Access Requirements

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.



Specific access requirements

Student must hold a first level university degree.

Candidates who do not hold a higher education diploma from the French Community of Belgium (or from a country where French is the only official language) must provide proof of sufficient mastery of the French language at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
In the absence of an official certificate issued by an organization recognized as a full member by ALTE (see https://alte.org/Our-Full-Members), a certificate issued by the University showing that the candidate has been taught in French may be accepted.
Examples of tests recognized by the jury for French: DELF or TCF.

3° Students must have, in a previous academic training, developed skills in:

  • scientific written and oral practices of the French language;
  • the following disciplines of philosophy: logic, moral philosophy, epistemology, anthropology, metaphysics, politic and social philosophy, aesthetics and philosophy of art;
  • history of philosophy;
  • reading and commenting on a major philosophical text.

The 30 credits of the Minor in Philosophy or of the Certificat universitaire en philosophie (fondements) satisfy these requirements.

In the absence of sufficient training in one or more of these subjects, supplementary classes will be integrated into the master's programme (from 15 credits to a maximum of 60 credits). This preparatory module is established by the jury (small panel) on the basis of the student's educational background.

Equivalences between courses are subject to the approval of the jury (small panel).

Students wishing to pursue a master's degree with a teaching focus must have a degree of the French Community of Belgium; failing this, they will have to pass a French language proficiency examination to demonstrate that their command of written and spoken French is equivalent to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (for further information, visit https://uclouvain.be/en/study/inscriptions/french-language-master-teaching.html).

University Bachelors

Diploma Special Requirements Access Remarks
UCLouvain Bachelors
Bachelor in Philosophy (Louvain-la-Neuve) Direct access
Bachelor in Philosophy (St-Louis Bruxelles) Direct access
Bachelor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics Direct access
All bachelorsIf students have chosen one of the following:
- Minor in Philosophy
- Certificat universitaire en philosophie (fondements)
Access with additional training Maximum 15 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme

If the UCLouvain Admissions Office considers the enrolment application sufficiently complete, it will submit the application to the faculty for a decision.
Any other bachelor Access with additional training Maximum 60 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme
Others Bachelors of the French speaking Community of Belgium
Bachelor in philosophy Direct access
All bachelorsIf students have followed the Certificat universitaire en philosophie (fondements) Access with additional training Maximum 15 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)
Any other bachelor Access with additional training Maximum 60 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)
Bachelors of the Dutch speaking Community of Belgium
Bachelor of philosophy
Bachelor in de wijsbegeerte
Proficiency in French of level B1 (CEFR) Direct access
Foreign Bachelors
Bachelor in philosophy or equivalent training Access based on application In case of admission, possible additional training to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Access on the file). All applicants must check that they meet the specific access requirements. 

Non university Bachelors

> Find out more about links to the university

Only applicable to graduates of higher education institutions of the French Community of Belgium

Holders of a 2nd cycle University degree

Diploma Special Requirements Access Remarks
"Licenciés"
Licence en philosophie Direct access In case of admission, programme to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)
Masters
Master [120] in Ethics, second focus Direct access At the end of the master 120, each focus of the Master [120] in Ethics can be obtained in a new programme of 30 credits.
Master [60] in Philosophy
Master [120] in Philosophy
Direct access Programme to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)
All Belgian mastersIf students have followed:
the Minor in Philosophy in bachelor
the Certificat universitaire en philosophie (fondements)
the Certificat universitaire en philosophie (approfondissement)
Access with additional training Maximum 15 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme

Programme to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)

If the UCLouvain Admissions Office considers the enrolment application sufficiently complete, it will submit the application to the faculty for a decision.
Any other Belgian master Access with additional training Programme to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures)
Foreign Masters Access based on application All candidates must ensure that they meet the specific access requirements. In case of admission, maximum 60 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the Master's programme (consult Acces on the file).

Holders of a non-University 2nd cycle degree

Only applicable to graduates of higher education institutions of the French Community of Belgium

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.

Candidates who do not fulfil the abovementioned admission requirements, but who have duly attested significant experience relevant to the field of study in question, may apply for admission to the programme on the basis of an individualised admission procedure.

For more information on the procedure for admission by validation of learning from experience (VAE) in the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters: https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/fial/valorisation-des-acquis-de-l-experience-vae.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.

Admissibility criteria 
A candidate's application will be deemed admissible if it meets all of the following criteria:

  • Previous course of study including at least 3 years of higher education (equivalent to 180 European credits), leading to an undergraduate degree;
  • For holders of a degree from outside Belgium:
  1. an overall average of at least 60% (12/20) for the entire course of study completed at the home institution and giving access to this program;
  2. official attestation of proficiency in language(s) at the required level (see specific entry requirements), to be attached to the application file. The official attestation must be issued by an organization recognized as a full member by ALTE (see https://alte.org/Our-Full-Members).

If a document is missing from the online application, it must be justified (see UCLouvain Enrolment Department's frequently asked questions, in particular "What do I do if my online application asks for a document I don't yet have?")

Applications deemed admissible are forwarded to the Faculty by Enrolment Services. Applications that do not meet these criteria are automatically rejected. 


Eligibility criteria 
Applications submitted to the Faculty by UCLouvain's Enrolment Department are examined by the program's jury in accordance with the specific conditions of access detailed above.
The jury decides on the admissibility of candidates on the basis of the information contained in their application file, the quality of the training they have undergone and the results they have obtained.
When examining the application, the jury will pay particular attention to the following points: 

  • Consistency between the candidate's previous academic career and the prerequisites for the targeted program. The match between the candidate's academic background and the UCLouvain bachelor's degree giving direct access to the master's program need not be perfect, but the skills acquired (see specific access conditions) must be close; Example: for an application for admission to a master's program in modern languages and literature, the candidate's previous training includes courses in languages and literature in both modern languages.
  • Grades obtained in the program's major disciplines (see specific entry requirements);
  • Arguments put forward by the applicant in his or her cover letter (training project in line with the program in question, relevance of arguments, coherence between the applicant's application and the program in question, etc.) Example: the language combination requested by the applicant is organized in the program in question.
  • Original covering letter. An original covering letter is expected, explaining the personal training project. Any plagiarism or use of artificial intelligence in writing the letter to the jury will result in the application being disqualified. 
  • Experience gained. If the access diploma was obtained more than 5 years ago, it is imperative that the experience acquired since leaving school is directly related to the field of study of the programme applied for.

Changes to the conditions of access to the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters for 2025-2026 will be available in this document .

Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration