CDD - Before admission / General information | Université catholique de Louvain

Completing a PhD at the Faculty of Psychology (PSY) involves several stages.

Here you will find all the information you need to know before starting your PhD.
From the idea of considering a PhD to submitting your application for admission... Here are the first steps to take!

From June 2025 onwards, applications for admission must be submitted via the new OSIS-Doctorat platform.

In parallel with this online registration, a scanned copy of the file will be sent by email to the administrative manager.

All applications for admission to doctoral programme require two mandatory steps with the two authorities responsible for doctoral studies, namely:

Firstly, the Enrolment Service (SIC), which is responsible for enrolment in doctoral programme. Registration is done online. Once the candidate has ‘submitted’ their application, the Doctoral committee's administrator is notified. The application is added to the CDD meeting agenda for review.
Secondly - The Doctoral Committee for the field (CDD), which is responsible for doctoral admissions. Once the application has been ‘submitted’ online, it is pending validation by the CDD. Once validation has been confirmed by the CDD, the administrator will be able to ‘take control’ of the online application and confirm to SIC that the doctoral programme enrolment has been approved. An automatic email is sent to the candidate to confirm this decision.
Important note. When you register online, the Doctoral Committee would like to receive 3 attachements that are not requested by the platform. The Committee invite you to add these to the uploaded documents:
1. The doctoral charter, available on these pages, in the forms. The charter must be signed by the supervisor and the PhD student;
2. A copy of your entry qulifications (UCLouvain degrees);
3. A brief CV for any Supervisory panel members from outside PSY faculty. The Doctoral Committee must indeed attest that all members hold a doctoral degree obtained following a thesis defence, or can demonstrate equivalent experience.

Meet the conditions for access to third-cycle studies

The entry qualifications must be in the field of Psychological sciences;
With at least a distinction (14/20);
For admission on the basis of qualifications from ouside Belgium, the Doctoral Commission must attest to the validation of at least 300 ECTS (equivalent to 5 years of study: Bachelor + Master).

Choosing the supervisor

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.
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:

IPSY: Psychological Sciences Research Institute

The relationship between supervisor and PhD student is crucial to the success of the thesis project.
We strongly recommend that you get to know your supervisor well, so that you can identify his or her supervisory style.
The best thing to do is to discuss mutual expectations from the outset, and to agree together on the frequency of meetings (by planning them) and the arrangements for them, in harmony with each person's schedule.

Find funding

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.

Propose a research topic that is original, innovative, personal and that you are passionate about

Your project 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.
You will find all the detailed information in the "Vademecum du doctorant".

Propose a Supervisory panel

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 panel will be made up of :

The promoter.s and at least two other members (the doctoral rules do not stipulate a maximum);
At least one member of the Supervisory panel is not a member of the research team to which the promoter.s and the applicant belong;
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 the IPSY institute may not be in the minority on the support 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 academic contacts available to students. Supervisory panel members must be accessible to 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 panel 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.

Propose a doctoral training programme (60 ECTS)

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.

Complete the necessary formalities with the Doctoral Commission (CDD) and the Enrolment Office (SIC)

A. Application for final admission

The application for admission must be submitted via OSIS-Doctorat.

Before completing your admission file, please ensure that you meet all the conditions for admission to the doctoral programme (Articles 115, 117 and 119 of the Decree of 7 November 2013).

Before completing your online application for admission, make sure you have obtained the approval of your supervisor and the members of your supervisory committee. You will need to provide at least the following documents:

- The name(s) of your supervisor(s)

- Your thesis proposal, approved by your supervisor(s)

- Your proposed supervisory committee

- Your proposed doctoral training programme (60 credits)

- Timetable

- Your CV and a copy of your identity card

- Copies of your university degrees and transcripts

Your supervisor(s) and the members of the supervisory committee will be asked to digitally sign the application for admission.

In addition to the online application, your application for admission will be sent by email to the CDD administrative manager, accompanied by the appropriate form, ‘Application for admission to the doctoral programme’.

Admissions to the doctoral programme are open throughout the year, from September to June (unlike other Bachelor's or Master's programmes).

The CDD meets every month, except in July and August.

The deadline for submitting complete applications is the 10th of each month (midnight).

B. In certain specific situations (see UCLouvain doctoral regulations), and if justified, a pre-admission application is possible.

The pre-admission application must be submitted via OSIS-Doctorat.

This file must include at least:

- The name(s) of your supervisor(s)

- A letter of motivation

- A timetable

- Your CV and a copy of your identity card

- Copies of your university diplomas and transcripts

Your supervisor(s) will be invited to digitally sign the admission application.

As with the application for admission, in parallel with the file submitted online, your pre-admission file will be sent by email to the CDD administrative manager, accompanied by the ad hoc form ‘Application for pre-admission to the doctoral programme’.

The different "hats" of a PhD student

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 Institute (IPSY / IACS / IONS/ etc.)

There is a "network" of researchers/doctoral 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.

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CDD - Before admission / General information

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