Decree of 7 November 2013 defining the landscape of higher education and the academic organization of studies.
The admission requirements must be met prior to enrolment in the University.
In the event of the divergence between the different linguistic versions of the present conditions, the French version shall prevail
General requirements
Secondary school teacher training (AESS) is open only to holders of a Master’s (second-cycle) degree awarded within the French Community of Belgium or a degree obtained abroad and deemed equivalent in accordance with this Decree, a European directive, an international convention or other legislation, subject to the same requirements.
Students in the final stages of a minimum 120-credit Master’s degree at an institution in the French Community may simultaneously enrol for teacher training. However, students admitted on these terms cannot be officially accepted until they have obtained the necessary Master’s degree.
French language proficiency examination
Anyone not demonstrating sufficient proficiency in French will not be admitted to teacher training (AESS) examinations.
Specific Admission Requirements
Le programme est accessible à tout étudiant détenteur d'une licence ou d'un master :
- licence en philosophie;
- master (60 et 120) en philosophie;
- master 120 en éthique;
It is, however, important to note that students who combine the Master's in Ethics with the Teacher Training Certificate (upper secondary education), or AESS, will be certified as partly qualified teachers (titre suffisant) but not as fully qualified teachers (titre requis).
Students wishing to enrol in the AESS must have a French Community of Belgium diploma; failing this, they will have to pass a French language proficiency examination to demonstrate that their command of written and spoken French is equivalent to Level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (for further information, visit https://uclouvain.be/en-204103.html).
Students who already have a 120-credit Master's degree with a professional or research focus and wish to obtain a teaching qualification may enrol either for this stand-alone teacher training programme or for the Master's in Performing Arts with a teaching focus.
Specific admission and enrolment procedures
Students must enrol with both UCL (Halles Universitaires, Enrolment Office) and their faculty office.
Enrolment and funding
Deferred enrolment
Teacher training is a one-year programme. However, subject to a number of prerequisites in terms of the chronological organization of the programme and the required timing of certain training activities, students may spread the components of their programme over two academic years. In this case, enrolments are done on a deferred basis in line with the administrative regulations on enrolment and the length of deferral.
All deferred enrolments require students to enrol for 15 credits for each of the two years and to sit the corresponding examinations in one of the official examination sessions during each year. Students are assessed on the first part of the examination at the end of the first year.
Accessible to adults
Some of the courses are available for part-time and evening study. The multidisciplinary courses and seminars are offered in various sequences at different times.
There is a system in place for the accreditation of prior experience (valorisation des acquis de l'expérience - VAE) in teaching or training, which exempts students from certain activities and from some of the teaching practice placements.
The current shortage of teachers in various subjects (mainly science and Germanic languages), provides real and immediate opportunities for people wishing to retrain as teachers after gaining experience in another profession.