Target level of study
BAC +5
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Presentation
The Biology-Agroscience (BA) Master's degree is co-accredited by the University of Montpellier and the Montpellier Agro Institute. On a national level, it is the only Master's degree to cover the full range of life science topics applied to the vast field of agrosciences, including plant biology, the biology of microorganisms and their interactions with all types of hosts, biotechnologies and food science.
The mention is structured into 7 courses to cover the various scientific and technological fields mentioned above:
- 4 courses in Plant Sciences: Plant Biology for the Agro-Environment (BiPa), Plant-Microorganism Interactions (IPM), Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement (BAPT) and Plant Experimentation Management (MEV),
- Microorganism-Host-Environment Interactions (MHEI),
- Biotechnology: Biomolecular engineering and nanotechnologies (Ibion-Tec),
- Engineering sciences for rational food design: Engineering for Eco-Food Design (ICOA).
The full range of courses (the 7 tracks and the teaching units offered in each track) is presented on the Biology and Agrosciences Master's website: https: //bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/
Teaching is based on training through research, thanks to the number and quality of Montpellier laboratories in all the fields covered, with a strong orientation towards the public or private research sectors in the BiPa, IPM, BAPT and IMHE courses. The MEV, Ibion-Tec and ICOA courses, while based on the site's laboratories, involve a stronger partnership with professionals from private companies.
The entire program develops innovative teaching methods (collaborative and cross-disciplinary practical work, project-based teaching, innovative projects in conjunction with a company, organization of scientific events by students, collaborative scientific production, interdisciplinary learning laboratory, etc.).
The Biology-Agrosciences Master's program includes two compulsory internships, one lasting 3 to 5 months in M1 and one lasting 5 to 6 months in M2. Depending on students' wishes and the path they follow in the Master's program, these internships may be more research- or business-oriented. As far as the research orientation is concerned, these internships provide high-level research training. The Montpellier site's wealth of laboratories in the fields covered by this specialization (Montpellier is the leading research site in France in these scientific fields) means that students can find internships that meet their expectations in terms of fields of interest and professional objectives. Thanks to the international networks it has built up, the teaching team is also able to offer students internships in laboratories in Europe, North and Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa.
For a limited number of students (2 to 3 per course, selected on the basis of the excellence of their academic record) wishing to acquire additional skills in project management, a co-diploma with the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises de Montpellier (IAE Montpellier) can be offered.
Objectives
Montpellier's Master's degree in Biology and Agrosciences trains managers for the research and development sector, in fields ranging from biological sciences for the agro-environment to biotechnologies and the valorization of agroresources. Graduates will have a solid scientific and technical grounding and initial professional experience. The aim of this Master's degree is to train project managers for plant breeding and/or protection, biotechnology and agri-food companies. It also aims to train scientific executives to develop and direct fundamental or applied research in public or private laboratories, in France or abroad.
Thanks to the quality of its teaching, the variety of courses on offer, its extremely strong links with research, its partnerships with professionals in the private sector and its international collaboration networks, Montpellier's Biology and Agrosciences Master's degree offers many opportunities for students to build their career plans as closely as possible to their aspirations, in a motivating environment. The courses' teaching teams help students choose internships in line with their career plans.
Know-how and skills
Knowledge :
- Acquire in-depth knowledge, particularly in the fields chosen by the student,
- Master the major research strategies used to address the scientific issues at the heart of the student's chosen career path,
- A good understanding of the tools and concepts used by related disciplines to understand how living organisms function or how they can be enhanced (physics, chemistry, IT, etc.).
- Acquire the management and project management skills required for executive training.
Know-how :
- Mobilize concepts and tools from different disciplines to set up experiments, analyze results and draw conclusions and/or operating models.
- Identify the issues raised at different scales of integration (molecule, cell, whole organism, organism in relation to its environment) and integrate them into a multi-scale approach.
- Know how to search for relevant scientific information to tackle a given problem, prioritize this information, compare it, synthesize it and build working hypotheses for further research.
- Be able to communicate with rigor and precision while adapting to the audience, through oral or written presentations.
- Know how to lead a project within a group, identify and develop collaborations with researchers or professionals bringing related skills and expertise.
Life skills :
- Ability to work independently,
- Know how to work in a team, develop and implement a joint project
- Comply with the legal, ethical and scientific rules governing experimentation, the publication and use of documents, the sharing of biological resources and partnerships.
Program
The Biology-Agrosciences Master's degree is structured into 7 pathways, covering all the scientific and technological fields in the field:
1/ The Plant Biology field is divided into 4 pathways. In order to provide all students with strong skills in plant biology, many teaching units are pooled, but some teaching units are also specific to each pathway, offering students real specialization and enabling them to refine their career plans. These 4 tracks are :
- Plant Biology for the Agro-Environment (BiPa)
- Plant-Microorganism Interactions (PMI)
- Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement (BAPT)
- Management of Plant Experimentation (MEV)
2/ The Microorganism-Host-Environment Interactions (MHEI) pathway offers training in microbiology and in all aspects of ecology and adaptive interactions between microorganisms, their hosts (plants, invertebrates, higher animals, humans) and their natural or anthropized environments.
3/ Biomolecular Engineering and Nanobiotechnologies (Ibion-Tec) is a multi-disciplinary training program (biology, physics, chemistry, electronics, etc.) with students taking part in hands-on projects to design and manage R&D projects in biotechnologies and nano-biotechnologies dedicated to applied molecular diagnostic and detection methods.
4/ The Engineering for the Eco-design of Foods (ICOA) course integrates the tools of food design and development, taking into account the environmental impact of processes and transformation channels. At the interface between life sciences (biology/biotechnology) and process engineering, this course opens the door to careers in the agri-food industry (production, R&D) and, more broadly, to sectors dedicated to the transformation and valorization of agro-resources (materials, energy, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, etc.).
This range of courses and the curricula for the 7 pathways are presented on the Biology, Agrosciences Master's website: https: //bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/master-biologie-agrosciences/
Select a program
Plant Biology for the Agro-Environment (BiPa)
The Plant Biology for the Agro-Environment (BiPa) program offers a multi-disciplinary training program focused on knowledge generated from major study models such as Arabidopsis thaliana, but also from cultivated plants that are now establishing themselves as true models (rice, maize, etc.). Our training covers the full range of plant science topics (plant adaptation to climate change, developmental biology, mineral nutrition, ecophysiology, plant-microorganism interactions). In addition to the classical approaches to biology, we also focus on modeling and bioinformatics, disciplines that are currently essential for making the most of the massive data generated on a daily basis.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/biologie-des-plantes-pour-lagro-environnement/
Plant-Microorganism Interactions (PMI)
Plants directly and indirectly form the basis of our food chain. In their environment, plants are constantly in association with the micro-organisms that make up their microbiota. Some of these micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc.) cause serious damage to crops, while others improve their overall health (nutrition, development or resistance to disease). Understanding how plants react to, adapt to and eventually benefit from the presence of micro-organisms in their environment is therefore a key strategy for meeting the challenges of both food production and food and feed safety.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/interactions-plantes-microorganimes/
Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement (BAPT)
The Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants (BAPT) course is based on teaching units (UE) common to the BiPa, IPM and MEV courses, designed to provide a foundation of fundamental knowledge in the fields of genetics and genomics, cellular and molecular biology, plant biology (development, ecophysiology, basis of interactions with microorganisms, etc.) and the tools required for a scientific approach (statistics, bioinformatics, critical analysis, project management, etc.). This core curriculum also includes an internship in M1 and M2, enabling students to contribute to the development of a research project in a laboratory of a public institute or private company.
Thanks to specific courses, including a specialized thematic school, and a choice of options offered in M1 and M2, the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding pathway focuses on the appropriation of biotechnology tools, as well as knowledge of the practice of plant breeding, targeting in particular the main food and cash crops in Mediterranean and tropical environments. A specific module in M1, shared with the IBION-Tec course, covers engineering approaches to the production of phyto-molecules of interest.
One of the major challenges of development, given the world's demographic growth expected in the coming years, is to support increased agricultural production in developing countries in a context of global warming. Thus, the two specific modules of the M2 course enable students to work in small groups on a project based on a research question targeting the improvement of a cultivated plant in response to environmental changes (water deficit, poor soil....). To do this, they are required to mobilize their knowledge to analyze phenotypes and adaptive plant strategies, model them and propose an improvement objective (ideoptype). The "Functional genomics of tropical and Mediterranean plants" thematic school aims to illustrate, through case studies, how knowledge acquired on model species and the use of genomics data on species still little studied can be used to design conventional or biotechnological improvement strategies adapted to the stress resistance of the main tropical species. This school, which enables exchanges between Master's students, doctoral students and researchers, also illustrates how partnerships can be set up and tools used to develop international and inter-institutional collaborative research targeting development aid. Through a choice of options, students can fine-tune their training and either go further by working on plant adaptation to climate change or resistance to biotic stresses, or open up to the human and social dimensions of plant improvement. Last but not least, the Montpellier international campus is Europe's leading center for plant science research into the improvement of Mediterranean and tropical crops, thanks in particular to theIRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), Students will have access to a wide choice of internships in France or abroad, giving them the opportunity to explore the practicalities of carrying out research on a tropical crop species and/or projecting into a research field in the South in partnership with a national or international research institute.
In addition to this specialization, additional scientific skills are considered essential in all Biology and Agrosciences Master's courses, and are fully integrated into the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding course. These include documentary research, database management and exploitation, scientific communication and project management.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/biotechnologie-et-amelioration-des-plantes-tropicales/
Management and Plant Experimentation (MEV)
The vast majority of plant-based foodstuffs are obtained through intensive agriculture. This form of agriculture was introduced in France after the Second World War. It responded perfectly to the social and economic demands of the time, producing food in large quantities at low cost. The development of intensive agriculture was only possible thanks to fundamental research studies in fields as varied as plant biology and physiology, genetics and agronomy. Today, it is widely accepted that progress in crop yields is half due to agronomy and half due to genetics. This past experience suggests that a multi-disciplinary approach, underpinned by strong scientific research, is needed to develop a type of agriculture.
Intensive agriculture is not all good news. It relies on the massive use of inputs (fertilizers and phytosanitary products), which is a source of environmental pollution and health problems. It therefore seems important to radically change farming practices in order to limit the use of inputs and move towards a model of integrated agriculture. This shift in agricultural practices has been underway for some twenty years, but it is being accelerated by the ECOPHYTO plan, which aims to reduce the use of phytosanitary products by 50% by 2018. This reform of agriculture must also be carried out under the pressure of an additional difficulty: climate change. To develop more environmentally-friendly agriculture in a context of climate change, multidisciplinary approaches are needed, combining genetics (development of varieties that make better use of nitrogen and water, resistant to existing diseases, etc.),agronomy/physiology/ecology (adapting cropping itineraries, introducing micro-organisms, Natural Defense Stimulators, etc.) and plant pathology (development of Bio-Control, etc.). Plant experimentation, the driving force behind changes in agricultural practices, therefore requires managers capable of drafting, carrying out and evaluating projects.
While the stakes involved in developing sustainable agriculture are high for developed countries, they are crucial for many countries in the South, which cannot afford fertilizers or plant protection products in any case. CIRAD and IRD have developed partnerships with research centers in developing countries. Seed and production companies (e.g. sugar, etc.) in the South need top-quality executives.
This master's program has been designed to be followed on a sandwich basis. A number of students will be able to take a double master's degree: MEV (supported by the Faculty of Science) and management (supported by the IAE).
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/management-de-lexperimentation-vegetale/
Microorganism-Host-Environment Interactions (MHEI)
The IMHE ʻInteractions Microorganismes-Hôtes-Environnementsʼ program is original and unique in the region, offering students both theoretical and research-based training in environmental and applied microbiology. Environmental microbiology covers the study of microorganisms (prokaryotes, eukaryotes and viruses) in ecosystems, whether or not associated with humans or animals.
The IMHE master's degree aims to provide in-depth knowledge of microbial systems, using an integrative approach that covers the study of microorganisms as cells, populations and communities in their environment, as well as interactions with their hosts (humans, animals, plants) and vectors. The course covers interactions at the molecular, cellular and microbial community levels, as well as the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on these interactions. It explores the role of microorganisms in the functioning of natural and anthropized ecosystems. The practical and finalized aspects of microbiology are also covered, in particular the applications of microbial biomass and diversity in the fields of agriculture, the environment, health and biotechnology.
Combinations of Teaching Units (TU) enable us to offer two profilesone focused on "Fundamental Research" (profile 1), while the other is more oriented towards "Research & Development" (profile 2). The program thus offers students the opportunity to meet a wide range of career goals, with a high placement rate for PhD students (40-50%) and direct job placement in companies on completion of the program. The program is open to apprentices.
The program is based on the region's strong research community in the field of microorganisms, and draws on the close involvement of researchers, teacher-researchers and industrialists from this community in Montpellier and the wider Occitanie region.
Key words: Microorganisms, Environmental microbiology, Microbial ecology, Microbiota, Emergence, Resistance, Adaptation, Symbiosis, Parasitism, (Meta)genomics, Microbial valorizations, Bacteria, Archaea, Viruses, Fungi, Eukaryotic microorganisms.
Website: https: //bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/interactions-microorg-hotes/
Bio-molecular engineering and nanobiotechnologies (IBION-Tec)
The IBION-Tec pathway offers students the opportunity to acquire skills at the interface of Engineering Sciences and Life Sciences. This Master's specialization is clearly positioned at the interface between Biology, Physics-Electronics and Chemistry. It opens up students' fields of competence to the innovative, high-performance techniques of biotechnology and nano-biotechnology, facilitating their integration into research centers and industry. This specialization offers a foundation of skills dedicated to the field of biomolecular detection applied to diagnostics.
Its strength lies in its ability to cover a wide range of R&D activities in the fields of diagnostics and traceability, from the molecular to the industrial process scale.
This Master's program focuses on the design of innovative tools dedicated to diagnostics and traceability. This "design part" of the course takes place over the two years of training, giving students access to various technological platforms and practical work rooms. The aim is to work together on a project that can be taken all the way through to feasibility, or even the development of a prototype for one innovation per year in the field of detection techniques.
The quality of life of citizens is at the heart of the training program's concerns, with food safety and healthcare safety taken into account in a context of sustainable development.
IBION-Tec's objective is to provide diagnostic and detection tools for traceability (medical, agronomic, food, etc.) in compliance with European regulations.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/ibion-tec/
Food Engineering and Eco-Design (ICOA)
The Engineering for the Eco-design of Foods (ICOA) program, part of the Biology and Agrosciences specialization, is co-accredited by the University of Montpellier and the Institut Agro de Montpellier (Etablissement national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement). It is positioned at the interface between process engineering and life sciences, and offers an integrated approach to food design, combining knowledge of processes (physical and biological) and control of the organoleptic and nutritional quality of products, as part of a drive to reduce the environmental impact of the industry.
The major disciplinary fields on which the courses are based are engineering sciences: Biotechnology, Food Science, Physical Chemistry, Green Chemistry and Sustainable Process Engineering. This highly multi-disciplinary training enables students to enter the full range of professions in the agri-food industry (production, R&D, quality control) and, more broadly, in all sectors dedicated to the valorization of agro-resources (materials, energy, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, etc.).
Both years are punctuated by an internship (of at least 3 months and 5 months respectively in M1 and M2), which students can identify from the extensive catalog of internship sites available, or by canvassing the program's active alumni network.
For a limited number of students (2 to 3 selected on the basis of their academic record and professional project) wishing to acquire additional skills in project management, a co-diploma with the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises de Montpellier (IAE Montpellier) can be offered. By choosing an additional 5 ECTS UE related to management themes, students can obtain a double Master's degree: Master ICOA and Master of Technology and Science Management.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/ingenierie-pour-leco-conception-des-aliments/
IDIL - Plant and Microbiological Sciences for Agro-environment
The "Plant and Microbiological Sciences for the Agro-environment" program offers training through research in plant sciences and microbiology. The course covers the study of plants and microorganisms at the molecular and cellular levels, and at the level of the organism interacting with its agro-environment.
The program is supported by a network of laboratories unique in the world, developing research on a wide range of topics in these vast disciplinary fields. At the start of the Master's program, the student, the teaching staff and a research team work together to draw up a training plan, enabling the student to customize a specialized program in plant sciences or microbiology.
Examples of teaching units :
- Mineral nutrition and plant adaptation to abiotic constraints
- Microbial ecology
- The role of microorganisms in ecosystems
Course page: https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/plants-microbes-programme-idil/
Admission
Access conditions
Applications for the Biology, Agrosciences Master's courses must be submitted via the e-candidat application on the Faculty of Science website: https: //sciences.edu.umontpellier.fr/candidatures-admissions-je-netais-pas-etudiant-etudiante-a-la-fds-en-2020-2021/ between April 19 and July 2, 2021. Applicants must submit all the required documents, as incomplete applications will not be assessed.
Each application is examined by a recruitment committee specific to the course for which the student is applying.
How to register
Successful candidates must complete their administrative registration as soon as possible, at the very beginning of September, and then proceed to a pedagogical registration indicating the Teaching Units chosen for the semester.
Target audience
The Biology, Agrosciences Master's degree is open to students with a Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences or equivalent (Bachelor of Technology in Biological Engineering), with minimum knowledge specific to the Master's program in question.
Necessary prerequisites
These differ from one course to another, and students are advised to read the "prerequisites" section of the course they wish to apply for.
As a general rule, proven knowledge of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and microbiology at Bachelor's level is required. A minimum level of English is also required, enabling you to read scientific texts in English.
In addition to these prerequisites, basic knowledge of plant physiology is required for BiPa, IPM, BAPT and MEV, microbiology for IMHE, biotechnology, immunology and organic chemistry for Ibion-Tec, and engineering sciences and process engineering for ICOA.
Recommended prerequisites
They differ from course to course. A minimum level in statistics and IT is a plus for all courses.
And then
Further studies
For those who so wish, the Biology and Agrosciences Master's degree opens the door to a PhD at the end of the Master's program, in France or abroad, where graduates of this Master's program are highly appreciated.
Some students complement their biology or biotechnology training in the Biology, Agrosciences Master's program with management training to move towards entrepreneurship, or bioinformatics to reinforce skills at the interface of experimental biology and computer science.
Studying abroad
Thanks to the exceptional network of international collaborations maintained by Montpellier laboratories and the many links between the Master's teaching teams and foreign laboratories, both M1 and M2 internships can be carried out abroad (mainly in Europe and North America, but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America). This gives students the opportunity to do a PhD in the host laboratory, or to join international PhD programs. This possibility is not restricted to students doing their Master's internship abroad, but is also widely open to those doing their internship in Montpellier or other research centers in France.
Professional integration
- Doctoral contracts
- National and international research organizations
- Research and development in private enterprise