FAQ

Disclaimer: This FAQ is a complement to the UCL portal, notably the general academic and examination regulations and the MAP Master study programme of the relevant academic year. In case of conflicting information, seek advice from the Head or the Secretary of the MAP programme commission.

Registering to Master courses

How do I register to courses ?

Register to the courses via the online form accessible from the UCL portal ("My UCL"). The deadline is 30 September 2021. If needed, more information can be found on the EPL1000 page (see the "Règles générales" document). In parallel, you are requested to specify your programme on an Excel sheet available on the main page of this moodle.

Do I need to register to courses for the entire Master ?

No. You must (and are allowed to) register only to the courses that you want to take this year. We ask you to make a prospective plan for your entire programme in the excel sheet, but you will be free to change your plan next year.

Do I need to print out and send the completed form to the programme's secretary ?

No, your form will be transmitted electronically. However, you need to send a copy of your special requests to the MAP secretary (secretaire-map@uclouvain.be), because the free text that you enter in the form may get truncated.

What is the deadline to fill out the form ?

The deadline is 27 September 2022. By the same deadline, you must also fill out the Excel sheet. If you have doubts about the acceptability of your annual programme, contact the head of the programme commission well ahead of time. Exemption requests must be sent to Aurélie Gihoul (with CC to the head of the programme commission responsable-map@uclouvain.be) by 27 September 2022. Requests concerning equivalences with classes taken in the context of a dual master or an exchange programme need only be sent to the head of the programme commission, by the same deadline.

When will I know that my (annual) programme is accepted ?

The programmes that are consistent with the rules and the established practice will be approved automatically, while the jury restreint will rule on specific requests (chiefly requests to consider non-UCL courses as equivalent to MAP courses, and requests for exemptions in well-motivated exceptional circumstances). The decisions of the jury restreint will be communicated promptly to the students. In case of a rejected request, the student must propose a consistent programme ASAP and by 14 October 2022 at the latest.

Where do I write the title of my Master's thesis and the name of my supervisor ?

The Master's thesis is a mandatory teaching unit that belongs to the second annual block. At the time when the concerned students include the Master's thesis in their annual programme, the title of the Master's thesis and the supervisor are already known thanks to the procedure organised by the School of Engineering. Hence this information no longer needs to be communicated.

Why do some minors / majors not appear in the "Register to courses" tab on the UCL Portal (My UCL) ?

You first need to go to the "Register to a minor / major" tab and select the minors / majors you'd like to take courses in. Only then will those courses be available in the "Register to courses" tab.

Building your individual Master programme

The Master programme must contain at least 120 credits. Does each year have to contain exactly 60 credits ?

No, but some rules apply.

Taking more than 60 credits * 60 --> 65: accepted by default

  • 66 --> 75: possible if an authorization from the jury restraint is requested
  • > 75 credits: impossible
  • Students are strongly advised to be cautious and realistic. Overloading a programme, particularly to catch up for classes that had not been credited, may lead to a very difficult year.

Taking less than 60 credits: Let N be the number of credits required to fulfil the requirements to obtain the master diploma. The following are allowed by default.

  • Taking N credits when N < 60 (obviously).
  • Taking N-25 < 60 credits when the master thesis cannot be selected because the bachelor is not complete.
  • When 65 < N < 119, taking less than 60 credits per year to balance the two remaining years of the master.

Is it possible to choose courses that do not appear in the MAP programme ?

Yes, but the relevance of the course in your programme will be evaluated by the "jury restraint". Courses from EPL are often accepted. For classes out of EPL, it is advisable to explain your motivation in the excel file.

Can I modify my annual programme a posteriori ?

If you wish to modify your annual programme for the 2nd semester, then you must send a request with a justification and the updated version of your excel file to Aurélie Gihoul, with copy to the head (responsable-map@uclouvain.be) and the secretary of the programme commission , by 15 February 2022. The modification must leave constant the number of credits in your annual programme. As always for annual programmes, the decision is under the responsibility of the jury restreint.

What are the requirements to obtain the MAP master diploma ?

See the programme structure and the elective courses rules. In summary:

  1. Mandatory courses (30 credits);
  2. at least 20 credits among options 1 (optimization), 2 (systems) and 3 (computational engineering);
  3. Master's thesis 25 credits
  4. at least 90 credits for disciplinary activities, including the 75 required by the previous three items.
  5. the course LEPL2020 "Professional Integration Work", for 2 credits
  6. at least 3 additional credits in the options "professional exposure and socio economic knowledge", business risks and opportunities or CPME.
  7. up to 8 credits of language classes (credits exceeding 8 would not count towards the master)
  8. up to 8 credits of other non-disciplinary classes (credits exceeding 8 would not count towards the master)
  9. a total of at least 120 credits

Special transition period for student having validated at least 45 credits by September 2021: You can follow the former rules, See the programme structure. In summary:

  1. Mandatory courses (30 credits);
  2. at least 20 credits among options 1 (optimization), 2 (systems) and 3 (computational engineering);
  3. at least 3 credits of professional integration among LFSA2995 (internship), LINMA2120 (Applied mathematics seminar), LINMA2360 (Project in mathematical engineering), LFSA2212 (Innovation classes - accessible to MAP students in spite of what you may find in the course description), the professional integration courses listed in the other EPL programmes, the option in business risks and opportunities, CPME.
  4. Master's thesis (+ religion if not waived);
  5. total of at least 120 credits, excluding the credits in excess of the elective courses rules.

Special rule in 22-23: Students following former rule can register their master thesis for 28 credits only if they have completed all other classes, except possibly one.

My main registration is in Bachelor. Are there special constraints?

If you must still acquire between 16 and 30 credits to complete your bachelor, your main registration is in bachelor. In that case you are not allowed to register for more than a total (bachelor + master) of 60 credits, unless you obtain a special authorization.

The options (also termed "majors")

I did not follow the mathematical engineering orientation in my bachelor, are there specific constraints?

The MAP master programme assumes you followed the 6 courses of the MAP orientation of the Bachelor, or equivalent classes. If you did not, you can take these classes (mostly in French), or some of them, as part of your programme and it may be advisable to do so. Alternatively (e.g. if you cannot take theses classes for language reasons), you should be aware of the prerequisites of the courses you will take and may need to get familiar with certain topics. It is then advised to contact the head of the programme comission when building your programme.

Is it mandatory to validate at least one option ?

No. In view of the requirements mentioned above, it is possible to build a consistent individual MAP programme where no option is validated. Observe however the requirement to accumulate at least 20 credits among options 1-2-3.

What happens if a course appears in more than one option ?

In such a (rare) occasion, the course contributes to only one option in the individual programme (common rule for all the Master programmes of the Louvain School of Engineering), which is the option in which you select the course in the online registration form.

Can a course credited during the Bachelor be taken into account in an option ?

No, this is not accepted (common rule for all the Master programmes of the Louvain School of Engineering).

In the option in data science, LINMA2472 is compulsory. What does this mean?

You must credit LINMA2472 if you want to validate the option in data science. However, LINMA2472 is not a prerequisite for the other courses of the option. (Recall that the prerequisites of a course can be found in their description, obtained by clicking on the course name in the online study programme. Recall also that validating an option is not a requirement of the MAP master programme.)

Mobility (Erasmus, Mercator, Dual Degrees, TIME...)

Can an external course be considered equivalent to a MAP course ?

By default, external classes are considered elective.

An equivalence can be requested with an external course that is almost identical to a mandatory course of the MAP programme. Moreover, if motivated by exceptional circumstances, an external course can be requested to count towards the fulfilment of the rule "at least 20 credits among options 1 (optimization), 2 (systems) and 3 (computational engineering)".

Equivalence requests that do not contribute towards fulfilling the MAP Master requirements will not be considered. Equivalence requests must be addressed to the head of the MAP commission, who will comment on the acceptability of the request. The request must include a link to the course description (fiche d'activité) of both courses. Such requests are typically favorably considered only when they concern an institution with which we have strong links, such as a dual degree agreement.

Related remark: you also have to make sure that the courses taken abroad are not redundant with the other courses of your individual programme.

How should I build my Master programme for a one-semester mobility during the 2nd year of the Master ?

The recommended way is to:

  • take in Master1 the six mandatory courses (Professional Focus - 30 credits) and at least 20 credits among options 1-2-3, and
  • do the internship in July-August between Master1 and Master2 (more about internships further down in this FAQ), or else take enough credits in the box contacts avec l'entreprise.
    This frees up Master2 for a one-semester mobility.
    Requesting equivalences (see above) may give you more flexibility, but bear in mind that the course outlines should be almost identical for the equivalence to be granted.

Is it possible to do the mobility during the 1st semester of the 2nd year (Q3) of the Master ?

Yes, that's the most common choice. If you follow the recommended way described in the previous question, then you just need to take enough MAP-related credits at the host university to reach a total of at least 120 credits over your Master. When you return, you complete your Master's thesis (your supervisor must have agreed to the mobility) and you have then fulfilled all the requirements of the MAP Master.

Is it possible to do the mobility during the 2nd semester of the 2nd year (Q4) of the Master ?

This is allowed by the Louvain School of Engineering, but it is the student's responsibility to make sure that the Master's thesis supervisor agrees to the mobility in the 2nd semester. The agreement may not be easy to obtain unless there is a joint supervision with the host university. See also the questions above.

Is it possible to do a one-semester mobility during the 1st year of the Master ?

From 2016, the Louvain School of Engineering allows mobility during the 2nd semester of the 1st year (Q2) of the Master. However, since there are two mandatory courses in the 2nd semester, this requires either finding equivalent courses in the host university, or following these two courses after the 1st year, which is possible but not ideal. See also the questions above.

Is it possible to do a one-year mobility ?

Yes, if it is supported by a Dual Master (DM) agreement; see below. In the absence of a DM agreement, one-year mobility requests pose significant challenges in termes of the requirement of the MAP master, and may require requesting equivalence between classes, which are rarely obtained. Bear in mind that processing such requests takes time.

How can I do a Dual Master?

The list of equivalences can be found in the respective DD agreement appendix available in the Dual Degrees section of the MAP moodle page.

The MAP master has a Dual Master (DM) agreement with KTH Stockholm and KU Leuven. The students obtain the two master degrees after one year at the partner institution and one year at UCL. For the KTH-UCL dual master, only the 1st Master year at KTH is possible in practice for UCL students. For the KUL-UCL dual master, both orders are allowed; however, for the UCL-KUL order, it is strongly advised to find a master thesis topic at KUL a few months before the mobility, and to promptly contact the head of the MAP programme commission in case of difficulty.

Interested students need to apply by the EPL "Mercator and dual degrees" deadline in the 1st semester of their final Bachelor year. More information can be found in the mobility pages of EPL's intranet.

How do I get the head of the programme commission (HPC) to sign my mobility application forms ?

Let D be the deadline set by the Louvain School of Engineering. Phone or mail the HPC to request an appointment well before D, unless you are confident that your application complies with the above. Then (i) by D-2 (two working days before the deadline), hand your application forms to the MAP secretary, and (ii) from D-1 afternoon, pick up your form in (front of) the secretary's office (Euler a.104).

Unless otherwise specified by the Dean's office, the HPC has to sign two documents for student mobility applications: an application form and a learning agreement. It remains the students responsibility to ensure that their annual programme is compatible with the constraints of the MAP master (see the MAP Moodle page).

The application forms signed by the HPC have to be submitted to the mobility office of the Louvain School of Engineering (and not to the MAP secretary).

How can I combine mobility and internship ?


The easiest way is to do the internship in July-August between Master1 and Master2, then the mobility in Q3 (1st semester of Master2). The internship exam then takes place either in January (via teleconference if necessary) or in June.
The EPL internship pages mention that the internship takes place in Q4 (specifically between February and April) or during the holiday between Q2 and Q3. However, exceptions can be made to accommodate a mobility project. A negotiation must then take place with the manager of the EPL internship programmes and the head of the programme commission.
Note also that the internship can be made in a company located abroad. This is just another kind of mobility. (However, unless the jury restreint decides otherwise, an internship attached to a host university does not qualify for the box contacts avec l'entreprise. In other words, the internship must be evaluated at EPL.) See the internship Moodle page for more information.

I have been selected for a mobility. Whom should I approach to get various documents signed (mobility selection certificate, Transcript of Records, current list of courses...)?

Once you are selected, if you need signatures on documents, ask Emmanuelle Brun (Dean's Office, rue Archimède 1, lower floor). She will sign the documents "pour ordre" (per procurationem) if applicable. (However, at some point of the procedure, the HPC will get to approve your mobility programme electronically via EPC-MOBI.)

Internships

When should I start preparing my internship?

The first administrative steps take place at the very start of the Master when you compose your annual programme. See the internship page on Moodle for details. However, it is a good idea to start planning the internship before the start of the Master, e.g., by visiting the Journées de l'Industrie which takes place every year in February-March.

How do I find an internship?

See the "MAP Internship Opportunities" document on the MAP Moodle page.

Is it possible to take LINMA2120 / LINMA2360 over a single semester?

Each of these two activities spreads over the two semesters ("1 + 2q"). However, it is possible to concentrate the work of LINMA2120 over a single semester, and this may also be possible for LINMA2360. To this end you will need to introduce a request to the coordinator of the course(s). Note that requests introduced after the start of the academic year are less likely to be granted.

Other questions

Is there a limit to the number of humanities courses that can be followed ?

See the elective courses page.

What is the rule regarding language courses ?

See the elective courses page.