Master's in Chemistry

Materials science utilizing large-scale facilities

Overview and Objectives

This program is part of international partnerships developed through close collaboration between partner universities, industry, and research centers. The program awards 120 ECTS credits. It focuses on R&D in functional materials for energy storage and conversion, catalysis, and thin films. It offers excellent scientific and industrial career opportunities to master’s students in an international environment, with all courses taught in English. It strongly encourages industrial partners to access state-of-the-art materials characterization using major instruments such as neutron and synchrotron radiation facilities.

The courses in this program are currently part of the Erasmus Mundus MaMaSELF master’s program, and students are also eligible to apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

The curriculum takes a multidisciplinary approach, providing broad and in-depth training in materials science, physical chemistry, and chemical physics. Students become familiar with various synthesis methods, structural characterization and refinement using X-rays, electron microscopy, and neutron diffraction methods—including magnetic structures—supplemented by the study of interfaces, defect thermodynamics, and catalysis. Another important part of the curriculum involves an introduction to theoretical aspects, specifically courses designed to introduce the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and simulation methods, supplemented by the electronic properties of solids. Two research internships lasting 3 and 5–6 months round out the academic program and familiarize students with applied and fundamental research activities.

Organization

Internships in research laboratories are an important part of the program. A three-month internship in a research group takes place during the second semester, while the entire fourth semester is devoted to the Master’s internship. The Master’s internship can be completed in a university laboratory, an industry, or a research organization (e.g., large-scale instruments) in France or at partner organizations in Japan, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, India, Brazil, the United States, or Russia.

Prerequisites

  • Target audience: Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, physics, materials science, or a related field.
  • Prerequisites: Standard knowledge expected of a bachelor’s degree majoring in chemistry, physics, or materials science; for courses in crystallography and quantum mechanics: the concepts covered start from the basics
  • Recommended prerequisites: Standard knowledge expected of a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, physics, or materials science; for courses in crystallography and quantum mechanics: the concepts covered start from the basics

Further education

  • In France: About 80% of our students go on to pursue a Ph.D., while 20% enter the workforce.
  • Abroad: Given the structure of the master’s program, our students have many opportunities to pursue a Ph.D. abroad.

Employment placement

Generally, all students find a thesis topic or an industry internship before completing their master’s degree or within a few months of finishing it.

Some career paths in industry: design and implementation of new advanced materials such as batteries, ceramics, plastics, glass, biomaterials, metals and alloys, semiconductors, dielectrics, and materials for optics and electronics in R&D research institutes; characterization of materials using large-scale instrumentation such as synchrotron radiation and neutron scattering; research activities requiring fundamental knowledge of solid-state physics and chemistry. Projects requiring knowledge of material properties such as physical measurements, structure, and spectroscopy; conducting targeted technology watch