College of Europe

Why study at the College of Europe, the most genuinely ‘European’ of all the University Institutes of European Studies?


Rector Paul Demaret

The academic quality and the variety of its postgraduate European study programmes are renowned worldwide. The College of Europe is the most genuinely ‘European’ of all the university institutes of European studies: it attracts a highly qualified pan-European faculty and welcomes students from across the entire continent and further afield; it enjoys a truly European atmosphere on its Bruges and Natolin (Warsaw) campuses, and it can rely on its unique network of personal and institutional relationships developed, throughout Europe and beyond, over the past 61 years. As the careers of many of its alumni illustrate, the College degree opens up rewarding professional prospects in Europe and at the international level.

The “College Formula” ensures that for 10 months students live and study together intensively in a challenging and highly stimulating educational environment – which truly prepares them to live and work in an increasingly integrated Europe.   The student body - around 300 students in Bruges and up to 120 students in Natolin (Warsaw) - reflects a real diversity of culture and personal experience.   

Across both campuses, students come from over 50 different countries, and usually speak three to four languages, and their average age is around 25. All have completed a university degree in a field appropriate for participation in the College’s postgraduate programmes, and quite a few already hold a postgraduate degree. The College's demanding entry requirements and rigorous selection procedures ensure that students who are recruited are of the highest calibre. 

Over the past 61 years the College of Europe has built an extensive reputation in the field of European studies, and is thus the leading place for those wishing to study, understand and literally 'live' Europe.

The College is a private university/institution and can rely on an extensive network of contacts in European institutions, national administrations, international organisations, European universities and professional circles. Alumni of the College of Europe occupy positions of responsibility in Europe and across the world. Many come back to the College to share their experiences with the students.   

Although the College has no scholarships of its own, some 70% of all College students benefit from whole or partial scholarships, these being granted by governments or private institutions. (Admissions)

Rector Paul Demaret

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