Access Requirements

Master course admission requirements are defined by the French Community of Belgium Decree of 7 November 2013 defining the hiher education landscape and the academic organisation of courses.

General and specific admission requirements for this programme must be satisfied at the time of enrolling at the university.

Unless explicitly mentioned, the bachelor's, master's and licentiate degrees listed in this table or on this page are to be understood as those issued by an institution of the French, Flemish or German-speaking Community, or by the Royal Military Academy.

In the event of the divergence between the different linguistic versions of the present conditions, the French version shall prevail.



Specific access requirements

Student must hold a first level university degree.

To have achieved, in the Germanic and the Romance languages that students wish to study in their master's programme, a receptive communicative competence (oral and written) and a productive communicative competence (oral and written) of level B2+ ('higher advanced level') of the Common European Framework of Reference.

In addition to the above-mentioned language skills, to have developed, in the two target languages that students wish to study in their master's programme, the following skills in the context of their previous academic training:

  • a linguistic competence (grammar, lexicology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics);
  • a literary competence (history of literature, analysis and interpretation of literary texts);
  • a cultural competence in the broadest sense (the study of the "civilization" of the countries where both languages are spoken: historical data and contemporary realities);
  • a discursive competence (argumentation and scientific writing);

at the end of a bachelor's programme including at least the following 108 specific credits:

  • 18 credits of general training (philosophy, history, arts, language sciences, criticism of sources, etc.);
  • 50 credits in language, linguistics, literature and civilization in the Romance language;
  • 40 credits of language, linguistics, literature and civilization in the Germanic language.

The 30 credits from Minor in German Studies, Minor in English Studies, Minor in Dutch StudiesMinor in French Studies, Minor in Spanish Studies or Minor in Italian Studies may satisfy these requirements.

In the absence of sufficient training in one or more of these subjects, supplementary classes will be integrated into the master's programme (from 15 credits to a maximum of 60 credits). This preparatory module is established by the jury on the basis of the student's previous course of study.

Students wishing to pursue a master's degree with a teaching focus must have a degree of the French Community of Belgium; 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 B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (for further information, visit https://uclouvain.be/en/study/inscriptions/french-language-master-teaching.html).

General remark concerning the choice of languages

The Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : General involves continuing with the Romance language (French, Italian, Spanish) and with the Germanic language (Dutch, English, German) studied in the bachelor's programme.

The language combinations German-Italian and Dutch-Italian are not organised.

University Bachelors

Diploma Special Requirements Access Remarks
UCLouvain Bachelors
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures : General Direct access Students must choose both languages studied during their bachelor's degree.
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures : GeneralIf students have chosen one of the following minors:
Minor in German Studies
Minor in English Studies
Minor in Dutch Studies
Minor in French Studies
Minor in Spanish Studies
Minor in Italian Studies
Access with additional training Students must choose for their master's programme one language studied as part of the major and one as part of the minor (depending on the language combinations offered in the master).
0 to 45 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration)

If the UCLouvain Admissions Office considers the enrolment application sufficiently complete, it will submit the application to the faculty for a decision.
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures: German, Dutch and EnglishIf students have chosen one of the following minors:
Minor in French Studies
Minor in Spanish Studies
Minor in Italian Studies
and provided that students have studied, in their bachelor's programme, a language combination offered in the master's programme.
Access with additional training Students must choose for their master's programme one Germanic language studied as part of the major and one Romance language studied as part of the minor (depending on the language combinations offered in the master).
0 to 45 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration)

If the UCLouvain Admissions Office considers the enrolment application sufficiently complete, it will submit the application to the faculty for a decision.
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures: German, Dutch and English Access with additional training 0 to 45 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme
Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Literatures : General
Bachelor in Ancient and Modern Languages and Literatures
If students have chosen one of the following minors:
Minor in German Studies
Minor in English Studies
Minor in Dutch Studies
and provided that students have studied, in their bachelor's programme, a language combination offered in the master's programme.
Access with additional training Students must choose one of the two Romance languages and the Germanic language studied in their bachelor's programme (depending on the laguage combinations offered in the master's programme).
0 to 45 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme

If the UCLouvain Admissions Office considers the enrolment application sufficiently complete, it will submit the application to the faculty for a decision.
Others Bachelors of the French speaking Community of Belgium
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures: General Direct access The two languages studied in the bachelor programme are the same as those studied in the master programme
Bachelor in Translation and InterpretingIf students have chosen a Germanic language (German/English/Dutch) and a Romance language (Spanish/Italian) and provided that this language combination is also offered in the master's programme. Access with additional training Students must choose, as part of the master's programme, two languages studied durint the bachelor's degree (according to the language combinations offered).
15 to 30 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration)
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures: German, Dutch and English Access with additional training Maximum 45 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration)
Bachelors of the Dutch speaking Community of Belgium
Bachelor in de taal- en letterkundeIf students have studied one Germanic language (Dutch/English/German) and one Romance language (French/Italian/Spanish) and provided that this language combination is also offered in the master's programme. Access with additional training Students must choose, as part of the master's programme, two languages studied durint the bachelor's degree (according to the language combinations offered).
Maximum 15 credits of supplementary classes integrated into the master's programme (consult Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration)
Foreign Bachelors
Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures Access based on application In case of admission, additional training (maximum 60 credits) to be determined depending on the student's educational background (consult Access on the file)

Non university Bachelors

> Find out more about links to the university

Only applicable to graduates of higher education institutions of the French Community of Belgium

Holders of a 2nd cycle University degree

Diploma Special Requirements Access Remarks
"Licenciés"
 
Masters
Master [60] in Modern Languages and Literatures : General Direct access An exemption of a maximum volume of 60 credits can be granted
Direct access
Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : German, Dutch and English Access with additional training Additional training to be determined depending on the programme

Holders of a non-University 2nd cycle degree

Only applicable to graduates of higher education institutions of the French Community of Belgium

Access based on validation of professional experience

> It is possible, under certain conditions, to use one's personal and professional experience to enter a university course without having the required qualifications. However, validation of prior experience does not automatically apply to all courses. Find out more about Validation of priori experience.

Candidates who do not fulfil the abovementioned admission requirements, but who have duly attested significant experience relevant to the field of study in question, may apply for admission to the programme on the basis of an individualised admission procedure.

For more information on the procedure for admission by validation of learning from experience (VAE) in the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters: https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/fial/vae.html (https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/fial/vae.html).

Access based on application

Access based on application : access may be granted either directly or on the condition of completing additional courses of a maximum of 60 ECTS credits, or refused.

If the students' educational background is incomplete, supplementary classes may be integrated into their master's programme.

Students with a Belgian degree
Students whose previous educational background is not included in the above-mentioned admission requirements may apply for admission according to the procedure described below.

Students with an international degree (EU)
Students whose previous educational background is not included in the above-mentioned admission requirements may apply for admission according to the procedure described below.

Students with an international degree (outside the EU)
Students holding an undergraduate and/or postgraduate degree from a university outside Europe may apply for admission, provided they have obtained at least a 55% (or 11/20) general average for all successful academic years at their home university.
Applications that do not meet this minimum average requirement will be automatically rejected.
However, this may be waived provided that the applicant has duly attested significant professional experience (consult Validation of learning from experience).

The conditions for admission on the basis of a submitted dossier have changed in 2023-2024 compared to 2022-2023. They can be consulted here.

Admission and Enrolment Procedures for general registration

Requests for further information regarding admission to this Master's programme should be addressed to Ms. Fiorella Flamini, Study Adviser (conseiller.etudes-fial@uclouvain.be) of the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters.

All applications for admission, enrolment or re-enrolment (from a Belgian or international candidate) must be submitted online to the UCLouvain Enrolment Service (SIC): https://uclouvain.be/en/study/inscriptions.

If a Faculty's authorisation or derogation is requested by the UCLouvain Enrolment Service (SIC), the request for authorisation must be submitted to the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters, in accordance with the procedure described on the page: https://uclouvain.be/fr/facultes/fial/admission-et-inscription.html.