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 an option or 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 'Master’s degree German and French Philosophy: Contemporary Issues' on the Erasmus Mundus programme, 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.