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Academic Programme

Master in Earth, Planetary, and Environmental Sciences

Specialisations: Graduate Programme Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), GeoPlaNet Erasmus Mundus in Planetary Geosciences
Diplôme national de master contrôlé par l'État

Résumé

The Master in Earth, Planetary, and Environmental Sciences (STPE) offers two programmes: Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), integrated into the Graduate programme EPS, and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Planetary Geosciences (GeoPlaNet-EMJM). Read more

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Details

International programmes

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  • Teaching entirely in English
  • A teaching team composed of geologists and planetary scientists involved in international space exploration programs
  • Opportunities for internships and research mobilities within the partner institutions of the GeoPlaNet consortium around the world.

Open day on Saturday 4th February in Nantes. More information. Read more

A practical education

  • Professional internships:
  • Field courses (M1 & M2):
    • EPS: 18 days
    • GeoPlaNet-EMJM: 14 days + optional field
  • Many project works (M1 & M2):
    • Individual projects
    • Group projects
  • Courses taught in English:
    • 100% in M1
    • 100% in M2
  • Mixed teaching team:
    • 70% teacher-researchers from the University
    • 20% of researchers, engineers and researchers from public organisations (CNRS, CNES, ESA, Université Gustave Eiffel, etc.)
    • 10% of engineers and researchers from private organisations (companies, consultancies, start-ups)

Capacity 2023-2024

Master EPS in Nantes: 12
GeoPlaNet-EMJM: 18

For EPS : Applications from 26 February  to 24 March 2024 on www.monmaster.gouv.fr
For GeoPlaNet-EMJM, the selection is very competitive. How to apply?

Introduction

Master STPE
You would like to work as an engineer or a researcher in the fields of geosciences, planetary sciences and space exploration. You hold a Bachelor's Degree in Life, Earth, Planetary or Environmental Sciences; or you have another bachelor degree (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, etc.) but are motivated by these disciplines.

The Master in Earth, Planetary, and Environmental Sciences (STPE) offers two programmes: Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) and GeoPlaNet-Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Planetary Geosciences (GeoPlaNet - EMJM). 

The course EPS is integrated in the Graduate Program Earth & Planetary Sciences (EPS), included in the Graduate School 3MG (Matter, Molecules, Materials & Geosciences) of Nantes Université. The Graduate programme (Master + Doctorate) offers advanced training through research, which is adapted to the academic, public and private career sectors. 

The course GeoPlaNet - EMJM, is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master, coordinated by Nantes Université in collaboration with the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and the University d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara (Italy). The selection is very competitive.
 

Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)
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GeoPlaNet Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (EMJM)


The EPS Master's degree is mainly based on the expertise of the Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences (LPG) and the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers Nantes Atlantique (OSUNA).

Objectives

Become a specialist in Earth & planetary sciences, and space exploration

Both Master courses train professionals capable of entering, at the international level, the fields of fundamental and applied research in Earth and planetary sciences. You will develop knowledge and skills in in geomatics, remote sensing, and quantitative data analysis, enabling you to integrate the spatial and temporal dimensions of geological, geophysical and geochemical processes in various planetary contexts.

Throughout your studies, you will work with students and researchers from different countries and will be introduced to major international space exploration programmes( NASA, ESA).

Through research training in a highly international environment, you will master techniques and numerical tools that will provide you with various opportunities to pursue a career in academic and private entities related to geosciences and space exploration, as an engineer, consultant, project manager, and then after a PhD, as a project manager, teacher-researcher, or researcher.

Contact for M1 EPS : Stéphane Pochat
Contact for M2 EPS : Gabriel Tobie
Contact for GeoPlaNet - EMJM: impg@univ-nantes.fr 
Contact for Graduate Programme EPS: gp_eps@univ-nantes.fr 

Places

Nantes

  • The GeoPlaNet-EMJM, is organized between 3 European universities : the University of Coimbra in Portugal (M1 Semester 1), the University of Chieti/Pescara (M1 Semester 2) and the Nantes Université (M2 Semester 3). Internship inside the international consortium GeoPlaNet (M2 Semester 4).

Programme Leader(s)

  • Contact:
    • for the whole EPS programme (first and second year of master STPE): gabriel.tobie@univ-nantes.fr
    • for the GeoPlaNet-EMJM programme : Sabrina Carpy & Olivier Verhoeven: IMPG@univ-nantes.fr

Our partners

Research center

Admission

Entry requirement

Academic requirement

Application

Application procedure

For EPS :
Selective access i
n Master 1 & 2 : how to apply for a Master's degree ?

Application procedure for the academic year 2024-2025 :

  • Opening: February 26th 2024
  • Closure: March 24th 2024

For information, documents to be attached to the application file:

  • A CV written in English, detailing, among other things, professional experience (internships,...), extracurricular activities and responsibilities,...
  •  A cover letter written in English, with a description of your professional project.
  • Transcripts from the Higher Education system.
For GeoPlaNet-EMJM:
See the "Apply" section of the Website of GeoPlaNet-EMJM

Additional procedure

Application procedures for foreign students /étudiants étrangers

Programme

The organization of the master and its programmes allows you to specialize gradually and to obtain an interdisciplinary degree, much appreciated in the labor market. Over the entire Master (M1 + M2), you will spend 7 to 11 months in professional placements. You will also participate in several (2 to 3) field studies, depending on your course options, and carry out a great deal of project work.

100% of the courses are taught in English.

  • Would you like to know more ?
Website of GeoPlaNet-EMJM with course programme
 

Content of the programme / Syllabus

EPS course programme for 2023-2024

First year (EPS course)

FIRST SEMESTER (30 ECTS)

  • Introduction to Earth and Planetary Processes - Field trip (5 ECTS)
  • Structure and dynamics of Earth and Planetary Interiors (6 ECTS)
  • Surface processes (5 ECTS)
  • Data Analysis and numerical modeling (6 ECTS)
  • Geographic Information Systems 1 (3 ECTS)
  • Aqueous alteration through the solar system (3 ECTS)
  • Introduction to scientific research and professional integration (2 ECTS)

SECOND SEMESTER (30 ECTS)

  • Field Remote-sensing and mapping - Groix (5 ECTS)
  • Principles of remote sensing (6 ECTS)
  • Deformation of Planetary Lithospheres (4 ECTS)
  • Magmatic processes through the solar system (4 ECTS)
  • Experimental petrology (3 ECTS)
  • Subsurface Geophysical Exploration  (3 ECTS)
  • Internship (6 ECTS)

2d year (EPS course)

FIRST SEMESTER (30 ECTS)

  • Earth and Planetary Surface Processes (5 ECTS)
  • Earth and Planetary Interiors (5 ECTS)
  • Fluid Dynamics applied to transport processes (5 ECTS)
  • Lab analyses and field geophysics (4 ECTS)
  • Space Exploration Programmes (3 ECTS)
  • Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing (3 ECTS)
  • Geographic information system (2 ECTS)
  • Data Analysis (2 ECTS)
  • Science and Research communication (1 ECTS)

SECOND SEMESTER (30 ECTS)

5-month internship within one of the 20 GeoPlaNet consortium’s members

The aim of the two internships in M1 and M2 is to introduce the student to professional life in industry, administration or research. These internships can be carried out in any establishment (private or public) whose field of activity is related to the Environment, Earth Sciences or Planetology: research laboratories of Nantes University or other universities, private companies or public organisations. Internships may be carried out in France or abroad. The M1 internship can also be validated by the student's registration for the Entrepreneuriales.
 
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In M1, the minimum duration of the internship is 2 months but we strongly encourage students to do longer internships (up to 5 months), including the spring and/or summer holidays.
In M2, the internship starts in January or February. It must last between 5 and 6 months.
 
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If students carry out an internship in France lasting more than two months (within the legal limit of 6 months), they must receive a bonus, whether the internship takes place in a company or in a research laboratory, in accordance with the decree of 21 July 2009.

Each internship is the subject of an agreement between the University, the intern and the host organisation, in which the subject of the internship, the name of the professional supervisor and that of the university teacher-referent are indicated. The professional supervisor supervises the work of the trainee. The teacher-referent's role is to ensure that the internship runs smoothly by guiding the student through the various steps, from drawing up the internship agreement to the final examination.


The search for an internship is the responsibility of the student, who must have his or her internship project validated by the head of his or her Master's programme before the internship agreement is signed. At the end of the internship, the work carried out is presented in a report, which is defended orally before a jury whose composition is defined by the Master's teaching staff.

Educational objectives
  •  To acquire, process, analyse and interpret scientific and technical data
  •  To define or take part in a project in a professional environment
  •  To carry out and present a project in a professional environment
  •  To re-use theoretical knowledge in a complex professional context
  •  To place their work in a scientific, technical, industrial, economic or societal context
  •  Make effective written and oral presentations in a professional context
  •  Work independently and in a team
  •  Apply job search techniques in practice
  •  Insert oneself in professional networks

What's next?

Level of education obtained after completion

Bac+5

Competencies acquired

  • You will explore with curiosity and critical thinking the various aspects of a scientific or technical problem in Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences, using existing knowledge, theories and know-how.
  • You will plan, carry out, describe, analyze and interpret field observations, laboratory experiments and numerical or analogical modeling to answer scientific or technical questions in the Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences, qualitatively and quantitatively (sampling, measurement, statistics).
  • You will combine qualitative and quantitative information, derived from the observation of natural systems, experimentation, modeling and consultation of scientific and technical literature, to ask and answer new questions in Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences.
  • You will construct, formalize and express rigorously (using written, oral, graphic or mathematical language) questions, hypotheses, reasoning, models, observations, protocols, results, interpretations and conclusions in Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences.
  • You will organize and join team projects to answer questions in Earth, Planetary and Environmental Sciences.
  • You will include the notions of spatial variation, temporal evolution and interaction in natural and societal systems in the development, formalization and transmission of your reasoning.

Depending on your programme choice (EPS or EMJM), specialized subject skills will reinforce this foundation.

Description of the degree in the National Directory of Professional Certifications

Consult the RNCP sheet n° 31500 relating to this degree
Concerning the licences, professional licences and masters registered by right in the RNCP, 1 national sheet defines the common denominators at the level of the diploma mention for each of the universities offering this mention.

What is the RNCP?

The National Repertory of Certification is a large national database which lists all the recognised training courses in France, including the expected skills, the access procedures and information on the course and teaching methods. Nantes University has chosen to present its training offer by integrating the RNCP files. The RNCP contains descriptive sheets for each course. The aim is to make the range of courses visible and attractive.

Career opportunities

Business sectors

  • Sectors:
    • Earth Sciences
    • Planetology
    • Space missions
  • Positions:
    • Engineer, geomatician, in charge of studies and projects in environmental engineering and technical departments of public and private companies; administrations and local authorities involved in spatial planning, development and environmental monitoring (seismic risks, landslides, floods, environmental diagnosis).
    • Research engineer in laboratories in geosciences, planetology, biology and geology of the environment or in the valorization of marine living resources.
    • Academic researcher in laboratories in geosciences, planetology and geology of the environment (after a PhD).
    • Engineer, project manager or researcher (after a doctoral thesis) in geosciences and planetology research laboratories

Employability

75% of graduates are employed after 18 months, and 90% are satisfied.

Source: 2013-2016 surveys on the professional integration of 2010 - 2014 (carried out by the SUIO for the Nantes Université).

Contact

More information

Mis à jour le 04 March 2024.
https://sciences-techniques.univ-nantes.fr/formations/masters/master-in-earth-planetary-and-environmental-sciences