Geosciences, Pollution Prevention and Treatment

  • Training structure

    Faculty of Science

Presentation

The Geosciences, Pollution Prevention and Treatment (GPTP) professionalization program is one of the three programs in the Earth-Water-Environment degree. It aims to give a generalist training in Earth Sciences completed by a professional training in the fields of prevention and treatment of pollution, especially water, with an internship in a professional environment or in a laboratory of 4 to 6 months.

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  • Over 85% in L2 and L3

    Success rate

Objectives

The Geosciences, Pollution Prevention and Treatment (GPTP) professionalization program, created in 2004, responds first and foremost to the demand for technicians in pollution prevention and treatment, which has been expressed through our contacts with the public and private sectors.

This program aims to provide a general education in Earth Sciences, complemented by a professional training that will lead to the job market at the end of the degree (Bac + 3) with a Technician/Assistant Engineer level. In addition, this professionalizing degree also allows students to pursue a Master's degree .

Thus, the first 3 semesters are identical to those of the Earth-Water-Environment course. In the 4th semester(L2), a beginning of orientation is initiated with specific UEs such as Ocean-Atmosphere-Hydrosphere, Hydraulics and Chemistry of the Environment . The definitive orientation of the course thus takes place at the beginning of the 3rd year (L3). The participation of teachers from the Department of Chemistry, Process Engineering and the Polytech School of Engineering, as well as professionals, allows for specialization in the fields of :

- water microbiology

- water and waste chemistry

- water purification and treatment / hydrology / hydrogeology

- treatment and prevention of waste and pollution

- water and waste legislation              

This third year(L3) is structured around a 4 to 6 month internship in a company that counts for 20 ECTS. The training team relies today on a network of local authorities and companies, in particular SMEs. Small classes of 15 to 20 students per year ensure our relevance to the regional and national job market.

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Know-how and skills

The skills and competencies of the GPTP pathway relate to the learning of applied and scientific approaches, identical to those of the STEE pathway for the first two years.

 

The third year aims to bring students to be autonomous on the fields and measures related to the different areas of pollution prevention and management:

  1. Mobilize fundamental concepts and technologies in analytical chemistry, chemical thermodynamics, solution chemistry, physical chemistry of materials and chemical and physical-chemical techniques of water purification to address a problem in the field of water chemistry or analyze a research or presentation document on water chemistry.
  2. Propose solutions for wastewater treatment. Dimension the physico-chemical and biological treatment processes, then propose a complete dimensioning for an "ERU" WWTP.
  3. Mobilize fundamental concepts and technologies for microbial identification and water analysis.
  4. Know the important laws related to water and waste, the links between the actors of water and know how to explain waste management on a territorial scale.
  5. Propose extensive treatment solutions for small wastewater treatment plants (lagooning, planted reed filters, vegetated discharge areas, etc.).
  6. Identify the waste concerned and then choose the appropriate treatment method by integrating all the technical, ecological, economic and social constraints (methanization, composting, thermal treatment, sorting-recycling, burying, radioactive waste).
  7. To master the different ways of valorisation of water treatment by-products, organic by-products from economic activities and gaseous by-products produced by industries.
  8. Acquire a knowledge base in pedology and soil science to describe, classify, and characterize soils, their physical, chemical, and biological properties, as well as their formation and evolution in different environments.
  9. Understand the physical processes at the origin of the flows involved in the water cycle at the scale of the catchment area, determine a hydrological balance at different spatio-temporal scales (peak flow to size hydraulic structures, runoff coefficient, hydrological balance, river gauging techniques, ...)
  10. Master the search for information for an internship or a job, the writing of a CV and a LM and the job interview.
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Organization

Program

Theoretical and practical courses are divided into lectures, practical sessions and practical work, but the specificity of this field of study is the important part given to training in the field. Specific field trips are dedicated to the acquisition of experimental data in situ, or to observation. Field internships (from 4 to 10 days depending on the semester) are also a strong element of our training and allow a total immersion with application of the knowledge acquired in various disciplines to be able to confront them in order to characterize and understand the functioning of a natural object/ a complex geological sector.

This course comprises 6 semesters, each validated by 30 ECTS. The first two years (L1 and L2) are common to the Earth and Environmental Sciences license (STEE), with a beginning of specialization in semester 4(L2, hydraulics, Ocean-Atmosphere-Hydrosphere, environmental chemistry).

The teaching in L3 specific to the GPTP course is declined in CM, TD and TP, but the specificity of this course is the important part given to the practical teaching and on the field. The participation of teachers from the Department of Chemistry, Process Engineering and the Polytech School of Engineering, as well as professionals (design offices and public organizations), allows for professional specialization.

Internships and tutored projects:

The third year (L3) is structured around a 4-month internship in a company or laboratory, which provides direct contact with the professional world. This internship counts for 20 ECTS.

A report and an oral defense conclude this internship.

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Select a program

  • Water purification and treatment

    5 credits
  • Water and waste chemistry

    5 credits
  • Microbiology of water

    5 credits
  • Tools for professional integration

    2 credits
  • Pedology, soil science

    3 credits
  • GPTP S5 internship

    10 credits
  • Extensive effluent treatment processes

    3 credits
  • Waste treatment

    5 credits
  • Hydrology

    4 credits
  • GPTP S6 internship

    10 credits
  • Valuation of by-products

    5 credits
  • Water and waste legislation

    3 credits

Admission

Conditions of access

Access to L2:

Access to the GPTP course is in L2, after a first year of scientific study.

Thus, the first year of the GPTP license allows students to acquire a base of knowledge in the fundamental scientific disciplines (mathematics, physics, chemistry) as well as in Life and Earth Sciences. The content of this first year is ideal for integration into the L2 GPTP program. However, students who have completed the first year of the Life Sciences, Physics and Chemistry programs can apply for the STEE program, but only on the basis of a portfolio.

Students who have completed a first year in a Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles, in PASS or LAS can also be integrated into L2 STEE, on the basis of applications only.

Finally, students with a BTS whose content is close to that of this degree course can also enter the L2 STEE, by application only.

Access in L3 :

Access to L3 GPTP is by right for students who have followed a L2 GPTP at the University of Montpellier.

Access is by application for external students:

- students with a second year of a scientific degree or an equivalent (CPGE, etc.)

- students with a DUT or BTS degree.

The L3 is also available in continuing education with a diploma, based on a file (apprenticeship contract or professionalization contract, information and contacts on: https://sfc.edu. umontpellier.fr/).

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Target audience

The GPTP course is aimed at any student interested in environmental issues, particularly those associated with water, pollution and waste treatment, wishing either to enter the job market at the technician level, or to pursue a Master's degree in these fields.

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And then

Further studies

In the GPTP program, the learning of specific techniques is favored over the basic disciplines taught in the general STEE program.Integration into the Master's program is therefore reserved for motivated students with the best academic results in the class. Thus, each year, students from the GPTP course continue on to a Master's degree, mainly in Environment, Water or Pollution masters (Montpellier University or others). In addition to the master's degree courses in Water at the University of Montpellier, Environment, Water, Pollution, or QSE/HSE masters , here are some examples of masters integrated by former students of the GPTP license (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Master in Biology and Environment, specialization in Functioning and Restoration of Continental Aquatic Environments, Clermont-Ferrand
  • Master's degree in Sustainable Development Engineering, specializing in Industrial Process Safety, Environment and Quality (SPIEQ), Nancy
  • Master in Chemical Pollution and Environmental Management (PCGE), University of Paris-Saclay
  • School of Engineering Arts and Crafts, Management and Prevention of Industrial Risks (GPR), Bourget du Lac
  • Master in Water, Soil and Waste Management and Treatment, Chimie ParisTech
  • Master in Water, Soil and Treatment Quality (QuEST), Besançon
  • Master in Hydrogeology, Soil and Environment, Avignon
  • Master's degree in Environmental Management, MAEVA -STE (Environmental Management, Valuation and Analysis - Environmental Sciences and Technologies), Marseille
  • Master's degree in Chemistry and Life Sciences (CSV), Course in Evaluation, Management and Treatment of Pollution (EGTP), Pau
  • Master, Separative Chemistry of Materials and Processes (CSMP), Montpellier.
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Professional integration

The graduating classes of the GPTP degree have been followed since its creation in 2004. Our surveys show a very good professional integration in design offices and communities specialized in various fields:

  • prevention and treatment of waste and wastewater
  • water resource management, water quality
  • environmental protection, QSE, HSE
  • soil decontamination
  • sanitary or territorial technician (competitive examination)
  • flood risks, ...

The follow-up also shows the career progress of some "former students" who, hired at the technician level, evolve to engineer level positions after a few years (e.g.: department/project manager in internal evolution). Small classes of 15 to 20 students per year ensure that we are in tune with the regional and national job market.

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