Research Master in Philosophy

Admission requirements

As a general rule, every study programme comes with its own set of conditions. You will find all the requirements for your chosen programme by clicking 'admission requirements' under the 'programme' tab.

Which degree is required?

Students who have achieved the greatest distinction in a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, in Moral Sciences or in Philosophy and Moral Sciences at a Flemish university. These students are required to attend the full programme of 120 credits.

Students who have achieved great distinction or greatest distinction in a master’s degree in Philosophy, in Moral Sciences or in Philosophy and Moral Sciences at a Flemish university. These students can be exempt from 60 credits of the programme and obtain the degree upon the successful completion of a track of 60 credits.

Important: students in these categories can only enroll after the programme coordinators have checked and confirmed that they indeed satisfy requirement (1) or (2). This means that students in these categories who want to enroll have to send an email the programme coordinators at RM.Phil@ugent.be. Attach the relevant documents to this email and explain which research seminars you want to follow (and why). 

Flemish students who expect to obtain one of the degrees mentioned in (1) or (2) before October 2022, but do not have it yet, should follow the admission procedure for other students.

Students with master’s degrees in other disciplines, students with philosophy degrees obtained outside the Flemish community and Flemish philosophy/moral sciences students who have not achieved the required grade may be admitted to the program after a review procedure. Check out the details about the application procedure.

Important: if you don’t have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in philosophy and/or moral science (i.e. if your application is based on a master’s degree in a different discipline) you can only be admitted if you have attended sufficient philosophical/moral science course units. By this we mean: a package amounting to at least 60 credits that includes philosophical/moral science methodology courses, and courses at an advanced level.

Will I need to sit an entrance exam?

You will not need to sit an entrance exam to begin the programme.

Are there any language requirements?

We accept the following proof of English language proficiency:

• 1: a secondary school diploma from the Belgian educational system;
• 2: a certificate from the institution where you completed secondary or higher education, stating that English was the language of instruction;
• 3: a certificate of one of the following language tests corresponding to the Common European Framework of Reference with minimum level B2TOEFL (internet-based test) with minimum level: 79
• IELTS academic module, with minimum level: 6.5
• Cambridge English minimum grade scale score of 170
• ITACE with minimum level B2
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we realise it may be tricky to take a test in person. So, we also accept the TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and the IELTS Indicator. These are variants of the classic TOEFL and IELTS tests that can be taken at home.
• This proof can be provided by presenting results of a language test or documents issued by your home institution. Please note your language test results must not be older than 5 years at the moment of application.

Are there any other conditions?

No, there are no other conditions to consider when starting this programme.

If you hold a foreign diploma (non-Belgian degree), you have to consider specific administration. Let us guide you through these steps:

Check the most important steps to consider