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Master's Degree in Geography, Planning, Environment, and Development

The Master's degree in Geography, Planning, Environment, and Development is a 120-credit program that offers high-level training in coastal management and vulnerabilities. The program, also known as COAST, provides students with a comprehensive understanding of coastal processes, their vulnerability, and the challenges related to their management.

Aims

The COAST program aims to equip students with solid skills in coastal geomorphology, environmental diagnostics, and coastal territory management. It also enables students to design adaptation and resilience strategies, preparing them to join research organizations, local authorities, consulting firms, or associations.

Targeted Students

The program is designed for students in geography, marine studies, earth sciences, land planning, or related fields. Students with a bachelor's degree in geography or a related field are eligible to apply.

Admission Conditions

Admission to the program is based on an application review. Candidates holding a bachelor's degree in geography are eligible to apply. Holders of other degrees, such as marine studies, earth sciences, land planning, or related fields, may also be considered.

Fundamental Prerequisites

Students must hold a bachelor's degree in geography or a related field, subject to review by the equivalency committee. A strong academic background throughout the entire bachelor's degree in geography is required.

Structure and Organization

The program is divided into two years, with the first semester of the Master's 1 dedicated to research methodologies and specific units of study. The second semester ends in April to allow time for the completion of the thesis. In Master's 2, the first semester is dedicated to the COAST program's courses, while the second semester is devoted to a supervised project and thesis.

Learning Sites

The program is taught at the ALLSH, Aix-en-Provence (Schuman) campus.

Learning and Research

The COAST program is led by a teaching team composed of teacher-researchers specializing in coastal studies. The program relies on partnerships with research institutions, such as the UMR CEREGE, UMR TELEMMe, and ESPACE (CNRS, Aix-Marseille University).

Knowledge to be Acquired

The program offers 9 specific units of study, including:

• Coastal Studies Methods and Techniques
• Coastal Systems: A Geographical Approach
• Coastal Geomorphology and Dynamics
• Coasts and Global Environmental Change
• Human Pressures on Coastal Systems
• Nature-Based Solutions and Coastal Defenses
• Coastal and Marine Area Management
• Marine and Coastal Conservation Principles and Policies
• Coastal Morphodynamic Modeling and Forecasting

Professional Skills to be Acquired

Students will acquire skills in:

• Mastery of techniques and methods for analyzing coastal dynamics
• Ability to apply geographical methods and tools to document and objectify urban and recreational pressures
• Ability to identify and select coastal protection practices suited to environmental, societal, and regulatory constraints
• Critical analysis skills for planning documents
• Understanding and use of numerical models for managing adaptation to climate change

Internships and Supervised Projects

Students are required to complete a thesis in both M1 and M2, which may be accompanied by an internship in a company, local authority, or laboratory.

Continuing Studies

Students may pursue a PhD after completing the COAST program, with possibilities for ministerial scholarships, regional, CIFRE, CNRS, or international funding.

Partners

The COAST program partners with institutions such as the Conservatoire du Littoral, City of Marseille, Metropolitan Area, R嶲ion Sud, Cerema, and Plan Bleu.

Support for Academic Achievement

The program offers support for academic achievement, including two specific teaching modules in Master 2: "Professional Integration in English" and "Building One's Professional Project."

Support for Labor Market Integration

The program provides support for labor market integration, including M1 and M2 internships in laboratories on applied and professionalizing topics, as well as networks of alumni and faculty members in the fields of research, services, local authorities, and the geospatial industry.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fees for the program are:

• Initial training fees: 250
• Fee rate: additional information available
• Differentiated fee rate for non-EU students: additional information available
• Continuing education fees: additional information available

Registration

Registration for the program is available through the university's website.