- Be among the pioneers shaping sustainable and resilient plant systems.
- Join an elite, international program fully taught in English from the first to the second year.
- Access an outstanding research environment through the Saclay Plant Sciences Excellence Network — over 800 leading plant scientists in one of Europe’s largest plant research hubs
The programme is divided into two semesters and comprises four non-compensable blocks: the core curriculum block BCC1- Integrative foundations and methods for animal and plant sciences (17 ECTS); the two Plant Sciences blocks BCC2 and BCC3- Plant sciences : Specialised knowledge and innovative methods for sustainability (16 and 19 ECTS) with compulsory or optional teaching units (six optional sequences); the block dedicated to the compulsory 8-week teaching unit internship BCC4- Implementing a plant science research and innovation project in a professional context (8 ECTS). The Plant Sciences programme offers the option of a full M1 programme in English.
Information
Skills
- Understand the major societal and economic issues relating to the use and improvement of cultivated plants.
- To be able to explain current knowledge of how plants function and develop in interaction with their environment.
- Competent in defining and describing the main concepts, methods and technological tools used in integrative biology, in particular omics approaches.
- Capable in analyzing complex data from these technologies and use the associated statistical and bioinformatic tools
- Implement basic techniques in molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, genetics and plant physiology
- Synthesize information on a scientific topic in the field of plant sciences; communicate it orally and in writing, in French and English, alone or in a group
- Describe, analyze and critique the results of an experiment; design a scientific approach appropriate to a given problem
Objectives
The M1 Biologie Agrosciences Sciences du végétal/Plant Sciences aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge of how plants function and how they adapt to their environment in order to meet current needs for innovation in plant production. To train the scientists who will meet the new challenges of developing sustainable agriculture, the M1 Biologie Agrosciences Sciences du végétal/Plant Sciences is based on integrated, interdisciplinary and multi-scale training in plant biology. It benefits from the expertise of a network of 'Saclay Plant Sciences' research laboratories, providing training through research that is unique in the Île-de-France region.
Career Opportunities
Career prospects
After a Master's degree: Data scientist
After a Master’s degree: Research analyst
After Master and PhD : reseacher or assistant professor or professor
After a Master's + PhD: researcher or lecturer
After a Master's or Master's + PhD: researcher or lecturer
After a Master's or Master's + PhD: engineer (R&D, control, production, etc.)
Research officer
Data scientist
Data Scientist
Design engineer industry / public research
Academic staff
Design Engineer
R&D Engineer
R&D Project Manager
Further Study Opportunities
Master of Biology-Agrosciences
Biology-Agrosciences
R&D researcher or data modelling and analysis expert in leading-edge companies or laboratories.
Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Ingénieur·e en Machine Learning dans des secteurs innovants (tech, finance, santé, énergie, etc.) ;
PhD
PhD bio
Engineering in agriculture and the natural environment
PhD
PhD thesis
Admission Route
Capacity
Available Places
Target Audience and Entry Requirements
Bachelor's degree (Biology, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Life and Earth Sciences, equivalent) with knowledge acquired in the fields of: plant physiology and development, genetics (formal/molecular), genomics, cellular and molecular biology, biostatistics. A professional project in line with the objectives of the course is required. A minimum level of English (European B1) is required, enabling students to understand scientific articles and communicate in research.
Application Period(s)
From 15/01/2026 to 16/03/2026
From 19/06/2026 to 25/06/2026
From February 17th to March 16th, 2026
To find out which platform you should apply through, please see the Masters' applications and enrolment page.
Supporting documents
Compulsory supporting documents
Copy diplomas.
Copy of identity document.
Motivation letter.
TOEIC.
All transcripts of the years / semesters validated since the high school diploma at the date of application.
Certificate of English level (compulsory for non-English speakers).
Curriculum Vitae.
Detailed description and hourly volume of courses taken since the beginning of the university program.
Additional supporting documents
Referring contact information (compulsory for non-international applicants).
Certificate of French (compulsory for non-French speakers).
VAP file (obligatory for all persons requesting a valuation of the assets to enter the diploma).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity and Genome Evolution | 3 | Semester 1 | 9.5 | 15 | |||||||
| English courses / Soliya project | 2.5 | Semester 1 | 21 | ||||||||
| Epistemology | 2 | Semester 1 | 15 | ||||||||
| Project Adopt a gene (Elective courses A - option 1) | 3 | Semester 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||||||
| Metabolism and Physiology | 2.5 | Semester 1 | 9 | 6 | |||||||
| Biosphera lecture series | 1 | Semester 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| Statistics | 3 | Semester 1 | 10 | 11 | |||||||
| Project Adopt a dataset (Elective courses A - option 2) | 3 | Semestre 1 | 3 | 12 | |||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proteins and biotechnologies (Elective courses D - option 2) | 4 | Semester 1 | 14 | 16 | |||||||
| Workshop on plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses (Elective courses C - option 1) | 4 | Semester 1 | 6 | 36 | |||||||
| Integrative plant physiology (Elective courses D - option 1) | 4 | Semester 1 | 20 | 16 | |||||||
| Plant-microbe interactions (Elective courses E - option 1) | 4 | Semester 1 | 25.5 | 1.5 | 9 | ||||||
| Plant genomics and bioinformatics (Elective courses B - option 1) | 4 | Semestre 1 | 17 | 2 | 12.5 | ||||||
| Fonctionnement de l'entreprise innovante (FR) (Elective courses C - option 2) | 4 | Semestre 1 | 36 | ||||||||
| System Physiology – plant and animal (FR) (Elective courses E - option 2) | 4 | Semester 1 | 18 | 14 | |||||||
| Systems biology I and II (Elective courses B - option 2) | 4 | Semester 1 | 18 | 18 | 20 | ||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant breeding for agroecology | 4 | Semester 2 | 18 | 6 | 12 | ||||||
| Physiology of nutrition and agronomy (Elective courses G - option 1) | 4 | Semester 2 | 8 | 7 | 21 | ||||||
| Genome engineering and RNA interference (Elective courses F - option 1) | 4 | Semester 2 | 8 | 7 | 21 | ||||||
| Seeds: from biology to the supply chain (Elective courses F - option 2) | 4 | Semester 2 | 12 | 14 | |||||||
| Plant cell biology and developement | 4 | Semester 2 | 20 | 10 | 6 | ||||||
| Design an experiment | 2.5 | Semester 2 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 20 | |||||
| Metagenomics and microbial molecular ecology (Elective courses G - option 2) | 4 | Semester 2 | 18 | 18 | 20 | ||||||
| Subjects | ECTS | Semester | Lecture | directed study | practical class | Lecture/directed study | Lecture/practical class | directed study/practical class | distance-learning course | Project | Supervised studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internship | 8 | Semester 2 | 104 | ||||||||
Teaching Location(s)
Contact
-
Karine ALIX
Responsable du M2 Plant Sciences IQPV -
Axel DE ZELICOURT
-
Gianluca TEANO