An interdisciplinary degreee

The Master in Biodiversity Conservation is an interdisciplinary programme that addresses the major environmental and societal challenge of understanding the underlying causes and halting the global erosion of biodiversity. Courses are evenly balanced between the biology of plant, animal, and ecosystem conservation, and the human dimensions of conservation, such as law, economics, anthropology, and psychology. Students will undertake fieldwork, receive practical training in scientific methods, and acquire cross disciplinary skills at the interface between science and the practice of biodiversity conservation.

Acquired skills and goals

Graduates of this programme will be able to understand the diversity of living organisms and the ecological complexes (from ecosystems to the biosphere) of which they are a part, analyze and problematize the relationships between humans and non-humans (plants, animals, and other groups) in order to understand the mechanisms behind changes in space and time, analyze existing conservation policies and programs, and develop and propose strategies to address specific problems.

Programme structure

The Master in Biodiversity Conservation is a programme given over the span of three semesters and requires 90 ECTS to be completed. The first semester is dedicated to the core curriculum, whereas the second semester already includes preparation work for the Master thesis and elective courses. The third semester is entirely dedicated to field work and the completion of the Master thesis.

The core curriculum includes 45 ECTS credits of compulsory courses organized into 5 modules :
• Disciplinary knowledge (3 ECTS)
• Scientific methods and transferable skills (9 ECTS)
• Integrative biodiversity conservation sciences (9 ECTS)
• Human dimensions of biodiversity conservation (anthropology, law, economy, psychology) (12 ECTS)
• Conservation biology (12 ECTS)

In addition, there are 15 ECTS credits for the preparatory phase of the Master thesis, which includes internships, bibliographic work, or elective courses. This allows students to specialize according to their interests. 

The 30 ECTS Master thesis will focus on real-life situations involving the management or analysis of current conservation issues, in connection with the professional and/or research world. The choice of thesis supervisor will determine the final degree awarded, i.e. either a Master of Science or a Master of Arts, depending on the discipline in which it is based. To encourage interdisciplinary supervision, a teacher from a different disciplinary field than the supervisor may follow the thesis project as a referent.

Through contacts established during internships and their Master thesis, graduates of the programme should be directly employable in public organizations, NGOs, and private companies active in the environmental field, but also capable of pursuing their studies at the doctoral level.

This programme is open to students who have obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in biology, natural systems, or biology-ethnology, or a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in social sciences (ethnology, sociology, social psychology, human geography).

Students who have followed a different course of study must demonstrate basic training in biology and/or social sciences, as well as a proficiency in the Fundamentals of quantitative and/or statistical methods. Any gaps in knowledge can be made up before or during the first year of the programme.

Proficiency in French is highly recommended in order to follow the courses.