Access2ULiège

ULiège offers a one- or two-year university integration programme for refugee students. Selected students receive support and can take intensive French courses and individual classes with a view to enrolling at ULiège at the end of the programme.

Target audience

This programme is aimed at refugees already residing in Belgium, asylum seekers, or beneficiaries of subsidiary, international or temporary protection who meet the following criteria:

• Plan to resume university studies;
• Residence in Belgium within an hour's travel time of the campus;
• A secondary school qualification and at least one year of higher education;
• Minimum French language level of A2;
• Availability Monday through Friday;
• Minimum computer skills.

Admission to the programme is by selection, following the submission of an application and a French language assessment test. Place are limited (2 groups of max. 20 people).

Content

Learning French

The programme’s primary aim is to enable participants to achieve the B2 level of French required to resume university studies.

Participants therefore receive intensive French lessons: these consist of FLE ("French as a Foreign Language") lessons and FOU (French for University Studies) classes.

They are divided into two groups based on their entrance test results: an intermediate group (A2) and an advanced group (B1).

Students in the intermediate group must achieve level B1 by the end of the first year of the programme in order to continue in the advanced group the following year. 
Students in the advanced group must have achieved level B2 in French in order to enrol on a regular programme the following year. 
Re-enrolment in the initial group is not permitted.

Organisation:

• Duration and frequency: 15-week modules (September/January, February/June) - 4 days a week (Monday to Thursday) - 3 hours a day (10am to 1pm)
• Levels: two courses at different levels (between A2 and B1)
• High-quality teaching: qualified teachers of French as a foreign language (ISLV) - class sizes limited to 20 students
• Location: L3 University building (rue de Pitteurs 20 - 4020 Liège)

Academic activities (for the advanced group)

Students enrolled in the advanced group will, in addition to their French lessons, attent one or more courses at the Faculty, alongside regularly enrolled.

A selection of courses will be offered to students based on their future study plans.

Support

Students can be supported by one (or more) "buddies" as soon as they enrol on individual Faculty courses (a student or group of students from the relevant Faculty who will support the student with coursework and, if necessary, with extracurricular activities).

Throughout the programme, students also receive support to refine their study plans (possibly with the help of the University Orientation Service : Sandrine WUIDART) and to take the necessary steps to ensure full-time enrolment in due course.

Application procedure

Procedures

Interested applicants must contact access2uliege@uliege.be for further details regarding the procedure between mid-February and 30 April of the year preceding entry to the programme.

They must then submit an online application, to be filed no later than 15 May at the latest (with the assistance of the Registration and Admissions Office).

If eligible, candidates will be invited to sit a French test, which will be held in mid-June.

If the number of applications exceeds the number of places available, a motivational interview held in mid-September will determine the successful candidates.

Practical details 

Participation in this programme is entirely free of charge, and travel costs on public transport are reimbursed (up to an annually set limit).

French lessons are held at the Liège campus (city center). Individual classes (advanced level) are held at the Faculty, and their venue therefore depends on where the Faculty is located.

All students receive a badge (student card) giving them access to all ULiège premises and libraries.