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 recruited individual will benefit from a PhD research fund upon taking up the post; this is why we also ask you to present your research strategy and a proposal for a PhD thesis that a student could begin under your supervision.
Application requirements
- Motivation letter addressed to the UCLouvain rector.
- Detailed, up-to-date curriculum vitae.
- Complete list of your publications and abstracts of three of your most significant recent publications.
- Research strategy:
- a text of approximately 3,000 characters (including spaces and references) describing the research programme you intend to conduct over the next five years; AND
- a text of no more than 8,000 characters (including spaces and references) describing a PhD thesis proposal aimed at hiring a PhD student for a period of two years, renewable once. The thesis proposal is assessed by a Research Council panel, which selects projects for seed funding via a Wallonia-Brussels Federation Special Research Fund (FSR), enabling you to start your research activities by financing the first two years of a PhD thesis from the year you take up your post. Available FSR seed funding can support six to eight projects per year. The PhD proposal must include an abstract (600 characters maximum), a presentation of the latest developments in the field and a critical assessment of the literature and how the proposal relates to your specific research topic, 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.
- Teaching plan: a text of around 3,500 characters (including spaces and references) describing your teaching plan (objectives, course methods, assignments, distance learning, active learning, etc.). You should also specify the educational issues that are of particular concern to you.
- Copy of your PhD diploma.* For a foreign PhD, if you are shortlisted, we also ask for a copy of your PhD thesis or, if it is not written in English or French, an abstract of at least five pages.
- Three to five letters of recommendation.
All of the above – except the letters of recommendation, which are submitted separately (see “Letters of recommendation” below) – must be submitted in a single PDF file.
* To be considered, your application must include a copy of your thesis-based PhD diploma. If you do not have your diploma, you must be able to show that you have been awarded your thesis-based PhD by 1 February of the current academic year.
Letters of recommendation
Three to five letters of recommendation are required.
It is your responsibility to:
- enlist the support of your referees and ask them to write letters of recommendation and directly upload them to the online recommendation letter application; AND
- complete the referee details and recommendation letter request messages in the online recommendation letter application in accordance with the instructions.
It is your referees’ responsibility to:
- write the letters of recommendation; AND
- directly upload them to the online recommendation letter application in accordance with the instructions.
Questions? Please see the recommendation letter FAQs.
Letters of recommendation sent via a channel other than the online application will not be considered.
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 transport: UCLouvain employees can travel to and from work free of charge by train or other means of public transport (tram, bus).
- Other benefits may be explained to candidates who receive an employment offer.
Do I need to take up official residence in Belgium?
Teaching and research responsibilities require a routine presence in the office and/or laboratory, and official Belgian residence meets certain requirements of social and tax legislation concerning employment in Belgium. Therefore, selected candidates who are not domiciled in Belgium are required to take up official resident status in Belgium as soon as possible (within 12 months at the latest). They do so by registering with the municipality.