register
Catholic universities and colleges in Belgium
Universities and colleges in Brussels
Educational institutions established in 1969
1969 establishments in Belgium
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