The programme is made up of:
♦   core courses (75 credits), made up of:    
    - a dissertation and an accompanying seminar;    
    - 45 credits in basic training;
♦   one focus (30 credits);
♦   and optional courses (15 credits).
 

There are three types of focus: research, teaching or professional.

1. Research or teaching focus

The research focus trains students in how to undertake research. As for the teaching focus, it guides students towards secondary teaching.

2. Professional focus

This focus is exclusively reserved to students who have been admitted to enrol on the master 'Philosophies allemande et française dans l’espace européen (Europhilosophie)' on the Erasmus Mundus programme (www.europhilosophie.eu/mundus/), and of which EFIL (Ecole de Philosophie) is a partner.

This master offers students from across the world high-level training over two years in the fields of German and French philosophy and the way they interact within the European intellectual and cultural area. Each year, 13 students who are not European Union nationals are selected and given an annual grant of 21.000 EUR. 13 European Union students are also selected and their mobility is covered by the Erasmus programme.

Depending on his study path, a student who spends a term at UCL will choose 30 credits from the core course courses and will enrol on the professional focus in German and French philosophy. A student who spends a whole masters year at UCL will choose 35 credits from the core course courses and 20 dissertation credits.

Wathever the focus or the options chosen, the programme of this master shall totalise 120 credits, spread over two years of studies each of 60 credits

Core courses

Focuses

• Research Focus
• Teaching Focus
• Professional Focus

Optional courses

There is a university certificate in philosophy (advanced module) which borrows courses from the second level.

> See the website www.uclouvain.be/vae

Personalized access

In general terms, the training the student will have received at the end of his master will equip him with a highly developed critical mind, skills in objective analysis and an ability to summarise and pick out the parameters to take into account when addressing an issue. These qualities provided by calling thins into question, reading philosophical texts and the diversity of the subjects taught help the student 'step back' from the subject in a manner which is characteristic of graduates in philosophy and valued by the jobs market (diplomacy, journalism, managing human resources). In his working life, the philosopher will tend spontaneously to work with his colleagues in a spirit of tolerance and openness to dialogue.

Incidentally, the training provided by the master provides the student with all resources and methods which will allow him, subject to completing extra training, to conduct himself, albeit as part of a research team, a specialisation in a sector of philosophical research.

More specifically, the teaching methodology favoured by the master is characterised by

– the availability of the professors : whether at the end of the class or by appointment in his office, the professor will always be present to answer a question, go over an issue again or give information on reading matter.

– the close link to research : the content of the courses and seminars is very closely linked to the research conducted by the professors. This makes their classes all the more lively and students can share in their research.

– interaction : at the level of the master, courses are often less 'lecture-like' than in the first level. Since the auditorium is smaller, there is a lot more room for dialogue between the teacher and the students and for the prepared interventions of both parties.

– the diversity of the learning situations and teaching strategies: courses are sometimes devoted to the reading of a major traditional text, sometimes to in-depth topical issues; the seminars promote active research and dialogue and the oral presentation by the students of the results of their research.

– interdisciplinarity : the student may choose 15 course credits from another discipline. This possibility is all the more valuable when one considers that UCL is a complete university. This choice must be made in discussion with the dissertation supervisor and be linked to the topic of the dissertation.

In the courses and even more so in the seminars in the second level in philosophy, students are very often assessed through individual work. The relatively small group sizes means professors can provide follow-up supervision of this work and formative evaluation.

Students can stay abroad for one semester as part of an Erasmus exchange.

The option 'sciences, technologies, sociétés' helps the student follow, at another university in the ESST (European Science, Society,Technology) network - Strasbourg or Lund university, in a semester of the master, courses equivalent to 30 credits. Moreover, this option welcomes students from other ESST network universities for the second semester of the second year of the master.

All students can benefit from the international aspects of the programme: teacher exchanges, annual attribution of part of a course to a foreign professor as part of the Chaire Mercier, development of courses given jointly by UCL and KULeuven professors, teacher and student exchanges as part of Erasmus mundus, Erasmus or Mercator.

The professional focus grants students very fruitful exchanges with other students, EU nationals or otherwise, enrolled on the master 'Europhilosophe'. This European master in philosophy is only on the UCL programme in Belgium.

All students can replace one course from their programme with a course of the same level from the HIW or KULeuven master course.

Information on Erasmus exchange : http://www.uclouvain.be/17371.html
For more information :

Core courses
1.Students who choose the research or teaching focus can spread their courses out in one of the following ways :

First possibility. During the first year, he chooses 40 credits from the shared subjects of the core courses and in the second year, he chooses five credits from the shared subjects which were not chosen before, a focus (30 credits) and completes his dissertation (25 credits).
Second possibility. During the first year, he chooses 45 credits from the shared subjects of the core courses. The course which incorporates the Chaire Mercier must be chosen by students on master 1 or 2.
2. Students admitted to the master Europhilosophie (Cf enrolment conditions at http://www.europhilosophie.eu/) who take the professional focus in German and French Philosophy select, if they are staying at UCL for one term, 30 credits from the courses on the europhilosophie site (www.europhilosophie.eu/mundus/article.php3?id_article=62). Students spending a year at UCL choose 35 credits from the courses on the europhilosophie site (www.europhilosophie.eu/mundus/article.php3?id_article=62) and 20 dissertation credits.

The optional courses help the student gain more in-depth knowledge of philosophy, acquire knowledge of disciplines connected to his specialisation, acquire teaching skills to help in teaching philosophy or, for students who are not bachelors in philosophy, to complete their basic training in philosophy.