Master course admission requirements are defined by the French Community of Belgium Decree of 7 November 2013 defining the higher education landscape and the academic organisation of courses.
General and specific admission requirements for this programme must be satisfied at the time of enrolling at the university.
Unless explicitly mentioned, the bachelor's, master's and licentiate degrees listed in this table or on this page are to be understood as those issued by an institution of the French, Flemish or German-speaking Community, or by the Royal Military Academy.
In the event of the divergence between the different linguistic versions of the present conditions, the French version shall prevail.
- > General access requirements
- > Specific access requirements
- > University Bachelors
- > Non university Bachelors
- > Holders of a 2nd cycle University degree
- > Holders of a non-University 2nd cycle degree
- > Access based on validation of professional experience
- > Access based on application
- > Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration
Specific access requirements
Proof of a sufficient command of the French language (level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) must be provided.
Proof of level B1 can be provided by :
- an officially certified certificate of language course attendance at the required level in the student's previous academic career (diploma and transcripts) ;
- an official certificate or an international certificate recognised by the admissions jury: DELF- DALF / TCF / TEF.
The degree must be awarded by an academic institution recognized by UNESCO or recognized by AUF (see https://www.whed.net/home.php and https://www.auf.org/les_membres/nos-membres/).
University Bachelors | |||
| Diploma | Special Requirements | Access | Remarks |
| UCLouvain Bachelors | |||
| All Bachelor UCLouvain | With the Minor in Criminology | Direct access | |
| All Bachelor UCLouvain | Without the Minor in Criminology | Access with additional training | Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 15 credits |
| Others Bachelors of the French speaking Community of Belgium | |||
| All Bachelor | Access with additional training | Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 15 credits | |
| Bachelors of the Dutch speaking Community of Belgium | |||
| Bachelor of Science in de criminologische wetenschappen | Direct access | ||
| Other Bachelor | Access with additional training | Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 15 credits | |
| Foreign Bachelors | |||
| All Bachelor | Access based on application | Subject to approval of application Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 60 credits | |
Non university Bachelors | |||
> Find out more about links to the university Non-university bachelors who have access to the master's degree in criminology will have to add to their master's program additional training that can reach a maximum of 60 credits (to be determined depending on the program followed previously) | |||
| Diploma | Access | Remarks | |
| BA - assistant(e) en psychologie - crédits supplémentaires entre 15 et 30 BA - assistant(e) social(e) - crédits supplémentaires entre 15 et 30 BA - conseiller(ère) social(e) - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA - éducateur(trice) spécialisé(e) en accompagnement psycho-éducatif - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA - éducateur(trice) spécialisé(e) en activités socio-sportives - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA de spécialisation en santé communautaire - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 45 BA de spécialisation en santé mentale et psychiatrie - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 45 BA en communication - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA en droit - crédits supplémentaires entre 15 et 30 BA en écologie sociale - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA en éducation spécialisée en accompagnement psycho-éducatif - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA en gestion des ressources humaines - crédits supplémentaires entre 30 et 60 BA en sciences administratives et gestion publique - crédits supplémentaires entre 15 et 30 BA en soins infirmiers - crédits supplémentaires entre 45 et 60 BA en soins infirmiers pour titulaires d'un brevet d'infirmier hospitalier - crédits supplémentaires entre 45 et 60 BA: infirmier responsable de soins généraux - crédits supplémentaires entre 45 et 60 | Les enseignements supplémentaires éventuels peuvent être consultés dans le module complémentaire. | Type court | |
Holders of a 2nd cycle University degree | |||
| Diploma | Special Requirements | Access | Remarks |
| "Licenciés" | |||
| Every holder of a license or an engineering degree | Access with additional training | Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 15 credits | |
| Every holder of a license or a foreign engineering degree | Access based on application | Subject to approval of application Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 60 credits | |
| Masters | |||
| Every holder of a Master UCLouvain | With the Minor in Criminology in the Bachelor programme | Direct access | |
| Every holder of a Master | Without the Minor in Criminology in the Bachelor programme | Access with additional training | Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 15 credits |
| Every holder of a foreign Master | Access based on application | Subject to approval of application Additional training to be determined depending on the program followed previously: maximum 60 credits | |
Holders of a non-University 2nd cycle degree | |||
| Access based on application. | |||
Access based on validation of professional experience
> It is possible, under certain conditions, to use one's personal and professional experience to enter a university course without having the required qualifications. However, validation of prior experience does not automatically apply to all courses. Find out more about Validation of priori experience.
Adults who wish to enhance their professional experience or personal achievements in the field of criminology (justice houses, police, prisons, crime prevention...) will apply to the Admission Commission of the School of Criminology by submitting a VAE file.
Candidates must be able to justify at least 5 useful years of personal and/or professional experience, including successful years of higher education. For more information, please visit https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/drt/ecri/vae.html.
They will be able to accede to the Master in Criminology with the addition of additional teaching determined according to the previous course (maximum 60 credits). For more information, visit https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/drt/ecri/mon-programme-de-cours.html.
Access based on application
Access based on application : access may be granted either directly or on the condition of completing additional courses of a maximum of 60 ECTS credits, or refused.
Admission of students holding a non-Belgian degree
1. Conditions of admissibility of an application for admission to the Master's degree in criminology
The admission file of students who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (minimum 3 years) in Europe will only be examined by the Admissions Commission of the School of Criminology if the student has obtained at least 60% (or 12/20) average for all successful academic years.
The admission file of students who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (minimum 3 years) outside Europe will only be examined by the Admissions Committee of the School of Criminology if the student has obtained at least 65% (or 13/20) of average for all successful academic years.
This admissibility criterion is strictly applied.
2. Eligibility criteria
Academic level of the candidate
There is no universal rule because of the great diversity of backgrounds and institutions of origin. In general, however, typical cases of refusal are significantly longer than the norm for undergraduate and graduate students. Profiles with marked deficiencies in fundamental subjects for the Master in Criminology such as criminal law, sociology, clinical psychology, methodology are also typically refused.
The jury decides on the admissibility of candidates on the basis of the elements emerging from their entire file, the quality of the training followed and/or the subjects seen in the field of human and social sciences.
The admissions jury determines admissibility on the basis of the dossier and, if it deems it necessary, an individual interview.
Holders of a Master's degree in specialised criminology have direct access to the Master's degree programme in criminology with an in-depth focus.
Holders of a master's degree in criminology with a thorough purpose have direct access to the master's programme in criminology with a specialised purpose.
Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration
- Adults wishing to enhance their professional experience or personal achievements in the field of criminology are invited to visit https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/drt/ecri/vae.html.
- Candidates of foreign nationality will submit their application to the Registration Service, place de l'Université, 1 - B 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, according to the procedure described at http://uclouvain.be/fr/etudier/inscriptions.
- Registration as a student "élève libre" is described on https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/drt/ecri/eleve-libre.html.