International Master in Advanced Clay Science (IMACS) - IntREE Graduate School
Poitiers, France
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 243 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* These fees do not include the compulsory basic health insurance “Social security” for non-European residents.
Key Summary
DEADLINE
For application via campus france offices, the deadline is December 1st
Introduction
NEW !!! Grant may be awarded, application deadline : mid May
Mineral Materials /IMACS is an integrated MSc dedicated to natural minerals and geomaterials for environmental and sustainable development issues, with many application areas.
ENVIRONMENTS - SOIL MANAGEMENT - GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING – ECO FRIENDLY GEOMATERIAL and NANOMATERIAL
This program is included in the Graduate school IntREE (Interfaces for Aeronautics, Energy and Environment) of the University of Poitiers. The high-level training courses (Master and Ph.D) of the GS, limited to about twenty students per year, favour learning-by-doing, by placing students at the heart of the laboratories. They are organized around four main axes in order to prepare students for the professions of tomorrow:
- Progressive immersion in the laboratories (from the first semester and for 10 months min. over the two years),
- International mobility,
- Connections with the socio-economic world,
- Openness toward the multidisciplinary
The graduate school and IMACS are supported by two research institutes of international recognition. Pprime and IC2MP
Poitiers and its campus
The university’s main campus is located in Poitiers with 30,000 students studying either in the city center or on campus. The city thus has the highest proportion of students (in relation to the total population) of all university cities, making it one of the most “studenty” cities in France!
Admissions
Curriculum
A specific focus on clay minerals... Why ?
Interest in clays results from their common availability and their unique physical and chemical properties. In addition to their conventional ancient use as bricks, tiles, ceramics and for paper coating and waste management, more recently, clays have found many new applications. Clay minerals have provided a boost in technology as they are inexpensive nanomaterials, and, as such, have a huge potential for example for the synthesis of polymer nanocomposites with superior mechanical and thermal properties. The optimization of adsorption, colloidal and rheological properties also opens up prospects for the use clay minerals for medical purposes, pollution control, and environmental protection.
Clay minerals are also very important minerals for soil management and economic geology (both as important mineral resource, energy resource exploration, and reservoir properties).
But clays also have many negative effects in geotechnical engineering, manifested in the form of landslides, mudflows, and deterioration of clay-based construction materials.
IMACS (International Master in Advanced Clay Science) is the first multi-disciplinary program that brings together the widely-distributed knowledge of clays. It is supported by the French Clay Group (GFA) and AIPEA (International Association for the Study of Clay Minerals).
Organization
During the first year, recent developments on material/mineral analysis techniques and basic knowledge on clays, are provided, in addition to common courses with other GS students. Two pratical periods in research laboratories or in private companies complete the first year program : 2.5 days/week during semester 1, 3-4 months during semester 2.
The second-year is devoted to the uses and applications of clays including geomaterials and civil engineering, nanomaterials... The master’s thesis (5 to 6 months) completes this second year and can be carried out in one of the partner research laboratories which constitute a network of more than 20 accredited research laboratories and many private companies.
The granted students must be open to other disciplinary fields (Physics, Chemistry...) and carry out their internships in different laboratories (national or international, academic or private).
The language of instruction is English.
Program Outcome
Objective of the IMACS
The objective of this Master's program is to train high-level graduates by providing them with a wide range of skills in materials characterization for applications in Environment, Earth Sciences, Materials and Sustainable Development (Geomaterials and Nanomaterials)... based on a learning-by-doing model.
The transdisciplinarity of the IMACS program gives access to a large international job market: A large number of research laboratories will be able to welcome IMACS students for PhDs. Our students will also be attractive for any vacant engineering position requiring knowledge of minerals/materials (Environment and waste management, Civil engineering, Soils, Mineral and energy resource industries, Geomaterials, Cement and ceramic industry, Nano-materials, Cosmetics and medicine, etc.).
Our Strengths
- In connection with industrial demand.
- Analysis expertise for the characterization of minerals and geomaterials: X-Ray Diffraction, Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy, Thermal Analyses, Tomography, etc.
- A transdisciplinary approach.
- Learning by doing
- Three periods of granted internship in a partner laboratory (university or industry)
- An international training course.
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
GS grant
Each year we offer GS IntREE-Master Welcome boxes for foreign students entering the first year of the master program (1200 €).
All laboratory internships or research projects during the master program are granted to all students supporting by the GS-IntREE (for a total of 2600 € min*) or by the host laboratories/companies.
Outgoing grants can also be awarded to French student for international mobility (1000 euros + 500 euros/month of internship).
* Scholarships are awarded to all students during the master thesis internship. Their amount is EUR 500/month minimum.
Gallery
Career Opportunities
After the MSC....
OPPORTUNITIES:
Analysis / Research / Development laboratories ; Scientific instrumentation ; Geologist, mining geologist, exploitation of mineral/energetic resources (deposits, quarries), remediation ; Material Engineer (industrial minerals, ceramics, cement, geopolymers, eco-materials, and nanomaterials) ; Geotechnical Engineer ; Soil expert, polluted sites and soils ; Protection of natural and cultural heritage ; Mineralogist ; Researcher / lecturer ; Scientific journalism