The Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters of the Université catholique de Louvain and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ottawa have added a new dual degree programme that enhances the strengths of their flagship programmes:
- master’s in multilingual communication (DD-MULT) (UCLouvain) and
- master of arts in communication (uOttawa)
The UCLouvain programme enables you to acquire and develop specialised language skills in English and French (and other languages) in the fields of business and communication in companies and different types of organisations.
The uOttawa programme allows you to explore different facets of the world of organisational communication and media through a rich and varied course offering in a dynamic and stimulating bilingual environment.
The programme’s international dimension is present from the start, notably through the research methodology class provided remotely by the University of Ottawa.
After your first year in Belgium, you will spend the whole of the second year in Canada, where you will complete your programme, including your dissertation and internship.
The main strengths of this course are:
- mastery of your main working languages in an international and multilingual professional context;
- putting your theoretical knowledge and language skills into practice;
- developing your ability to adapt to the specific context of your organisation;
- strengthening your soft skills and your intercultural communication skills;
- developing an international professional network.
Application and admission
Application
Due to the limited number of places (maximum five per year) you must submit an application for admission to the dual degree programme in multilingual communication/communication organised in collaboration with the University of Ottawa, you must submit an application.
Admission requirements
- If you have earned (or are about to earn) an undergraduate degree (bachelor’s or equivalent foreign degree) which grants eligibility for the master’s programme in multilingual communication (see also the general admission requirements for this programme) and
- you wish to choose English and French as your main languages and
- you have acquired during your studies a minimum level B2 in English and French (receptive and productive communicative skills) and
- you obtained in your previous academic career a grade average of 14/20 (or equivalent for international students),
you are eligible to apply.
The application, written in English or French, consists of:
- a letter of motivation;
- a current curriculum vitae (two pages maximum) with a recent passport-sized photo;
- a copy of previous university diploma(s) or, failing that, a final-year certificate of enrolment (with the current year’s programme);
- transcripts of each year of study (including current year exam results);
-
proof of knowledge of English and French (level B2):
-
accepted proof for English: international test certificates:
IELTS |
TOEFL (IbT) |
PTE Academic |
Cambridge English: First |
6-6.5 |
87-109 |
59-79 |
Grade B |
-
accepted proof for French: international test certificates:
DELF |
TCF |
TEF |
ALTE |
B2 |
B2 (4) |
4 |
3 |
Note: If you studied or are studying at a French-speaking university or studied or are studying French in an undergraduate programme in which French is a main language (e.g. French language and literature, communication, etc.), you may be exempted from proving knowledge of French.
If you studied or are studying English at an English-speaking university or studied or are studying English as part of an undergraduate programme that includes English as a main language (e.g. English language and literature), you may be exempted from proving knowledge of English.
Application procedures and deadlines (class of 2022-24)
You must send your application in electronic format (a single PDF document) to the attention of the programme’s academic coordinator of the programme, Professor Sylvie De Cock. The application deadline is 4 April 2022. Applications will be examined by a joint selection panel.
Note: All international candidates must also apply to enrol at UCLouvain in parallel with the dual degree programme application procedure.
UCLouvain Enrolment Office application deadlines:
- 30 April 2022 if your international diploma qualifies and you are a national of a country outside the European Union;
- 31 August 2022 if your international diploma qualifies and you are a national of a European Union country.
Programme structure (UCLouvain students)
Students admitted by UCLouvain to the dual degree programme study the first year at UCLouvain (including a class provided remotely by the University of Ottawa) and the second year at the University of Ottawa.
UCLouvain first-year programme
|
Term 1 (UCLouvain) |
ECTS |
UO credits |
Core credits |
LANGL2710 Listening comprehension and specialised (business) English oral exercises – Part 1 LANGL2711 Specialised English writing skills |
3
3 |
3 |
Professional focus |
LMULT2424 Oral business communication techniques in English – Part 1 LMULT2223 Reading comprehension and vocabulary extension: economic and commercial texts in English |
3
4 |
|
LROM2660 Stratégies de communication orale dans l’entreprise : français LROM2670 Les textes économiques et commerciaux en français : genres de discours et questions de terminologie |
6
4 |
3 |
|
UCLouvain electives UO required classes |
CMN 5500 Méthodes de recherché or
CMN 5100 Research Methods (in class and online) |
10 |
3 |
Dissertation |
LMULT2997 Séminaire d’accompagnement au mémoire ; Inscription à CMN6990 : proposition de recherche ; (choix de superviseur) |
2 |
|
Total |
|
35 |
9 |
|
Term 2 (UCLouvain) |
ECTS |
UO credits |
Core credits |
LROM 2680 Exercices oraux spécialisés en français LROM 2691 Exercices écrits spécialisés en français |
3 6 |
3 |
LANGL 2712 Listening comprehension and specialised (business) English oral exercises – Part 2 |
3 |
3 |
|
Professional focus |
LMULT2425 Oral business communication techniques in English – Part 2 |
3 |
|
UCLouvain electives UO required classes |
2 courses to choose from the list of courses given in Term 2 only
|
10 |
3 |
Total |
|
25 |
9 |
uOttawa second-year programme
|
Autumn term (UO) |
UO credits |
ECTS |
Winter term (UO) |
UO credits |
ECTS |
Internship and dissertation |
|
|
|
LMULT2990 Internship |
|
20 |
UO requires classes/core credits |
CMN 5531 Théories de la communication organisationnelle or
CMN 5131 Organisational Communication Theories |
3 |
10 |
Dissertation writing: registration in CMN 6998 |
|
|
Professional focus |
Choice of 1 elective |
3 |
10 |
|
|
|
Dissertation |
Dissertation evaluation |
|
20 |
|||
Total |
|
6 |
20 |
|
|
40 |
Internship
An internship of at least three months (468 hours or 12 weeks full-time) is an integral part of the course. The internship allows you to gain significant professional experience in any of a wide variety of companies and organisations in an international context.
Thanks to this professional immersion, you will discover the business world in a concrete way and develop knowledge and skills related to the functioning of communication within an organisation.
Students enrolled at UCLouvain do their internship in Canada, during the second year of the master’s programme (winter term), at the University of Ottawa.
You will be able to count on the support of the competent services of the University of Ottawa to find an internship in Canada and especially in the capital, where many national and international political, economic, media, cultural and diplomatic actors are based.
As a rule, the internship is unpaid in Belgium, but other options are available for internships in Canada.
This activity is credited in the UCLouvain programme according to the procedures and timetable set out in the UCLouvain specifications (internship report and oral defence).
Dissertation
The master’s dissertation is written under co-supervisors, mainly during the programme’s second year. The dissertation topic is discussed from the first year in consultation with programme managers. This is a structured process that includes several stages:
-
In the first (autumn) term of the master's programme, all dual degree students take a research methodology class taught by a University of Ottawa professor. UCLouvain students take it remotely.
-
All students register for the Séminaire d’accompagnement au mémoire (“dissertation support seminar”) (LMULT2997) at UCLouvain and the Proposition de recherche (“research proposal”) activity (CMN6990) at uOttawa.
-
In the first year, all students choose their supervisors and dissertation subject.
The dissertation is written in English or French.
Enrolment
UCLouvain enrolment and tuition fees
For the duration of the master’s programme, UCLouvain DD-MULT students enrol at UCLouvain and pay the full enrolment and tuition fees until graduation.
uOttawa enrolment and tuition fees
From the first year, UCLouvain students must enrol administratively via application to the University of Ottawa. The application fee is C$100.
During the mobility period at uOttawa (second year), UCLouvain students enrol administratively at uOttawa and pay all incidental and administrative fees related to their student status. For reference, administrative fees were C$727.04 for autumn 2017, C$203.66 for winter 2018 and C$171.57 for spring/summer 2018.
Participating students are required to pay for Ontario’s University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) (hospitalisation, medical appointments). For reference, the cost for 2018 was C$208 per term. A C$400 eight-month city bus “U-Pass” is also mandatory.
Diplomas
At the end of the course, students who have fulfilled all of its requirements are awarded the diploma of each partner institution:
- 120-credit master of arts degree in multilingual communication from UCLouvain;
- master of arts degree in communication from uOttawa.
Scholarships
Students admitted to the DD-MULT programme are eligible for an exchange scholarship. For more information on scholarships, please contact the faculty’s International Relations Service.