Degree courses

The bachelor’s course is 180 credits, normally divided into three annual blocks of 60 credits. It comprises a coherent set of modules (such as lectures, seminars, assignments, practical exercises) and leads to the award of a bachelor’s degree.

During this foundational course, you will gain a broad understanding of your chosen discipline as well as exposure to related disciplines (through minors). You will develop the skills specific to university education:

• ability to work independently;
• critical thinking;
• comprehension; 
• research;
• communication; 
• creativity.

Minors  

UCLouvain offers bachelor’s students the opportunity to choose a minor in their second year. There are four types of minor, allowing you to deepen your knowledge or broaden your understanding to other fields of study.

Admission to a bachelor’s course is open to holders of a Brussels Wallonia Federation upper secondary education certificate or equivalent. Specific admission requirements apply to applicants who are not citizens of the European Union and are not treated as Belgian nationals.  

Some bachelor’s degree courses have additional admission requirements: 

• The bachelor’s in engineering, civil engineering and architectural civil engineering orientation, is subject to an entrance exam.
• The bachelor’s in veterinary medicine is subject to limited enrolment of students who are not residents of Belgium; in addition, only some – based on a set quota – of those who pass a required end-of-first-year exam can continue the course.
• The bachelor’s in physiotherapy and rehabilitation is subject to limited enrolment of students who are not residents of Belgium.  
• The bachelor’s in psychology and education, speech therapy orientation, is subject to limited enrolment of students who are not residents of Belgium.  
• The bachelor’s in medicine and dentistry is subject to an entrance exam.  

The master’s course is 60 or 120 credits (180 for the master’s in medicine). It is normally structured into two annual blocks of 60 credits.  

As a course for in-depth study and specialisation, its successful completion leads to the awarding of a master’s degree. Students can choose one of three focuses, each providing the necessary skills and expertise per their intended career path: 

• professional;
• teaching; or
• research.

Admission to a master’s course programme is open to holders of a bachelor’s degree or: 

• for holders of a Brussels-Wallonia Federation “type court” bachelor’s degree, via bridging modules, which add further coursework (up to 60 credits) designed to impart the necessary prerequisites to proceed to the master’s course; 
• for adults returning to education, via Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (VAE), which is intended for those who do not hold the required qualifications but can demonstrate significant professional and/or personal experience, and which allows students to be exempted from certain modules.

Browse this database to find the UCLouvain master’s courses you can consider based on your bachelor’s degree.

You can also view bridging module content for master’s courses on the master’s course page in the course catalogue. Select the supplementary module under the “Admission requirements” tab. There you will find a list of modules that may be added to your master’s course.