The training focuses on acquiring cross-disciplinary skills to conceptualize and support the ecological transition of agricultural and food systems at the regional level.
The program offers training focused on acquiring cross-disciplinary skills and strong reflective abilities to think about and support the ecological transition of agricultural and food systems at the regional level.
The diversity of student profiles on the program, which includes equal numbers of students from the biological sciences, biotechnology, and the humanities and social sciences, facilitates observation and critical analysis.
The program has a dual purpose: “research” and “professional.”
The first semester is devoted to fundamental teaching and methodologies for understanding the field.
The second semester builds on the fundamental concepts and concludes with a practical application through a professional or research internship.
Information
Skills
Students who have completed the training will enrich their initial course of study by acquiring a set of multidisciplinary knowledge in the field of agroecology and food security.
They will also be able to contextualize food models within the knowledge society, available technologies, and various usage scenarios suggested by actors in the field.
They will also have acquired individual and collective working methods through the training's strong emphasis on personal initiative and flipped learning.
In particular, they will acquire the following skills:
- Understanding and analyzing an agroecology model in relation to its ecosystem (territories, actors, environmental, economic, and social constraints, etc.).
- Acquire social science skills to report on situations rooted in a territory.
- Respond to a client's request (analyze, retranslate, study the situation, conduct interviews, analyze them, report the results, and make proposals, etc.).
- Know how to work independently and as part of a team (take initiative, share knowledge, rely on the team, etc.).
- Understand, analyze, and use scientific literature on a particular subject: know how to use databases, know how to compile a corpus of scientific texts, have a critical eye on literature, analyze sources, etc.
- Know how to compile different types of field data (qualitative interviews, ethnography, quantitative data, field notes, etc.), compare and analyze them in order to produce conclusive results.
- Adopt a transdisciplinary perspective on a subject of study (ecology, agronomy, sociology, political science, economics, etc.) without abandoning the disciplinary approach associated with one's original training.
Objectives
This program is structured around an analysis of socio-ecosystems, which are by definition territorial entities, where the dynamics of interactions between physical, biological, technical, economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions are treated without hierarchy. This objective requires positioning oneself at the interfaces between ecology, social sciences, and agricultural sciences.
The course includes a North/South reflection, which is essential in this era of globalization of environmental and food security issues.
Career Opportunities
Career prospects
After a Master's + PhD: researcher or lecturer
Environment / Biodiversity Officer
Environment / Biodiversity Project Manager
After a Master’s degree: Research analyst
Food products application Manager
Chargé de mission environnement
Project officer sustainable development
Research officer environment
Research officer in sustainable development
Development Manager
Design engineer in the research / scientific sector
Chargé d’études technico-économiques, stratégiques, environnementales
Project Manager / Researcher in biodiversity and sustainable development
Subject to successfully completing a civil service competitive exam, graduates will be eligible for positions as design engineers or researchers in national research organisations.
Design Engineer
Project Manager
Agricultural services, environment or sustainable development, local authority planning or government services
Organisations et associations de développement agricole ou de protection/conservation de la nature
Engineering firms specialising in environmental impact assessments
Private-sector companies, including agricultural production
Head of a territorial department
Project and territorial development officer
Management of sustainable development
Project manager in sustainable development and regional/spatial planning
Research professions
enseignant.e-chercheur.se (après un doctorat)
Research Engineer
Consultant
Project follow-up and evaluation manager
Coordination of studies in an agency or research institution
Design engineer
Research officer
Consultant·e
Further Study Opportunities
Master of Agrosciences, Environment, Territories, Landscape, Forest
Biology-Agrosciences
Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution
Master of Biology-Agrosciences
Master of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution
PhD in Ecology / Evolution / Ecosystem Functioning
PhD
Interdisciplinary PhD in Sustainability Science (many disciplines possible)
PhD thesis
Students with a 2nd year Master's degree have the possibility to pursue doctoral research.
Master of Sociology
Master’s in Political Science
Engineering in agriculture and the natural environment
Research officer
Consultant
Calendar
Admission Route
Capacity
Available Places
Target Audience and Entry Requirements
- Have a Master's degree in social sciences (political science, sociology, economics, geography, etc.) and an interest in food issues and the development of agroecology. Be able to understand technical issues related to agroecology.
- Have a Master's degree in biology, ecology, or agronomy. Be open to social sciences. Be able to read social science literature and acquire a way of thinking that differs from your original training.
Application Period(s)
From 15/05/2026 to 15/06/2026
Supporting documents
Compulsory supporting documents
List of post-secondary school studies mentioning exclusively the year, course, institution, average grade and your grade or distinction.
Motivation letter.
List of other masters requested (excluding Saclay).
All transcripts of the years / semesters validated since the high school diploma at the date of application.
Curriculum Vitae.
Document indicating the list of local M2 choices available here : https://urlz.fr/i3Lo.
Additional supporting documents
TOEIC.
Certificate of French (compulsory for non-French speakers).
VAP file (obligatory for all persons requesting a valuation of the assets to enter the diploma).
Recommendation letters.
Supporting documents :
- Residence permit stating the country of residence of the first country
- Or receipt of request stating the country of first asylum
- Or document from the UNHCR granting refugee status
- Or receipt of refugee status request delivered in France
- Or residence permit stating the refugee status delivered in France
- Or document stating subsidiary protection in France or abroad
- Or document stating temporary protection in France or abroad.
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les haies, objet agroécologique | 2 | Semestre 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| L'agroécologie en action | 4 | Semestre 1 | 24 | 6 | |||||||
| Ecologie et société | 3 | Semestre 1 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Agrobiodiversité | 3 | Semestre 1 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agroécologie et technologies | 3 | Semestre 1 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Socio-histoire de la modernisation agricole et des agricultures alternatives | 3 | Semestre 1 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Recherche action sur les systèmes alimentaires | 2 | Semestre 2 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marchés, capitalisme et agroécologie | 3 | Semestre 2 | 24 | 6 | |||||||
| Sociologie de l'alimentation durable | 3 | Semestre 1 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Transformations du travail en agriculture | 3 | Semestre 2 | 18 | 6 | |||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Techniques d'enquêtes qualitatives et recherche bibliographique | 1 | Semestre 1 | 3 | 9 | |||||||
| Enquête collective | 8 | Semestre 1 | 21 | 48 | |||||||
| Dialogue interdisciplinaire | 2 | Semestre 1 | 6 | 15 | |||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglais scientifique | 1 | Semestre 2 | 17 | ||||||||
| Soutenance de stage | 19 | Semestre 2 | |||||||||