Applications for UCLouvain academic posts are examined with the utmost care. If you apply for an open position, the committee in charge of pre-selection will need information about your experience, profile, teaching and research plans, and so on.
In addition, under certain conditions, the person recruited will be able to benefit from a budget enabling him or her to fund doctoral research as soon as he or she takes up his or her post at UCLouvain; this is why we are also asking you to present your research strategy and, if you are selected for an interview, to propose a thesis project that a doctoral student could start under your supervision.
Application requirements
For your application:
- A covering letter addressed to the Rector of UCLouvain (to be included in your electronic file - do not send by post!)
- A detailed, up-to-date curriculum vitae
- A complete list of your publications and abstracts of 3 of your most significant recent publications;
- Your research strategy: a text of around 3,000 characters (including spaces and references) describing the research programme you intend to conduct over the next five years.
- Your teaching project: a text of approximately 3,500 characters (including spaces and references) describing the teaching project you intend to develop (your objectives, course arrangements, assignments, distance learning, active learning, etc.). You should also specify the educational issues that are of particular concern to you;
- A copy of your final degree* (doctorate/Ph.D.). For a foreign doctorate, if you are shortlisted, we will ask you for a copy of your doctoral thesis or an abstract of at least 5 pages if English or French is not the language in which it is written.
! All these documents must be assembled in a single document as a PDF file in the online recruitment application.
If you are selected for an audition, you will be asked to submit the following:
- Thesis project: a text of no more than 8,000 characters (including spaces and references) describing a doctoral thesis project aimed at hiring a doctoral student for a period of two years, renewable once. This thesis project will be assessed by a panel of judges from the Research Council. This jury (internal to UCLouvain) will select the projects to be supported for the granting of an FSR Seedfund impulse budget, enabling you to start your research activities, by financing the first 2 years of a doctoral thesis, from the year in which you take up your post. The available budget allows for the funding of 6 to 8 FSR Seedfund projects each year. The doctoral project must include an abstract (600 characters maximum), a presentation of the state of the question and its positioning in relation to the state of the art, a statement of the objectives and working hypotheses, as well as a description of the methodology and significant stages in the development of the project.
- A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 letters of recommendation.
! You will receive details of how to send the latter documents if you are invited to an audition.
* To be eligible, your application must be supported by your doctoral diploma with thesis. If you do not have your diploma, you must be able to show that you have been awarded your doctorate with thesis by 1 February of the current academic year.
Foreign diploma equivalency application
If you hold a PhD awarded by a foreign university, you must, if you have not already done so, apply for an equivalency to a Belgian PhD in the same field.*
The equivalency will be granted by the university** during the selection procedure after evaluation by the Equivalency Committee established by the PhD Committee for the field in question.
To apply for an equivalency, shortlisted applicants – that is, those who are contacted by the Selection Committee for an interview – must send to the chair:
- a copy of an identity document or any other official document showing the applicant’s surname, first name, date and place of birth and nationality;
- a certified copy of the PhD diploma;
- a copy of the PhD thesis or abstract:
- if the PhD is not written in English or French, provide an abstract in English or French of at least five pages.
*Unless the field does not (yet) exist in Belgium, in which case a procedure specific to the application will be applied.
**Or by the French Community of Belgium.
FAQs
What is the job title?
- In French-speaking Belgium the academic job title is “Chargé(e) de cours” (“Lecturer”). The title is automatically applied to those with little or no academic experience (less than eight years since the PhD).
- Those with more than eight years’ academic experience in Belgium or abroad in a position covering all three missions – teaching, research and serving society – could nevertheless be appointed “professor” straightaway. The decision, which rests with the UCLouvain authorities (the Rectoral Council), is taken on the basis of an analysis of the candidate’s previous career, including whether the previous appointment was temporary or permanent, the university of origin, experience in previous posts, awards, etc. (non-exhaustive list).
- The title “full professor” cannot be conferred on appointment, but rather only by internal promotion, in accordance with the Academic Staff Regulations.
Note: Lecturers may use the title “professor” as soon as they take up their duties, as part of their academic responsibilities (Art. 8 of the Academic Staff Regulations).
Is the appointment temporary or permanent?
In principle, the selected candidate will be appointed on a temporary basis, for a probationary period usually lasting four years.
If they deem it appropriate, the UCLouvain authorities have the option of:
- reducing the length of the probationary period;
- immediately appointing the selected candidate on a permanent basis, provided that, at the time of the employment offer, he or she holds a permanent academic post at another university institution comparable to UCLouvain; this can never be the case if the selected candidate is not fluent in French and English from the time of appointment.
The decision to modify the probationary period rests with the Rectoral Council.
At the end of the probationary period, the appointment will be confirmed as a permanent appointment if merited by the job evaluation.
The evaluation will generally focus on:
- teaching skills and the ability to teach in both French and English;
- integration into the scientific community and, more specifically, into a promising research team;
- integration into the faculty and institute of assignment, and more broadly into the university, both scientifically and in terms of relationships;
- the continuation and prospects of scientific production.
All of these objectives are defined individually at the start of the term of office with the vice-rectors for personnel and sector policy, the dean and the institute president.
How is salary determined?
The salary will depend on the academic title at which you are recruited and the seniority recognised at the time of recruitment.
What is the teaching load?
In the case of a temporary appointment, the teaching load is limited to an average of 90 hours (lectures) per year for a full-time teaching load and for the entire probationary period.
In the case of a permanent appointment, the average teaching load is 150 hours per year for a full-time load.
What are the social benefits for UCLouvain staff?
- Free public transportation: UCLouvain employees may travel to and from work free of charge by train or other means of public transportation (tram, bus);
Please note: If the successful candidate's place of residence is not in Belgium, travel expenses (between home and place of work) will only be reimbursed for one year from the date of appointment. After that, they will no longer be covered by the institution. - Other benefits may be explained to candidates who receive an employment offer.
Do I need to take up official residence in Belgium?
Candidates who are not domiciled in Belgium are required to take up residence in the country as soon as possible (within 12 months at the latest if they are EU citizens), as their teaching and research responsibilities will require them to be regularly present in their office and/or laboratory. This also meets certain requirements of the social and fiscal legislation on employment in Belgium, as well as the regulations on the single permit (non-EU).