Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands.
After the Belgian revolution of 1830, the newly formed Belgian state began to administer the university.
In 1930, the university became the first Dutch-speaking university in Belgium, whereas French had previously been the standard academic language.
In 1991,it was granted major autonomy and changed its name accordingly from State University of Ghent (Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Gent, abbreviated as RUG) to its current designation.
In contrast to the Catholic University of Leuven or the Free University of Brussels, UGent considers itself a pluralist university in a special sense, i.e. not connected to any particular religion or political ideology. Its motto Inter Utrumque ('In Between Both Extremes'), on the coat of arms, suggests the acquisition of wisdom and science comes only in an atmosphere of peace, when the institution is fully supported by the monarchy and fatherland.
Ghent University is one of the biggest Flemish universities, consisting of 41,000 students and 9,000 staff members.
The University also supports the University Library and the University Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals in Belgium. It is one of the greatest beneficiaries of funding from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO).
Ghent University consistently rates among the top universities in the world.
