Earth and Planetary Sciences, Environment Master's degree

Résumé

The STPE master's degree at OPGC comprises two tracks, "Magmas and Volcanoes" and "Atmosphere", and follows the research themes of two research laboratories at UCA: LMV (Magmas and Volcanoes) and LaMP (Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences). Read more

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  • Introduction
  • Admission
  • Program
  • What's next ?
    • Master Sciences de la Terre et des planètes, environnement parc. Magmas et Volcans
    • Master Sciences de la Terre et des planètes, environnement parc. Sciences de l'atmosphère et du climat

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for the Magmas and Volcanoes track: Etienne Médard (etienne.medard@uca.fr)
for the Atmosphere track: Aurélie Colomb and Céline Planche (master-atmosphere.opgc@uca.fr)

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Details

Financial aid

Financial aid is available as part of the InVolc (Volcano in the Earth System Research) Graduate Track (GT). Grants are attributed based on academic excellence and the quality of the study project. These grants cover the first year of study in the Master's program and the first semester of the second year, up to the start of laboratory internships, i.e. a total of 16 months. A specific application file must be prepared, in addition to the application file for the relevant Master's degree.

Published on 20 December 2023

Introduction

The "Earth and Planetary Sciences, Environment" Master's degree is divided into two programs: "Magmas and Volcanoes" and "Atmospheric Sciences".

The choice of program is made at the time of application, and cannot be changed for the entire duration of the Master's program. These two courses of academic excellence are supported by two internationally recognized research laboratories: the Magmas and Volcanoes Laboratory (LMV), and the Physical Meteorology Laboratory (LaMP), as well as the International Research Centre of Disaster Science and Sustainable Development (IRC2D) of the I-Site CAP 20-25 program.
 

The aim of this Master's program is to provide students with the technical skills and general knowledge in Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences that will enable them to pursue doctoral studies worldwide, or to enter the job market directly. It is based on a generalist training program, for the acquisition of tools and concepts, complemented by advanced specialization in the fields of volcanology and magmatism, or atmospheric processes and meteorology, depending on the path chosen.
 

A large part of the program is devoted to practical training, with two research internships (in research laboratories or in companies) included in the curriculum:

  • eight weeks at the end of the first year
  • a minimum of five months at the end of the second year

Data acquisition in the field is a key component of the program, with fieldtrips in Italy, the Alps, and the French Massif Central for the Magmas and Volcanoes program,  and the summit of the Puy-de-D?me for the "Atmosphere" program.
 

The Magmas and Volcanoes program is the only Master's degree program in France entirely dedicated to volcanology, with a multidisciplinary approach covering physical volcanology, magmatic petrology, geochemistry and geophysics, and their applications to active volcanic systems. It aims to provide training through research in all areas of magmatism (structure of the solid Earth, formation and genesis of magmas, and their emplacement - volcanism in particular), while taking into account human and environmental aspects (risk forecasting and prevention). Students are also in direct contact with volcanic hazard and monitoring issues, thanks to the presence of staff working on active volcanism in la Réunion Island, Italy, South America and Indonesia. Research related to early Earth and planetary formation are also presented, in collaboration with the "Early Earth" research theme of LMV.

The Atmosphere track presents the different aspects of atmospheric sciences: meteorology, air quality, and climate change. The specificity of this track is that it focuses on physico-chemical processes at regional and local scales, studied through observation and modeling. This master specializes in the study of cloudy atmosphere in the current context of changing climate, from precursors (gaz/aerosols) to the physico-chemical properties of clouds and the impacts on precipitation. This master track benefits from the "Université Franco-Allemande" (French-German university) label and is associated to the international master InMAS (International Master of Atmospheric Sciences) with two other partners: Johannes Gutenberg Universit?t Mainz (Mainz, Germany) and Ilia State University (Tbilisi, Georgia).

Objectives

Magmas and Volcanoes program :

  • Training students through and for research in all areas of magmatism from the early Earth to present time
  • Volcanic systems
  • Solid Earth structure
  • Analysis of natural and synthetic materials
  • Monitoring of active volcanoes

Atmosphere Science :

  • Training students in aspects of meteorology, air quality and climate change
  • Physico-chemical measurement techniques
  • Numerical and statistical modeling
  • Development of skills in various sectors beyond meteorology
  • Preparation for the competitive examination for meteorological engineers (Météo France).

Places

Aubière

Campus Universitaire des Cézeaux

Person in charge of the academic program

  • M. Etienne MEDARD
  • contact for the Magmas and Volcanoes track: Etienne Médard - etienne.medard@uca.fr
  • contact for the Atmosphere track: Céline Planche et Aurélie Colomb - master-atmosphere.opggc@uca.fr
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Admission

  • Prerequisites for enrolment

    Baccalauréat +3

    Prerequisites training

    The "Earth and Planetary Sciences, Environment" Master's degree is accessible to students holding a Bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences, Physics or Chemistry, or any equivalent diploma.

  • Conditions of applications

    For students citizens or residents of an EU country (and a few other countries), applications must be submitted on the national "Mon Master" platform between February 17 and March 16, 2026.

    For foreign students residing in a country subject to the "Etudes en France" procedure, the procedure is different : https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance/dyn/public/authentification/login.html, and the application deadline is in December for the following Fall semester.

    For direct admission to Master 2, applications should be sent to ecandidat: https://ecandidat.uca.fr/. We strongly advise you to contact the head of the relevant course in advance, as the number of places is very limited, and the application deadline is at the end of May.

    Conditions of admission / Conditions of successful application

    For reasons of capacity and supervision of long internships at the end of the curriculum, the program will set a numerus clausus for admission to M1. The admissions jury selects on the basis of applications from all students applying for the M1 program, whatever their university of origin.

Program

Les informations ci-dessous sont données à titre indicatif et peuvent faire l'objet de mises à jour.

  • A short internship in a professional environment (company, research laboratory, local authority, etc.) is scheduled at the end of the second semester (S2), and the fourth semester (S4) is reserved for a five-month internship in a company or laboratory.

  • The Atmosphere program is associated with the International Master of Atmospheric Sciences (InMAS), which offers students the opportunity to spend part of their training abroad. This degree is an international partnership with Johannes Gutenberg Universit?t Mainz (Mainz, Germany), Ilia State University (Tbilisi, Georgia). It enables UCA students to spend one or two semesters (or their S4 internship) at one of these universities, and vice versa for students from these universities. It offers the possibility of a double degree.
     

    Students can also spend a semester or a year abroad as part of the European Erasmus program (in partnership with universities in Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, etc.). First- and second-year internships can be arranged abroad as well.
     

    All MV and Atmosphere course materials can be provided in English. Some classes initially intended to be taught in French may also be taught in English if taken by non-French-speaking foreign students. The approximate proportion of the course (% of the total) taught in English at the moment is as follows: MV course: 30% - Atmosphère course: 40%.

What's next ?

Level of education obtained after completion

Year of high school graduation

Bac +5

Further studies

Doctoral studies, either in France or abroad, are an option for both programs.
 

For the MV program, the PhD continuation rate is 48% at 1 year (assessment of the 2019 and 2020 graduating classes) and 63% at 3 years (2017 and 2018 graduating classes). 50% of doctoral theses are prepared abroad (Switzerland, Canada, UK, Italy, New Zealand). For the Atmosphere program, the PhD continuation rate is 40% at 1 year (classes 2019 and 2020) - no statistics are available for longer periods, as the pathway is a recent creation.

Professional integration

According to surveys carried out by UCA's Observatoire des Formations, for the MV course, 70% of students are in employment or continuing their studies after one year (classes of 2019 and 2020), and 100% of students are in employment or continuing their studies after 30 months (classes of 2017 and 2018)