CDD - Before admission / General information

• Your entry qualifications must have been obtained in the field of psychological sciences, including speech and language therapy, sexology and family sciences.
• You must have achieved a grade of ‘Distinction’ (14/20) or higher for your Master’s degree.
• In the case of admission based on qualifications obtained outside Belgium, the Doctoral Committee must be able to confirm that the qualifications are equivalent to a minimum of 300 ECTS credits (usually equivalent to five years of study: Bachelor’s + Master’s).

To begin a PhD at UCLouvain, you must first and foremost find a supervisor who is willing to supervise your thesis. This supervisor must agree to oversee your research and support you throughout your PhD programme, from admission right through to your thesis defences.

The authorised thesis supervisor must be a member of the PSY faculty at UCLouvain or a member of the IPSY institute. This person must agree to supervise your research work and accompany you throughout your doctoral studies, from admission to the thesis defence.

At the time of admission to the PhD programme, the supervisor must hold the status of an "accredited" supervisor. He.she must not be within three years, or less, of being granted emeritus status or of retirement. If this is not the case, he.she will hold the status of an "authorised" supervisor and another "accredited" supervisor must be appointed.

You will find the criteria for authorisation to supervise a doctoral thesis in the Doctoral Regulations. You will not be able to begin your studies until your research project has been supported by an "accredited" supervisor.

You can consult the list of IPSY Research Institute and the research inventory to identify the players in your field of research.

Once you have identified one or other person, it is up to you to contact them.

The relationship between supervisor and PhD student is crucial to the success of the thesis project. The CDD strongly recommend that you get to know your supervisor well, so that you can identify his.her supervisory style.
The CDD invites PhD candidates and their supervisors to familiarise themselves with the “Charter for PhD Studies in Psychological Sciences”, which sets out how they should go about establishing their supervisory relationship.
It is essential, in fact, to discuss mutual expectations from the outset, and to agree together on the frequency of meetings, in harmony with each person’s timetable.

The completion of a doctoral thesis is a project that will last several years. Before starting your admission process, it is essential that you consider the financing of these years of research work so as to give yourself every chance of completing your project in the best possible conditions. There are many ways of financing these years of doctoral work.It may be an assistant position, a mandate subsidised by the institution (e.g. FSR) or by an external donor (e.g. F.R.S.-FNRS) or even internationally, funding in the context of a research project concluded with a company, income from your current work, etc. Depending on the nature of the tasks required of the doctoral student (e.g. teaching), the requirements of the funder (e.g. intellectual property) or his/her personal situation, the doctoral student will receive a grant or a salary. Your supervisor will be able to help you identify funding opportunities for you.

The Research Administration (ADRE) can also provide information on these possibilities.

Your project (maximum 3 pages) should include a working title, a statement of the project's objectives highlighting the innovative aspects in relation to the state of the art, a work plan and an inventory of the human, material and financial resources to be deployed. Your project should enable the Doctoral Commission to assess its scope, feasibility and/or viability.
The Doctoral Commission will try to assess the best conditions for starting and carrying out the planned research work, so that it can be completed and lead to a doctoral thesis in the research area concerned.
All detailed information is available in this document. 

Together with the supervisor, other people will also help and support you throughout your doctoral studies. It will be set up in collaboration with and with the help of the supervisor. The Supervisory committee will be made up of :

• The promoter and at least two other members (the doctoral rules do not stipulate a maximum);
• At least one member of the Supervisory committee is not a member of the research team to which the promoter and the applicant belong / has no ongoing scientific collaborations;
• All members hold a PhD obtained after defending a thesis, or demonstrate equivalent expertise;
• Permanent academic or scientific members belonging to the PSY faculty or IPSY institute may not be in the minority on the Supervisory committee.

The Doctoral Commission encourages diversity, inclusion and openness to other research paradigms when composing committees: members who are part of/not part of the supervisor's research team.

Supervisory panels guide and advise PhD students, both to reinforce the role of the supervisor.s in shaping the direction of research and to expand the network of scientific contacts available to students. Supervisory committee members must be accessible to PhD students and give constructive help with their research. They are thus committed to providing students with regular support throughout their doctoral studies.
 

To this end, supervisor.s, Supervisory committee and PhD student must meet at least once a year. Each year, the Doctoral Commission will receive the annual meeting report, detailing the progress made and the actions to be planned for the coming months. This report will be completed and signed by the PhD student on the one hand, and their Supervisory panel on the other.

A doctoral degree can be obtained on completion of a doctoral programme with two compulsory components:

      - The first, consisting of advanced academic training, worth 60 ECTS, referred to as "doctoral training";

      - Research work relating to the preparation of a doctoral thesis, worth at least 120 ECTS.

The scientific training of 60 ECTS at the highest level, known as "doctoral training", is acquired throughout the PhD. Doctoral training and research cannot be carried out entirely at a distance. They require involvement in the research team, the doctoral school, the institute and the faculty.

If part of the doctoral programme is carried out outside Belgium, this involvement presupposes an appropriate balance between face-to-face and distance learning, a balance to be established in consultation with the supervisory committee. When applying for admission to the doctorate, the timetable will specify the periods of presence in Belgium and abroad, as well as the modes of remote involvement from abroad.

Applications for admission, or pre-admission, must be submitted via the new OSIS-Doctorat platform. This platform is shared by the Enrolment Office (SIC) and the Doctoral committees (CDD). See all the information above.

Scientific collaboration as part of a PhD programme can take various forms and should be as closely aligned as possible with your research and your doctoral training.

As part of a PhD programme at UCLouvain, the richness of scientific collaboration will already be established through the various members who make up the supervisory committee. Each of them will enable PhD students to explore specific areas of research and to connect with their own networks.

Scientific collaboration can also be expanded through:

      - Co-promotion of a thesis (without joint degree). 
You are undertaking a doctoral programme at UCLouvain whilst benefiting from the more specialised expertise of two official thesis supervisors.
This collaboration often involves research and/or training stays at the university of the second supervisor (see below);

      - Beyond a co-promotion, an even closer academic collaboration can be established through joint supervision agreement of a PhD thesis (with joint degree award), whereby the entire PhD programme is undertaken at UCLouvain and another university (Belgian or foreign). This leads to the award of a double degree from each of the institutions involved.

Depending on the research topic, a joint supervision arrangement (with joint degree award) may be appropriate.
Joint supervision enables two universities to award a doctoral degree simultaneously on the basis of the same research work.

This arrangement involves not only two thesis supervisors but also covers all stages and requirements of the doctoral programme. The second supervisor is from another university authorised to award a doctoral degree in psychological sciences (in Belgium or abroad).

If you are considering carrying out your doctoral research at UCLouvain as part of a joint supervision arrangement with another university, please consult the “Vademecum – Joint Supervision: A Guide” for all the necessary information.

In practice. A joint PhD supervision agreement (with joint degree) requires:

      - Admission and enrolment at both universities with a view to obtaining a PhD from each;
      - A joint academic supervisory committee including both supervisors;
      - Doctoral training activities that can be recognised by each university;
      - A research topic leading to the writing of a single thesis manuscript;
      - A minimum of 25 % of research time spent within a research team at each of the institutions;
      - Joint final thesis examinations;
      - A single thesis examination board to award the doctoral degrees from each university.

      - Research exchanges. Immersing yourself in a research team other than your own is a truly enriching experience, not only for your research but also for your personal development. Discuss this with your thesis supervisor, who, through their network, will be able to put you in touch with other academics.

Are you a PhD student at UCLouvain and would you like to undertake a research and/or training placement at another university? Your supervisor and the other members of your supervisory committee can put you in touch with their network of contacts.

Do you already have a co-supervisor at another university? They may be able to welcome you into their research team.

You should contact the research institute to which your UCLouvain supervisor is affiliated to ensure that your placement is organised under the right conditions.

Being a doctoral student means wearing several hats at the same time:

      - A researcher, for whom doctoral research will be the core business for several years;

      - A worker, whose doctorate will constitute a unique professional research experience;

      - A student, trained by the best teachers in their discipline.

Hence the need to carry out various administrative procedures with different departments within UCLouvain:

      - The HR Administration (ARH)

      - The Enrolment Office (SIC)

      - Research Administration (ADRE)

      - The Doctoral Commission (CDD)

      - The Psychological sciences Research Institute (IPSY, IONS, etc.).

There is a "network" of researchers / PhD students within your research institute, which could be useful to activate, as it will facilitate the exchange of information throughout your course.

There are also CorSci representatives within your institute to help you deal with the various problems you may face during your PhD thesis.

Ask your Institute / Research secretary for more information.