The Master’s program in Biology and Agrosciences at Montpellier offers a wide range of courses in the life sciences as applied to the fields of agronomy and agrosciences, ranging from plant biology, their interactions with the abiotic and biotic environment, and plant experimentation, or the biology of microorganism-host interactions, to biotechnology and process engineering for the food and non-food processing of agricultural resources. Faculty members and researchers in the Biology-Agrosciences research field, which is particularly strong in Montpellier, are heavily involved in the academic oversight, organization, and instruction of this Master’s program, one of whose defining features is its strong research focus.
The Master’s program in Biology and Agrosciences is jointly accredited by the University of Montpellier and the Institut Agro de Montpellier. Biologists who complete this program will be able to work at the intersection of research and development, acquiring either the skills to become high-level researchers or those of a Master’s-level engineer capable of quickly adapting to the industrial world.
The scientific fields covered by the Master’s program in Biology and Agrosciences include plant sciences, microbiology, environmental sciences, bioengineering and bioprocessing, combining a wide range of skills, from biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, to ecophysiology and microbial ecology, through physiology and integrative biology, and extending to biotechnology and process engineering. This Master’s program draws on the research strengths of the Montpellier campus:
- one of the two major centers, along with the Île-de-France region, where the bulk of research in plant science is concentrated,
- a spectrum of laboratories ranging from plant biology to the study of interactions between microorganisms and their hosts—whether plants or animals—as evidenced by the emergence of a Microorganism-Host Interactions network,
- a strong food and process engineering division that includes research teams working in the areas of product microbiological quality, food safety, traceability, and process engineering.
Bringing together research capabilities in these three fields at a single location opens up exceptional opportunities for students to pursue a research-based master’s degree.
The Master’s in Biology and Agrosciences trains professionals skilled in research, diagnosis, intervention, and education in the fields of plant sciences, microbiology, biotechnology, and bioprocesses in the broadest sense, including:
- plant biology: functional plant biology at various levels of analysis, functional genomics, plant adaptation to the environment, ecophysiology, plant-microorganism interactions, translational biology applied to tropical plants of interest, plant biotechnology;
- functional microbiology and microbial ecology: interactions between microorganisms and their hosts (humans, animals, plants); control and management of communicable diseases—whether emerging or not—of environmental, foodborne, vector-borne, animal, or plant origin; the role and significance of microorganisms in natural and human-altered environments;
- biotechnology and nanobiotechnology: diagnostic and detection tools for traceability (medical, agricultural, food, etc.);
- Food and environmental bioengineering: food science, food processing and preservation techniques, process engineering to support business operations and competitiveness, and qualitative and quantitative management of agricultural resources.
Since September 2022, the Master’s program in Biology and Agrosciences has also offered a track titled“Plant and Microbiological Sciences for the Agro-environment”(short title: “Plants and Microbes”) as part of the IDIL program. This track places even greater emphasis on a supervised individual research project, with instruction in English and a focus on interdisciplinary approaches.
THE COURSES
