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

1° The Advanced Master in Gender Studies is directly accessible without additional training to candidates who hold:

Either a Master's degree (120 credits), awarded in the French Community or Flemish Community of Belgium, in one of the following fields:

• Philosophy;
• Theology;
• Languages, literature, and translation studies;
• History, art history, and archaeology;
• Information and communication;
• Political and social sciences;
• Legal sciences;
• Criminology;
• Economics and management sciences;
• Psychological and educational sciences;
• Public health sciences;
• Or a similar degree awarded by the Royal Military Academy;

Either a postgraduate academic degree (bachelor's, master's) corresponding to one of the above degrees awarded in the French Community, pursuant to the provisions prior to the decree of March 31, 2004, or in the Flemish Community of Belgium;

Or a foreign qualification or degree recognized by the French Community of Belgium as equivalent to one of those mentioned above.

For holders of any other Belgian or foreign degree, admission is based on the application file, provided that candidates can demonstrate personal or professional experience and/or previous academic results deemed sufficient by the admissions committee, pursuant to a decision by the latter and under the additional conditions it sets. Candidates must hold:

• Either an academic master's degree other than those mentioned above, awarded in the French Community or Flemish Community of Belgium or by the Royal Military Academy;
• Or a second-cycle academic degree corresponding to one of the above degrees awarded in the French Community of Belgium under the provisions prior to the decree of March 31, 2004;
• Either a foreign qualification or degree deemed comparable to one of those mentioned above and valued at a minimum of 300 credits by the admissions committee.

2° Applicants who do not hold a higher education diploma from the French Community of Belgium (or from a country in which French is the sole official language) must provide proof of sufficient proficiency in French at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference. 
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 from the University confirming that the course was taught in French may be accepted.
Examples of French language tests recognized by the jury: DELF or TCF. 

The jury reserves the right to request an official certificate issued by a recognized body if it deems it necessary. 

3° No credit (exemption) will be granted for a course that has already led to the award of a previous degree.

 

Admission based on application

Admission based on application means that, based on the application submitted, admission to the program may be granted directly, may require additional training for a maximum of 60 ECTS credits, or may be refused.

Admissibility criteria 
The candidate's application will be considered eligible if it meets all of the following criteria:

• The candidate's degree must have been awarded by an institution recognized by WHED (see https://www.whed.net/home.php).
• Previous studies comprising a minimum of 5 years of higher education (equivalent to 300 ECTS credits), leading to a second-cycle degree;
• For holders of a degree obtained outside Belgium, an overall average of at least 70% (14/20) for the cycle of studies successfully completed at the institution of origin and giving access to this program; 
• For holders of a degree obtained outside the French Community of Belgium, official certification of proficiency in the language(s) at the required level (see specific admission requirements) to be included with the application. The official certification must be issued by an organization recognized as a full member by ALTE (see https://alte.org/Our-Full-Members).
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae outlining your educational and potential professional experience.
• An original letter of motivation. An original letter of motivation is required, explaining your personal training project. 

Any missing documents in the online application must be justified (see the frequently asked questions section of the UCLouvain Admissions Office, and in particular “What should I do if, during my online application, I am asked for a document that I do not yet have?”).
Applications for admission based on academic record that are deemed admissible are forwarded to the Faculty by the Admissions Office. Applications that do not meet these criteria are automatically rejected. 

Eligibility criteria 
Applications for admission based on academic record submitted to the Faculty by the UCLouvain Admissions Office are reviewed by the program jury in accordance with the specific admission requirements detailed above.
The jury decides on the eligibility of candidates based on the information contained in their application file, the quality of their education, and their results.
When reviewing the application file, the jury will pay particular attention to the following:

• Consistency between the candidate's previous academic background and the prerequisites for the program in question. The candidate's academic background does not need to perfectly match the degrees that give direct access to the specialized master's program, but the skills acquired (see specific admission requirements) must be similar. Example: for an application for admission to a master's degree in modern languages and literature, the candidate's previous education includes courses in languages and literature in both modern languages.
• Arguments expressed in the cover letter, in particular the consistency between the candidate's personal and professional plans and the program in question. The letter should explain why the candidate wishes to enroll in this program and specify how the master's degree fits into the candidate's personal and professional plans.
• Grades obtained in the program's major disciplines  (see specific entry requirements);
• Experience gained. If the qualifying diploma was obtained more than 5 years prior to the submission of the application for admission, it is imperative that the experience acquired since leaving school is directly related to the field of study of the programme applied for.

 

Access through recognition of prior learning

> Visit the Recognition of Prior Learning website

Candidates who do not meet the above admission requirements but who have significant, duly certified professional or personal experience related to the field of study in question may apply for admission to the Master's degree in Gender Studies on the basis of an individualized admission procedure under the conditions set out in Article 119 of the decree of November 7, 2013, defining the higher education landscape and the academic organization of studies.

This personal or professional experience must correspond to at least five years of activity, with years of higher education counting for a maximum of one year per 60 credits earned, up to a maximum of two years. During the evaluation process (VAE file and interview), the jury will assess whether the candidate's skills and knowledge are sufficient to successfully complete the program.

For more information on the admission procedure based on the validation of prior learning (VAE) in the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts, and Letters: https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/fial/vae.html.

 

Admission and enrollment procedures

All applications for admission, enrollment, or re-enrollment (from Belgian or international candidates) must be submitted online to the UCLouvain Enrollment Office: https://uclouvain.be/inscription.

Deadlines for submitting an admission or enrollment application: https://uclouvain.be/fr/etudier/inscriptions/calendrier-inscriptions.html

Requests for further information regarding admission to this master's program should be sent to info-fial@uclouvain.be.