The Chemistry Masters opens doors for you
The Master's degree in Chemistry at the University of Montpellier leads to everything. And can open many doors on the job market...
It's the only master of chemistry of the Montpellier site, but it has broad shoulders: no less than 11 different routes offered in M2, and a team of 200 teaching staff... A master's degree "pretty strong" says Joulia Larionova, its manager. The idea: "sspecialize or acquire new skills in the fields of chemistry and its interfaces" .
86% of graduates find a job after 6 months
The program is as simple as it is vast: "For students, the range on offer is enormous, and it's true that chemistry is involved in just about every area of human activity. When you graduate, the chemical industry opens its arms to you; beyond that, countless opportunities are offered on the job market".
Although the 11 courses on offer offer 11 often very different adventures, there is one common reality: real outlets on the job market, whether as a scientific executive in research, research/development, production or quality control, or as a technical sales executive. The integration rate speaks for itself: six months after graduation, 86% of students are placed*.
She is now an expert in odor and biobased products. At the time when Esmeralda Cicchetti Gonzales was studying in Montpellier, the UM chemistry master's degree doesn't exist yet. "At the University of Montpellier, I took a chemical engineering course with a major in flavors and fragrances, which ended at master's level: the equivalent of today's Master 1 ICAP."said the young woman.
Very rich chemistry
Her studies came directly after her baccalaureate in biology. "After the baccalaureate, the chemistry stream is highly recommended: it offers a wealth of career opportunities."At the time, Montpellier, along with Le Havre, offered one of the only recognized training courses in this field.
Born in Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, Esmeralda took her first steps. They soon landed in those of a chemist grandmother, in charge of a laboratory that tickled the nostrils. Esmeralda remembers it vividly; her own madeleine smells of strawberry, rose and jasmine...
The Montpellier-based outfit is therefore a "back to basics" . It's an opportunity to discover that the sense of smell doesn't just lead to Proustian reminiscences. But also to subtle pleasures, as cerebral as they are sensual: "deconstruct complex information, analyze, understand a smell..."
"People don't use their noses enough! she pleads. And yet it's the gateway to a world that's the stuff of dreams - not least because it remains largely unexplored. The major discoveries on olfactory receptors are very recent."
Universes to explore
Training at the University of Montpellier? "Very complete. A lot of hours too! At the time, I didn't necessarily understand the point of assimilating so much information; but it all came in very handy later on. The training focused on making us autonomous. Not always easy when you're a student! But very instructive."
In charge of his own analysis laboratory for the past five yearsEsmeralda returned to Grasse, where she turned her passion into a profession. "I created my lab from A to Z, recruited the team, acquired the instruments, set up my own methods..." . A 100% nature-oriented lab, where innovative natural extracts for perfumery and cosmetics are analyzed.
The challenge is all the greater: "Compared to synthetic products, natural extracts are frighteningly complex! With hundreds of components, they are much harder to analyze. It's a daily challenge. Here, we explore the complexity of nature."
Research
Another feature of the master's program is its strong link with research. "Montpellier's research in this field is internationally recognized. And it's highly structured: the master's program draws on the excellence of the 4 research institutes** grouped together in the Balard chemistry cluster. As a result, we have high-performance equipment, with high-tech technical platforms housed on the cluster's brand-new campus ".
It's hardly surprising, then, that a high proportion of graduates have the ambition to go on to research: 44% of them* take a liking to the university benches, and continue their studies with a doctorate. This is a path that enables them to aim for the professions of teacher-researcher, researcher, research engineer...
After completing her Masters in Chemistry, Vanessa Ortiz turned to research. A vocation discovered late in life, during a memorable second-year internship in Melbourne, Australia...
Vanessa Ortiz is a chemist through and through. But it's on the greener side of the discipline: for her, climate change and the state of the planet are crucial issues. For this reason, she has opted for an environment-oriented Master's degree in Chemistry at the UM, with a specialization in the "Materials science for energy and sustainable development" .
"Chemistry is in everything!
For this scientist at heart, it all began at theSète IUT : "I quickly became passionate about chemistry. In physics, there's too much math. And chemistry is everywhere, it's in everything! It helps explain many everyday phenomena, and helps us understand the world around us."
After thevery serious"training at the IUT ("lots of practical work, great teaching"She therefore enrolled in a general bachelor's degree at the University of Montpellier, with a view to obtaining an executive-level diploma. She has just embarked on horizons she never imagined.
Research flame
Everything changed in Master 2, with a five-month international internship. This native of Agde took a ticket for the unknown: Melbourne, Australia. A gleam lights up in her eyes when she talks about that time. Under the Australian sun, the flame of research - that space where "routine doesn't exist".is gradually taking shape. "I discovered a new form of autonomy; I carried out experiments, performed tricks and took the initiative. Five months is more than enough time to take ownership of a project."
Vanessa is now in the second year of her thesis, and fully committed to her research work. An investment she could not have imagined just a few years ago: "in high school, it's very difficult to project yourself into a professional future."Vanessa is working on innovative materials that could be used in fuel cells, for example: a key challenge for the future in terms of low-pollution electrical power generation.
On the corporate side
Vanessa is now discovering a new source of professional joy: passing on her knowledge. As part of her "complementary teaching missions", she teaches organic chemistry practical work to students at theSète IUT.
Her future? The young woman, who has developed a taste for changing horizons, sees it behind a new bend in the road: "I'd like to move over to the corporate side. Recruiters are increasingly looking for candidates with a PhD. I can see myself in a technical sales role, selling research equipment. A new adventure in a different setting: stimulating!"
International
The Master's degree in chemistry is very international in scope, with 20% foreign students, high international student mobility, two Erasmus Mundus courses and numerous partnerships with foreign institutes and universities (Madras, Kyoto, Zürich, München, Cornell & Madison Wisconsin & Manhattan Kansa (USA), Sao Paulo (Brazil), SFU (Russia)).
Sectors of activity
Research in chemistry and its interfaces, chemical industry, materials, energy, sustainable development, aeronautics, automotive, cement and concrete, nuclear sector, fine organic chemistry, biotechnologies, pharmaceutical, food and agri-food industry, perfumery, cosmetics, ...
- 2017 figures
** Institut des biomolécules Max Mousseron, Institut Charles Gerhardt de Montpellier, Institut de chimie séparative de Marcoule, Institut européen des membranes