Access Requirements

Decree of 7 November 2013 defining the landscape of higher education and the academic organization of studies.
The admission requirements must be met prior to enrolment in the University.

In the event of the divergence between the different linguistic versions of the present conditions, the French version shall prevail.

SUMMARY

General access requirements

Except as otherwise provided by other specific legal provisions, admission to undergraduate courses leading to the award of a Bachelor’s degree will be granted to students with one of the following qualifications :

1. A Certificate of Upper Secondary Education issued during or after the 1993-1994 academic year by an establishment offering full-time secondary education or an adult education centre in the French Community of Belgium and, as the case may be, approved if it was issued by an educational institution before 1 January 2008 or affixed with the seal of the French Community if it was issued after this date, or an equivalent certificate awarded by the Examination Board of the French Community during or after 1994;

2. A Certificate of Upper Secondary Education issued no later than the end of the 1992-1993 academic year, along with official documentation attesting to the student’s ability to pursue higher education for students applying for a full-length undergraduate degree programme;

3. A diploma awarded by a higher education institution within the French Community that confers an academic degree issued under the above-mentioned Decree, or a diploma awarded by a university or institution dispensing full-time higher education in accordance with earlier legislation;

4. A higher education certificate or diploma awarded by an adult education centre;

5. A pass certificate for one of the entrance examinations organized by higher education institutions or by an examination board of the French Community; this document gives admission to studies in the sectors, fields or programmes indicated therein;

6. A diploma, certificate of studies or other qualification similar to those mentioned above, issued by the Flemish Community of Belgium, the German Community of Belgium or the Royal Military Academy;

7. A diploma, certificate of studies or other qualification obtained abroad and deemed equivalent to the first four mentioned above by virtue of a law, decree, European directive or international convention;

Note:
Requests for equivalence must be submitted to the Equivalence department (Service des équivalences) of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the French Community of Belgium in compliance with the official deadline.
The following two qualifications are automatically deemed equivalent to the Certificate of Upper Secondary Education (Certificat d'enseignement secondaire supérieur – CESS):
- European Baccalaureate issued by the Board of Governors of a European School,
- International Baccalaureate issued by the International Baccalaureate Office in Geneva.


8. Official documentation attesting to a student’s ability to pursue higher education (diplôme d'aptitude à accéder à l'enseignement supérieur - DAES), issued by the Examination Board of the French Community.

Specific access requirements

  • Access to bachelor programmes for candidates of nationality outside the European Union who are not assimilated to Belgian nationals is subject to the following criteria:
    • not have obtained a secondary education diploma for more than 3 years maximum. Example: for an admission application for the academic year 2024-2025, you must have obtained your diploma during the academic years 2021-2022, 2022-2023 ou 2023-2024. In the French Community of Belgium, the academic year runs from September 14 to September 13
    • not already hold an undergraduate degree
  • Candidates, whatever their nationality, with a secondary school diploma from a country outside the European Union, must have obtained an average of 13/20 minimum or, failing that, have obtained this average, have passed one year of study in Belgium (for example special Maths / sciences). A non-successful year will not be taken into consideration.
  • For any secondary school diploma from a European Union country, the admission request must contain the equivalence of your diploma or, at the very least, proof of the filing of the equivalence request with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (French Community of Belgium). For any information relating to obtaining an equivalence, please refer to the following site.
  • For any secondary school diploma from a country outside the European Union, the admission application must contain the equivalence of your diploma issued by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (French Community of Belgium). If you have a restrictive equivalence for the programme of your choice, in addition of it, you must have either the DAES or a certificate of successful completion of the examination giving access to 1st cycle studies when you submit your application

Access based on validation of professional experience

Admission to undergraduate studies on the basis of accreditation of knowledge and skills obtained through professional or personal experience (Accreditation of Prior Experience)
Subject to the general requirements laid down by the authorities of the higher education institution, with the aim of admission to the undergraduate programme, the examination boards accredit the knowledge and skills that students have obtained through their professional or personal experience.
This experience must correspond to at least five years of documented activity, with years spent in higher education being partially taken into account: 60 credits are deemed equivalent to one year of experience, with a maximum of two years being counted. At the end of an assessment procedure organized by the authorities of the higher education institution, the Examination Board will decide whether a student has sufficient skills and knowledge to successfully pursue undergraduate studies.
After this assessment, the Examination Board will determine the additional courses and possible exemptions constituting the supplementary requirements for the student’s admission.

Special requirements to access some programmes