At Richter, the School of Economics fosters an open-minded approach
International programs, public lectures, immersion days for high school students, connections with the professional world… at the School of Economics, every effort is made to foster the institution’s engagement with society.
Photo © Miss Buffet Froid
While its cubic silhouette is now familiar to those who frequent the Richter campus, the Faculty of Economics actually has its roots in downtown. In the early 1970s, law students and economics students were still housed within the walls of the Faculty of Law. The economics program gained its independence (and new facilities) with the move to the Richter campus in 1994. Since then, the department has grown significantly, now welcoming some 2,600 students each year, many of whom come from diverse backgrounds: Africa, Europe, and, above all, Asia.
This strong international focus inspired the creation of a degree program, the University Diploma (DU) in “Preparation for University Studies for Non-French-Speaking Students.” François Mirabel, dean of the faculty, explains the concept: “This degree program aims to prevent a situation that used to be common: students arriving with no knowledge of French and finding themselves completely lost. Today, completion of the DU is a prerequisite for admission to the first year of undergraduate studies.” The program includes French as a foreign language courses, as well as most of the core first-year subjects. The faculty also offers all its students an international track that includes a portion of instruction delivered in English. This is an asset for attracting international students, but also for French students wishing to develop an international profile.
High School Students in an Immersion Program
Photo © Miss Buffet Froid
In terms of academic programs, the faculty offers a general bachelor’s degree program and four master’s tracks: currency, banking, finance, and insurance; management, public policy, and economic evaluation; energy, environment, transportation, and agriculture; and, finally, a master’s in industrial economics and networks, focused on new technologies. Research, meanwhile, is conducted within two joint research units: Art’dev and Lameta. “A significant portion of the researchers in these laboratories are conducting work related to MUSE’s themes: development, health, the environment…” emphasizes François Mirabel. While research and education form the core of the faculty’s activities, they do not fully encapsulate its philosophy.
Much like a Richter campus that’s open to the city, the faculty fosters strong ties with the community. As such, it regularly welcomes high school students from across the region for immersion days on campus. “We believe it’s important to show high school students what university life is really like, but also to introduce them to the degree programs and career opportunities our degrees offer,” explains the dean. Five or six times a year, high school students and teachers arrive for a full day of activities: a presentation of the faculty and a tour of the university library in the morning, lunch at the student cafeteria, followed by a lecture in a large lecture hall in the afternoon. By evening, the high school students leave with a clearer picture of a student’s daily life—and perhaps a new career path in mind.
The College Through a Student's Eyes
Thibault Clément, a first-year master’s student in the “Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making” track
“I arrived in Montpellier this year after earning my bachelor’s degree in Dijon so that I could enroll in the master’s program in ‘Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making,’ which could be described as a blend of psychology and economics. There are very few programs on this topic, which interested me , so I came to Montpellier to complete my first year of the master’s program.
I’m really enjoying it here and have discovered some interesting things, such as LEEM, an experimental economics lab where students are placed in real-world scenarios—such as a trading floor simulation— so that their behavior can then be analyzed… It’s a real plus.
At the same time, I’m currently doing an internship at the faculty. I’m working on organizing a day of meet-and-greets between faculty alumni and current students to be held on September 15. The School of Economics aims to expand its presence on the university’s new university alumni network, Resum. My role is to identify our alumni, add them to a and then contact them to encourage them to participate in this event.”
Key Figures
- 8,700 m²
- 2,545 students
- 59.3% international students
- 16 administrative staff members
- 37 Professors , and teachers
- 4 Master's programs (and 13 specializations)
- 1971: Establishment of the UER (later UFR) in Economics
- 1994: Establishment of a full-fledged university department at the Richter site
The Initiative
Through the “Amphis de l’éco” series, the School of Economics is contributing to the discussion on the major issues of our time. Launched last year, this lecture series brings together the general public and prestigious guests: anthropologist Paul Jorion and economists Agnès Benassi and Christian De Perthuis took the stage in 2016 to discuss issues such as the future of the euro and climate change.
In 2017, the “Amphis” series is back, featuring guests such as the Governor of the Bank of France, expected in September, and climate expert Jean-Marc Jancovici in October. These events are free and open to everyone.