At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

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Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

1. Clinical expertise: theoretical education is provided by a team of professors, physicians and healthcare professionals with strong academic and content-related expertise. The practicals are taught by teaching assistants from clinical practice. This combination ensures that our students receive a medical-scientific as well as a practice-oriented education, and are immediately deployable upon graduation.
2. A successful symbiosis of research and education: the five-year curriculum is based on state-of-the-art research findings. Our lecturers’ research expertise is also integrated into the practicals. This is one way to teach our students to treat new developments in the healthcare landscape critically.
3. Room for electives: we offer an innovative academic study programme, which comprises theory and practice. The curriculum is based on solid internationally acclaimed academic research. To complement the broad initial curriculum, the students can choose from various main subjects in their final year. Each of these main subjects focuses on a different social need.
4. Practice: practical experience is indispensable. Our students will complete an impressive total of 896 hours of work placement throughout their study career. While most of these hours are comprised in the Master’s curriculum, the students are familiarised with the professional field in the Bachelor’s curriculum as well. The Bachelor’s curriculum contains two full-blown work placements in addition to various short periods of work shadowing. In the Master’s programme, the first-year curriculum contains three periods of twenty days of work placement while the second-year curriculum contains work placements specific to the main subject.
5. Lecturers and students are in close contact with each other due to the many contact hours the curriculum contains. Our lecturers are highly approachable in case of questions or issues. The communication between lecturers, assistants and students is supported by Ufora, Ghent University’s electronic environment. In addition to course-specific support by the lecturers, we also offer well-organised study track counselling so that students have the most optimal study track possible.

1. Our curriculum is designed based on various well-considered curricular strands. In addition to the Physiotherapy strand (P-strand), the curriculum also comprises a clear scientific strand (S-strand), an academic research strand (R-strand), an M-strand containing the physiotherapist’s functioning in a multidisciplinary context, and a W-strand which covers the work placement.
2. Student and staff talent development: we give our students and staff the chance to develop their talents to the fullest through blended learning, granting special statuses, participation in honours programmes, university-wide electives, etc.
3. Involvement and participation: our large student numbers do not deter us from giving our students the chance to participate in our education policy. The students are represented in various committees and they appreciate the study programme’s open attitude and communication. Other stakeholders, including alumni, work placement supervisors, and physiotherapists from the professional field, are involved in our study programme.
4. Quality assurance takes centre stage in our study programme. We boast a long tradition of internal quality assurance, of which we still bear the fruits today.
5. Internationalisation: within the Erasmus Framework our study programme has exchange agreements with various European study programmes. But we also look beyond. Outside of the Erasmus Framework, we have bilateral exchange agreements all over the globe. 22.5% of our students embark on a study abroad during their study career.

1. Student intake: the curriculum contains various in-depth scientific course units.  We are convinced that this scientific understanding of the human body and accompanying the biochemical processes are necessary to develop the ensuing physiotherapy skills.  Not all of our beginning students have the proper prior education to start our academic programme. We continue to invest in accurate information and raise awareness through various communication channels to inform prospective students.
2. Infrastructure: due to our large student numbers, our theory course units take place across the entire city centre of Ghent. We often use large lecturing halls located at other campuses.  The practicals take place in groups of 30-40 students. Our current staffing ratio and lack of sufficient practice rooms prevent us from teaching in smaller groups.  With this given, we must continue to focus on making our timetables as efficient as possible: free periods, long-distance commutes, etc. 
3. Future prospects: our ageing population impacts the demand for physiotherapists specialised in care for the elderly (Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy in Elderly Patients) and care for patients with internal diseases (Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy for Patients with Internal Diseases). Despite the obvious job security these intervention domains have to offer, they do not yet appeal to students sufficiently. In consultation with the faculty, we undertake initiatives to promote these specific intervention domains more.

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The resulting Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.

This information was last updated on 10/07/2024.

In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.