The two-year programme in management at the
Louvain School of Management is mainly designed for Bachelors in Economics or Management. It aims to provide the skills and know-how which will enable them to gain management posts in private and public organisations.
There is special emphasis on the development of skills which will enable students to :
- put theories and concepts of management into effective and competent use in a professional setting ;
- put organisations into their socio-economic and institutional context in order to understand the interdependences between organisation and environment and translate them into management decisions;
- to take account of the challenges of global competition in the practical application of socially responsible management techniques.
In addition, the future graduate in management from the Louvain School of Management will have been trained to:
- Act on reflection, aware of his/her responsibilities and putting ethical and humanist values at the heart of his/her perspectives.
- Gain a body of multidisciplinary knowledge in an active and integrated way (knowledge, methods, models, conceptual frameworks) necessary to act with expertise in the different fields of management.
- Analyse and solve multidisciplinary problems and situations of a practical and complex nature using a scientific and systemic approach.
- Define and pilot a project through to the end taking into account the objectives, resources and constraints relating to the situation.
- Become part of a team, collaborate and show enlightened leadership in the management of colleagues.
- Act as an intermediary between different points of view, methods of action, training, nationalities or cultures.
- Communicate and interact effectively, convincing his/her interlocutors.
- Display self-knowledge and independence, to be able to rapidly adjust to new contexts and develop in a positive way.
- Innovate, introduce and lead change.
The Louvain School of Management also provides students on the 120 hours Masters programmes with four different areas of training which can be accessed after they have been selected:
- Community of European Management Schools (CEMS) Master in International Management (MIM)
The Louvain School of Management is the sole partner in Belgium of this network which brings together the best European management schools and organises this programme which was ranked as the best Master’s degree in management by the Financial Times in 2009.
This elite programme is designed to train future leaders of multinational and global companies.
- Inter-faculty programme : Creation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME - Création des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises)
This programme brings together students from different faculties at UCL and provides them with the analytical tools to help them understand business processes, start or take on businesses of different kinds and to develop business projects within existing organisations.
- International Business programme (IB)
This programme is designed for students who wish to pursue an international career. Through an exchange of courses and a 5-month work placement abroad in a multinational company, it promotes an open-minded approach, intercultural awareness, adaptability and pro-activity, all of which are vital for work in an international context.
- Double degree
By gaining 60 credits from courses at UCL, 60 credits from one of the following partner universities :
and a dissertation worth 20 credits common to both schools, students are awarded two degrees, one from the Catholic University of Louvain and the other from the partner university.
The 120 hour Master’s degree in Management made up of the following four elements :
- Core subjects worth 30 credits, including the dissertation (20 credits), a course on corporate social responsibility (5 credits) as well as a seminar on topical issues in economics and management (5 credits) or an advanced Business English course.
- A professional focus worth 30 credits, with in-depth study of the distinctive disciplines of management : strategy, finance, management control, marketing and human resources. These courses are available in French and English. The professional focus also provides students with the opportunity for a work placement (10 credits) which may be linked to an issue dealt with in the dissertation.
- Two option courses worth 15 credits, each made up of three courses. These option courses enable students to specialise in one or two fields of management, either in a particular discipline or in a multidisciplinary field. Certain option courses are entirely or partly in English whilst others are only in French. The language of the course title indicates the language of instruction. Students may take any of the option courses which are available at the three campuses of the Louvain School of Management : Louvain-la-Neuve, Namur and Mons. In all, more than 30 different option courses are available to students in management at the Louvain School of Management.
- An international exchange worth 30 credits, during which students have the opportunity to take courses in one of the 120 universities who are partners of the Louvain School of Management. Students who do not wish to go abroad may instead take an option course worth 15 credits and 3 courses worth 5 credits each.
The first year of the Master’s degree is devoted exclusively to courses for the professional focus and the core subjects, in addition to two option courses. In the second year, students may do their international exchange in the first semester as the second semester is devoted to the work placement and the dissertation.
In their first year programme (60 credits), students studying for the CEMS Master in International Management are required an option course of three separate courses specific to the CEMS as well as a 10-week work placement in a foreign company. In the second year, one of the two semesters is spent at one of the schools which is a member of the CEMS. This year is devoted to activities and courses reserved for CEMS students and for other courses chosen by students at their host university (43 credits), for completing a Business Project as part of an international team (15 credits) and for an individual dissertation (20 credits). This programme totals 138 credits.
In their first year, students on the Creation of Small and Medium Enterprises programme are required to take the two option courses on this programme and to complete a dissertation as part of an inter-faculty team.
Students selected for the International Business programme do their second year abroad, with an international exchange and a 5-month work placement in a multinational company.
Students on the double degree programme are required to spend their first year studying at UCL (60 credits). The second year is spent in a partner university (60 credits) with a dissertation worth 20 credits common to both universities. This programme totals 140 credits.
Whatever focuses and option courses are chosen, the programme for this Master must come to a minimum of 120 credits spread over two years of study. This corresponds to 60 credits per year.
Advanced Masters : Advanced Master in Financial Risk Management at the Facultés universitaires St Louis.
Doctoral programmes : doctorate in Management Science.
