Access Requirements

General access requirements

Translated from  https://www.gallilex.cfwb.be/fr/leg_res_01.php?ncda=39681&referant=l02

Art. 112. of the "Décret définissant le paysage de l'enseignement supérieur et l'organisation académique des études" :

§ 1. In accordance with the general requirements established by the academic authorities, students who have:

1. a master’s degree;

2. an academic degree similar to the one mentioned in the preceding paragraph awarded by a higher education institution in the Flemish Community or the German-speaking Community, or by the Royal Military Academy, by virtue of a decision of the academic authorities and in accordance with any additional requirements they may establish;

3. a foreign academic degree deemed equivalent to the one mentioned in paragraph 1, in accordance with this Decree, a European directive, an international convention or other legislation, in accordance with the same requirements.

The additional admission requirements referred to in paragraph 2 are intended to ensure that the student has acquired the knowledge and skills required for the studies in question. When the additional admission requirements consist of one or more additional course units, these may not represent more than 60 additional credits for the student, taking into account all the credits that he or she may otherwise use for admission. These course units are part of the student’s study programme.

§ 2. In accordance with the general requirements established by the academic authorities, a student who holds a title, diploma, degree or certificate of higher education, in the French Community or outside it, which does not grant him or her eligibility for admission to a specialised master’s course by virtue of the preceding paragraph, may nevertheless be admitted by the jury of the course in question, in accordance with the additional requirements that it establishes, if the totality of the higher education that he or she has completed or the expertise that he or she has acquired is valued by the jury to be at least 240 credits.

§ 3. By way of derogation from these general requirements, the academic authorities may also admit to a specialised master’s course holders of a title, diploma, degree or certificate awarded outside the French Community which, in that system of origin, grants direct eligibility for postgraduate studies, even if the studies sanctioned by these credentials are not organised into distinct degree courses or within a time period of at least five years.

Specific access requirements

Admission through evaluation by an admissions committee:

Subject to the evaluation of dossiers by the admissions committee, this Advanced Master’s program is open

• to holders of a master's degree in Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences, Medicine or Veterinary Medicine
• to holders of a master's degree in (bio-)Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, Epidemiology, Mathematics, Physics or any other related discipline.

Admission based on dossier means that based on the submitted dossier and the content of the candidate's prior education, admission may be direct, or after a preparatory program for up to 60 credits (ECTS), or may be refused.

Eligibility criteria for applications

The submission of the explanatory dossier must be introduced to UCLouvain. In addition to submitting an online registration request to the UCLouvain registration service (www.uclouvain.be/inscription), any application for registration must also be submitted to the secretariat of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (guillaume.arnould@uclouvain.be) with a complete dossier no later than June 15 of the year preceding the requested academic year for registration. The eligibility of the applications and the acceptance of registrations will be reviewed by the committee. Candidates will be informed of the decisions during the month of July.

This dossier must include a detailed academic curriculum (previous degrees, grade list, ranking, scans of transcripts, etc.), a motivation letter, and, if available, proof of proficiency in English (TOEFL iBT, IELTS, Cambridge certificate…). If the candidate is unable to provide such a proof of English proficiency, the dossier must at least include a self-evaluation of English skills (listening, speaking and writing) according to the self-assessment grid of the common European framework of reference for languages (CEFR). If necessary, the admissions committee may request to hear candidates during a selection interview (see below). Other relevant documents might be spontaneously added in the dossier if deemed necessary by the candidate (e.g. letter of support, proof of professional experience…).

As for applicants from outside Belgium, comparability of the diploma is not always easily established, applicants will be asked to upload additional documents with their application:
- For applicants from universities that have an exchange agreement with the KULeuven or UCLouvain for the relevant discipline (i.e. pharmacy, medicine, biomedical sciences), or universities that are in the global top 200 in the most recent Times Higher Education or QS rankings:

• Scans of transcripts and diplomas

- For applicants from other universities as it is impossible to reliably assess the comparability.

• Scans of transcripts and diplomas.
• A complete list of course titles for which credits have been obtained should be part of this. The course size (in ECTS-credits) and the result obtained should be indicated, preferably according to the ECTS-scale; if a different scale is used, a summary explanation on the meaning of the scores should be provided.
• For the courses that are deemed by the applicant most relevant as a preparation for the master of Pharmacometrics, a short (about one half to one page) description according to the standard guidelines for an ECTS-study guide should be provided as well.

Only complete applications will be examined by the jury. The jury decides whether candidates are eligible on the basis of the information contained in their application dossier as a whole. The decision is based on the following factors:

-    Academic Level of the Candidate
Given the wide diversity of backgrounds and originating institutions, there is no strict universal rule. However, candidates are typically rejected if their study paths in the first or second cycles are significantly longer than the norm. Similarly, profiles with notable deficiencies in fundamental subjects or consistently low overall averages are less likely to be considered. Applicants who can demonstrate prior experience in pharmacometrics in a broad sense or who can clearly articulate how this training will impact their future career in connection with pharmacometrics are more likely to be accepted.

-    Language requirement
Candidates must demonstrate a sufficient level of English proficiency. If necessary, this will be assessed during a selection interview conducted in English by the admission committee.
As a comparison, the expected levels correspond to :

• TOEFL iBT: minimum overall score of 94, with minimum subscores of 19 for Reading, 18 for Listening, 19 for Speaking and 21 for Writing
• IELTS Academic test: minimum overall score of 7.0, with minimum subscores of 6.5 for Reading, 6.0 for Listening, 6.0 for Speaking and 6.0 for Writing
• Advanced or Proficiency Cambridge Certificates: minimum score of 185, with at least 176 for reading and 169 for listening, speaking and writing.

If relevant, other criteria can be considered by the admission committee (e.g. previous university degree obtained in a country where English is the only official language (Australia, English-speaking Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) and if the study program was taught exclusively in English) and can thus be documented in the application dossier.

-    Selection interview
A selection interview may be organized to make sure that the applicant properly masters the basic concepts needed for the study program. The interview also serves for checking the applicant’s proper command of English. Applicants should be aware that rejection after interview is a possible outcome. The decision to organize such a selection interview solely rests on the study program admission jury. When the selection interview is organized, the applicant will be contacted at the e-mail address mentioned in the application form. Failure to answer this e-mail within 14 days will result in the rejection of the admission request.