MASTERS
First-class courses in geosciences and the environment
The Master’s programmes run in association with CEREGE (OSU Pythéas, Aix-Marseille University) offer high-calibre courses in geosciences and the environment, directly addressing major contemporary challenges: climate change, natural resources, risks, water and coastal zones. Rooted in research and open to the professional world, they combine theoretical and practical teaching, fieldwork, projects and placements in laboratories or companies.
CEREGE is one of France’s leading research centres in environmental geosciences, based between the Arbois-Méditerranée Environmental Technology Park in Aix-en-Provence and the Saint-Charles campus in Marseille. It provides a stimulating scientific environment, at the interface between research, innovation and socio-economic stakeholders.
By joining one of these Master’s programmes, you will study in an exceptional environment, set amidst natural landscapes and state-of-the-art scientific facilities, with access to unique analytical platforms and top-class equipment. You will benefit from fully refurbished teaching facilities and the dedication of our academic staff, who will provide close support throughout your studies.
Master STPE
Combining fieldwork, innovation and research in the geosciences
The Master’s in Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences (STPE) trains you to understand and tackle the major environmental challenges of today and tomorrow: climate change, natural resources and geological hazards.
Following the core module in the first semester, the Master’s programme offers two parallel pathways:
IMG Programme – International Master’s in Geosciences:
To become a scientist specialising in the processes affecting terrestrial and planetary surfaces, climate change and natural hazards; the programme is taught entirely in English from the second semester of the M1. It covers topics such as palaeoclimatology, geomorphology, active tectonics and planetary science.
GRT Programme – Geology of Resources and Territories:
To become a geologist specialising in issues relating to natural resources, energy and geological hazards. Based on an approach combining fieldwork, measurements and 3D modelling, this programme draws on recognised expertise in carbonate systems and a strong network of industrial and institutional partners.
The STPE Master’s programme offers a competitive and demanding course of study, based on an active, project-based approach and working in close collaboration with the research teams at CEREGE and a strong network of institutional and industrial partners (TotalEnergies, EDF, BRGM, the Water Agency, ANDRA, Imerys, etc.).
It prepares you for careers in academic research as well as for a career as an expert in a wide range of sectors: industry, energy, the environment, natural resources and local government.
Master RIE
The master Risks and the environment route Regional Management of Natural and Technological Risks – Risk Science & Work-Study Scheme are designed to train risk management professionals for local authorities, government bodies and consultancy firms.
The Master's programme is organised as a single course, but from M2 onwards can be divided into 2 streams, one of which is a traditional initial training course, and the other a sandwich course.
The GERINAT route This course is aimed at study managers, risk and environment project managers, equivalent engineers in design offices, engineers and technical managers in the local civil service, fire and rescue services, government services (DDT, prefecture), environmental associations, environmental engineers, earth science researchers, HSE managers, fire brigade officers: lieutenants and captains.
The teaching in M1 enables students to develop concepts and master phenomena at the level of natural hazards - flooding, gravitational movements, forest fires, seismic risks, coastal erosion and submersion, torrential phenomena. Understand the players involved in risk and environmental management.
M2 focuses on the operational tools of risk management, the role of local authorities, the mitigation of phenomena and their impact through structures, risk management plans (PPR, PPRT, PIDAF), regulatory aspects and crisis management.
Skills development
The knowledge acquired is both technical and managerial at engineering level, focusing on knowledge of natural risks (hazards, issues) and their prevention/management: prevention and crisis management tools (we participate in and even organise communal or prefectoral exercises), environmental and risk regulations, engineering (protection sizing, river development techniques, avalanches, forest fires and forest management, etc.), integration of the environment and risks into regional policies and management, and to a lesser extent technological risks (identification of industrial risks, industrial prevention tools and environmental impacts).and to a lesser extent on technological risks (identification of industrial risks, industrial prevention tools and environmental impacts).
Cross-disciplinary knowledge: learning and perfecting QGIS, various courses on professional tools (public procurement and project economics, financing and setting up public projects).
Define and diagnose hazards and risks, mobilise and integrate prevention tools, develop skills and know-how specific to risks and the environment, specialise in knowledge specific to and applied to risks, mobilise this knowledge in a professional context at an engineering equivalent level.
Pedagogy
Professionals teaching and working in the field of risk management Gerinat is a professional master's programme with almost 75 % of lecturers are professionals from CEREMA, SDIS, CEREN, INRAE, local authorities, Cyprès, DDT, Météo France, water, environment, risk and industrial management engineers. The co-director of the master's programme is an Associate Professor (PAST) from the engineering consultancy sector.
Active teaching : A significant proportion of the teaching is delivered using active and project-based learning methods: carrying out supervised projects commissioned by local authorities and engineering consultancies; meetings with professionals in the fields of risk management and the environment (elected representatives, engineers and project managers from local authorities); and three field trips. Organisation of and participation in municipal and prefectural crisis exercises; five specialisation modules based on active learning in the fourth semester of the GERINAT ALTER programme. Case studies and active learning through environmental projects in Semester 2. Students are placed in professional scenarios, such as organising crisis exercises involving the implementation of civil protection plans (PCS). To date, GERINAT students have organised crisis management exercises for the towns of Rognes, Port de Bouc, Brignoles, Le Val, Salerne, Trans-en-Provence, and others, and have updated the emergency response plans for Rognes, Carry-le-Rouet, Port de Bouc and others.
Purpose and opportunities
Our aim is to train multi-skilled professionals in natural risks and, to a lesser extent, technological risks, who can work in private and public organisations - consultancies, river syndicates, environmental and risk departments of local authorities, associations, industries, departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS) - as project managers, study managers, environmental and risk technicians or engineers.
Master GEE
Course: Environmental Management, Valuation and Analysis - Environmental Sciences and Technologies (MAEVA-STE)
Purpose Soil, Waste and Polluted Sites Management (SWSM)
The aim of this two-year degree is to train professionals capable of implementing sustainable management of our environment. It provides students with the knowledge and tools necessary to understand the natural and anthropised functioning of terrestrial ecosystems - natural, agricultural, urban and industrial environments -, to model the dissemination of pollution in the environment, to manage and recover waste, to propose corrective measures for the degradation of polluted sites and soils, to evaluate environmental management measures (QHSE) and to set up a nuclear safety approach
The education The courses include a mixture of lectures, practical work and practical work associated with company visits. Half of the courses are taught by teacher-researchers or researchers in physical chemistry, water and soil geochemistry, biogeochemistry, geophysics, pedology, soil microbiology, geomatics, geology, hydrogeology and geomorphology, and professionals from the PHC and waste management sectors (BE, INERIS, VEOLIA, CEREMA ....).
The M1 internship of at least one month, followed by the 5 to 6 month end-of-study internship, enables them to finalise their professional project and can take place either in a research laboratory or in a company.
Target audience
Students with a degree in Environment, Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Ecology or Process Engineering.
Purpose and opportunities
Our objective is to train specialists in the technical and regulatory management of environments and resources (e.g. SSP engineer, HSE engineer, sustainable development officer, etc.) in the private or public sector. Students may be eligible for further research (thesis, study engineer, etc.)
Climate and Environmental Management (CEM)
This purpose is structured on two pillars:
Environmental management, which focuses on environmental standards and the assessment and management of environmental risks within organisations
Understanding and taking climate change into account in the adaptation and mitigation strategies of businesses and local authorities.
The GEC purpose This brings together the skills of environmental risk diagnosticians for a wide range of professions, from the QHSE approach in companies to climate vulnerability in the territories, via footprint assessments (carbon footprint).
Target audience
Students with a degree in Earth Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geography, or continuing education.
Purpose and opportunities
Our objective is to train specialists who can manage a Quality Safety Environment Climate approach within a company, a community or on a regional scale.
Master SCE
Career path: Hydrogeology and geochemistry of water (HyG'eau)
The Hydrogeology and Geochemistry of Water (HyG'Eau) course is designed to train future engineers and/or researchers capable of analysing complex environmental problems associated with groundwater and surface water resources, their quality and the dynamics of hydrosystems. At the end of their training, they will be able to carry out work ranging from the acquisition of hydrological data (field and/or laboratory), the use of geochemical tracers to numerical modelling. These skills can be put to good use either in the academic world or in industry (research consultancies, water management associations).
Target audience
Students in initial or continuing education who have completed 3 years of higher education (possibly by VAP) and who wish to prepare for the Master's degree in person, by VAE, or by work-study (M2 only).
Objectives
The aim of the course is to train professionals and researchers specialising in the sustainable and concerted management of water quantity and quality, in a context of climate change, so that they can propose diagnostic, monitoring and remediation tools for the quality of water and environments, and set up and develop scientific and technical tools for the conservation and protection of spaces and the improvement of water quality.
Career opportunities
Training environmental specialists in hydrogeology, hydrology, geotechnics and water production and distribution engineering.
Master COAST
Course: COAST (Coastal management and vulnerabilities) master's degree
To join the COAST pathway, it is essential to show a marked enthusiasm for acquiring specialist skills in coastal geomorphology, which are particularly relevant today in the context of coastal management. This approach requires an open mind, ready to embrace the multidisciplinary approach that is essential if we are to meet the complex challenges of coastal environments.
In the first year of the Master’s programme, students acquire the fundamentals of scientific research and explore the key aspects of geomorphology and coastal geography. They deepen their understanding by writing a dissertation on a topic of their choice (coastal retreat, coastal engineering, beach morphodynamics, conservation of marine protected areas, climate change adaptation policies, pressures from tourism and landscape management, etc.).
In the M2 year, lectures focus on advanced topics such as coastal resilience, nature-based solutions and integrated coastal zone management. Students apply this knowledge by working on group projects in a consultancy setting, before putting their skills into practice during a placement in an academic institution, a company, a local authority or a non-profit organisation.
Pedagogy
Lectures provide a structured framework for acquiring fundamental knowledge, whilst project-based learning engages students in practical applications, thereby reinforcing their understanding and technical skills.
The programme emphasises an active teaching approach, encouraging student participation, interactive discussions and collaborative problem-solving, thereby creating a dynamic and stimulating learning environment within a small cohort (around 12 students)
Cross-disciplinary skills
COAST stands out for its commitment to developing the cross-disciplinary skills that are essential for a successful education. By focusing on building professional networks (through trade fairs and conferences), students will have the opportunity to forge meaningful connections with key figures in their field. Teamwork, which lies at the heart of our teaching approach, enables students to acquire essential collaborative skills.
Practising English fosters an international outlook and makes it easier to take part in international summer schools
Students from general bachelor's degrees: Geography and Town and Country Planning, Life and Earth Sciences, Law, MIASHS; professional bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees in the environment, cartography and town planning. Some students who already have a Master's degree may enter M2.
Purpose and opportunities
Our aim is to train specialists in coastal management using a multidisciplinary approach. Students will need to master concepts related to coastal geomorphology and the social sciences in order to meet the challenges of adapting to climate change and anthropogenic activities in the coastal zone.
Graduates can take up management positions in companies specialising in the coastal environment, local authorities and other organisations involved in environmental policies. A doctorate is also an option for COAST students.
