How to apply

Applications for UCLouvain academic positions are considered with the utmost care. If you apply for one of our vacancies, the committee responsible for shortlisting candidates will need information about you, including your experience, background, and teaching and research plans.

Under certain conditions, successful applicants may also receive funding, from the start of their UCLouvain appointment, for PhD research. For this reason, if you are shortlisted for an interview, you will also be asked to propose a PhD thesis project that could be undertaken by a PhD researcher under your supervision.

Below, you will find the documents and information that must be included in your application. Please read these requirements carefully.

For your application to be considered, it must include:

1. A cover letter addressed to the UCLouvain rector. Please note: this letter must be included in your online application. Do not send it by post.

2. A detailed and up-to-date CV.

3. A complete list of your publications, together with abstracts of three of your most significant recent publications.

4. Your research strategy: a text of no more than three pages (excluding references, but including any tables and figures), with 2.5 cm margins, in 12-point Times New Roman and single-spaced, outlining the research programme you intend to pursue over the next five years.

5. Your teaching plan: a text of no more than three pages (excluding references, but including any tables and figures), with 2.5 cm margins, in 12-point Times New Roman and single-spaced, outlining the approach to teaching you would like to develop (your objectives, course formats, assignments, distance learning, active learning, etc.). You should also identify the aspects of teaching and learning that are of particular interest to you.

Please note that strict compliance with the specified format and length requirements is a condition for your application to be considered. Any document exceeding the stated length limit will not be considered by the Selection Committee.

6. A copy of your PhD diploma.* If your PhD was awarded by an institution outside Belgium and you are shortlisted for an interview, you will be asked to provide a copy of your PhD thesis or, if the thesis was not written in English or French, an abstract of at least five pages.

Please note: all documents must be combined into a single PDF and uploaded via the online recruitment platform.

The entire procedure is bilingual. You may submit your application in French or English, or use both languages for different parts of your application.

If you are shortlisted for an interview, the Selection Committee will also ask you to provide:

1. A PhD thesis proposal: a text of no more than 8,000 characters (including spaces and references) describing a proposed PhD thesis, with a view to potentially recruiting a PhD researcher for a two-year period, renewable once.

The proposal will be assessed by an internal panel appointed by the UCLouvain Research Council. The panel will select the proposals to receive FSR Seedfund start-up funding, which enables selected applicants to begin their research activities from the year in which they take up their position, by funding the first two years of a PhD thesis project. The available budget allows 10 to 12 FSR Seedfund projects to be funded each year.

The PhD thesis proposal must include an abstract (maximum 600 characters), an overview of the current state of research and how the proposed project relates to it, a description of the research objectives and hypotheses, and an outline of the methodology and key stages in the project’s development.

2. Between three and five letters of recommendation. No more than one may be from a UCLouvain member; the others must be written by referees from outside UCLouvain.

Please note: instructions for submitting these additional documents will only be provided if you are invited to interview by the Selection Committee.

* For your application to be considered, you must hold a thesis-based PhD. If your diploma has not yet been issued, you must, at a minimum, have been formally awarded the title of doctor based on a completed PhD thesis by 1 February of the current academic year.

If you hold a PhD awarded by a university outside Belgium, you will be required, unless you have already done so, to obtain an equivalence of your degree with a Belgian PhD in the same field.*

Degree equivalence will be granted by the university** during the selection process, following an assessment by the Equivalence Committee of the relevant PhD Committee.

To this end, as soon as you are shortlisted (i.e. when you are invited to interview by the Selection Committee), you must send the following documents to the chair of the relevant Selection Committee:

1. A copy of an identity document, or any other official document stating your surname, first name, date and place of birth, and nationality;

2. A certified copy of your PhD diploma;

3. A copy of your PhD thesis or an abstract.

If the thesis was not written in English or French, you must provide an abstract of at least five pages in English or French.

* Unless the field does not (yet) exist in Belgium, in which case a specific procedure for recognition at the corresponding academic level will apply.

** Or by the French Community of Belgium, in the case of recognition at the corresponding academic level.

At what academic rank will I be appointed?

1. The entry-level academic rank in Belgium is lecturer. This rank automatically applies to appointees with little or no academic experience (less than eight years since completing their PhD).

2. Appointees with more than eight years of academic experience, in Belgium or abroad, in a position that necessarily encompasses all three academic missions – education, research and service – may directly be assigned the rank of professor. This decision is made by the UCLouvain authorities (Rectoral Council) based on an assessment of the appointee’s academic career, including whether their previous appointment was temporary or permanent, the university at which they held that appointment, their experience across academic missions, awards received, and other relevant factors (this list is not exhaustive).

3. The rank of full professor cannot be awarded on initial appointment and can only be attained through internal promotion, in accordance with the provisions of the Academic Staff Administrative Regulations.

Note that "assistant professors" ("chargés de cours" in french) may use the title “professor” from the start of their appointment when carrying out their academic duties (Article 8 of the Academic Staff Administrative Regulations).

Will I initially be appointed on a temporary or permanent basis?

Selected applicants will normally be appointed on a temporary basis for a probationary period, usually lasting four years.

Where they consider it appropriate, the UCLouvain authorities may:

1. Shorten the probationary period;

2. Offer the selected applicant a permanent appointment from the outset, provided that, at the time the appointment is proposed, they already hold a permanent academic position at another university comparable to the offered UCLouvain position. A permanent appointment from the outset will not be possible, however, if the selected applicant does not have a sufficient command of both French and English at the time of appointment.

The decision to shorten or waive the probationary period rests with the Rectoral Council.

At the end of the temporary appointment period, the appointment will be made permanent, subject to a positive evaluation of the appointee’s activities.

The evaluation will generally cover:

1.Teaching ability and the ability to teach in both French and English;

2. The appointee’s contribution to and involvement in their faculty and research institute, and more broadly within the university, both academically and in their working relationships with colleagues;

3. Their engagement with the wider research community and their efforts to build a strong research team;

4. Their continued research output and prospects for further development.

These objectives are defined individually at the start of the appointment, in consultation with the vice-rector for staff policy, the relevant sector vice-rector, the dean and the president of the research institute.

How is my salary determined?

Your salary will depend on the academic rank at which you are appointed and the length of service recognised for salary purposes at the time of appointment.

What is the teaching load?

For temporary appointments, the teaching load is limited to an average of 90 teaching hours (classified as “Volume 1” in the teaching curriculum), to allow new academic staff time to settle into their role, pursue their research and become established within the university. The 90-hour teaching load applies per academic year, for a full-time position, throughout the probationary period.

For permanent appointments, the teaching load averages 150 teaching hours per academic year for a full-time position.

What benefits are available to UCLouvain staff?

1. Free public transport for commuting: UCLouvain staff are entitled to free transit between home and work by train or other forms of public transport (tram or bus).

Please note: if the appointee lives outside Belgium, commuting costs between home and work will only be reimbursed for one year from the appointment date. After this period, the university will no longer cover these costs.

2. Other benefits: UCLouvain also offers staff a range of benefits and measures designed to support their quality of life and work-life balance. These include benefits relating to leisure, cultural and sporting activities, as well as support for staff and their families at different stages of life. Full details of these benefits will be provided to selected applicants who receive a job offer.

Do I have to reside in Belgium?

Selected applicants who do not already reside in Belgium will be required to establish their residence here as soon as possible and, for EU nationals, no later than 12 months after taking up their position. Their teaching and research responsibilities require them to be regularly present at their place of work.

This requirement also reflects certain social security and tax obligations applicable to employment in Belgium, as well as the single permit requirements for non-EU nationals.