IDIL Graduate Program: Training Through and for Research at theUM , with 9 New Tracks Now Available
With its brand-new graduate program, called the Interdisciplinary & In-lab Graduate Program, the University of Montpellier is preparing to welcome French and international students starting in the 2022 academic year through eight new master’s programs and one engineering program, all taught in English. The goal is to increase the University of Montpellier’s international reach and strengthen education driven by and focused on research. A true academic innovation.
What does the IDIL Graduated Program offer?
IDIL is an innovative graduate program that quickly immerses students in laboratory research. It is part of the“Structuring Education Through Research (SFRI)” program under the “Investments for theFuture” initiative, a call for proposals won by theUM in 2020, which will also receive additional funding from the I-Site MUSE.
The program has several objectives, the main one being to train students through and for research in laboratories affiliated with the University of Montpellier. To this end, two 6-month paid internships are included in the curriculum, not only to introduce students to the research environment starting in the first year of the master’s program (M1), but also to allow them to acquire some of the concepts typically covered in class through direct interaction with researchers. “In Lab” course units, held within the research teams at the University of Montpellier, complement the internships with the goal of teaching a specific technique, method, or concept through full immersion.
The introduction to interdisciplinarity offered by the IDIL program is designed to expose students to new cross-disciplinary skills that they can apply in their professional lives to adapt to new societal challenges. The IDIL graduate program is structured around our institution’s three signature themes—“feeding, healing, and protecting”—by encouraging students to break down the barriers between disciplines and explore other fields: for example, a student in the Global Change: Earth and Water Sciences track could take introductory courses in Comparative Politics and Public Policy, enabling them to better understand how political decisions are made and to be in a position to inform those decisions.
Finally, the early integration of students into research labs helps strengthen the connection between the master’s program and the transition to a Ph.D. program. Indeed, the personalized support—tailored to each student’s research project—provided by mentors and academic advisors helps students integrate into their future professional environment, thereby facilitating the transition to a Ph.D. program.
“The creation of the IDIL program perfectly illustrates the University’s educational ambitions: grounded in the ‘ Research ’—international, innovative, responsive to societal needs, and more personalized for students, whose success and career integration remain central to the University’s mission,” said Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier.
A wide variety of subjects and resources
The IDIL graduate program consists of eight master’s tracks and one engineering track. These master’s programs span several disciplinary fields: ecology and evolution, biology and health, agricultural sciences, chemistry, political science, management, modeling, and geology and hydrology. The engineering track, meanwhile, operates under the same laboratory immersion model as the master’s programs but is specifically designed for students enrolled at the École nationale supérieure de chimie, the Institut Agro Montpellier, and Polytech Montpellier.
In this initial phase, the IDIL program is being rolled out across nine research tracks, distributed among six components of theUM , in collaboration with approximately sixty laboratories. Ultimately, the goal of the graduate program is to establish approximately 30 research tracks, involving all 73 research units of theUM, in order to create a true network connecting the University’s various components.
“These master’s programs are just the first in a long list. IDIL promotes learning through and for research in a rich and diverse environment. This is reflected in the many programs offered, as well as the resources available within each one. IDIL is designed for curious and independent students who want to take an active role in their education. However, they are ‘supported’ throughout the program by tutors and mentors. The assurance of receiving an internship stipend should, we hope, encourage students facing financial difficulties to be less hesitant about pursuing a master’s degree,” explained Mathieu Sicard and Agnès Fichard-Caroll, the co-leaders of the IDIL project.
Practical Information:
Registration and additional information are available by clicking here.