Every year, the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle welcomes French and international students, young researchers and professionals to the "Natural and Human Sciences: Evolution and Ecology" doctoral school and the "Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution" master's programme. The Museum also contributes to undergraduate teaching programmes in partnership with a number of French institutions.
A prestigious, historic and multi-site study environment
Find out more about the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Une offre de formation interdisciplinaire au cœur des métiers du Muséum
The Museum's educational offer is based on its scientific project, the content of which it reflects and follows by drawing on its research, its exceptional collections, its sites and the diversity of its professions. The richness of the programme is due in particular to the major role played by the dialogue between the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences, as well as to the diversity of the target audience: from schoolchildren to doctorates, including professional qualifications and in-service teacher training.
The Museum trains students, future professionals, teachers, professionals and also a wider public in continuing education in the following fields of expertise:
- description and inventory of natural entities and their historical interpretation ;
- understanding the intimate processes of living organisms, their evolution and dynamics, from the molecular or genomic scale to that of biotopes;
- understanding the evolutionary and cultural history of mankind, and the past and present relationships between societies, environments and ecosystems;
- communicating scientific knowledge to the general public.
Une pédagogie active adossée à la recherche
Training through research, centred on the scientific project, reflects the institution's specific characteristics and enables students to acquire knowledge, skills and multi and inter-disciplinary expert knowledge in the natural, human and social sciences on :
- analysis of past and present mechanisms for the evolution of biodiversity and
- strategies for preserving biodiversity in the context of sustainable development,
- the impact of human pressures,
- the perception of societal and environmental issues relating to heritage, biodiversity, climate and the ecological transition.
An active teaching approach based on fieldwork, work placements, workshops and group work in project mode enables students to acquire the cross-disciplinary skills that are essential if they are to put their career plans into practice.
A range of courses with an international outlook
The scientific spectrum covered by the Master's programme and the Doctoral School is extremely broad. The success of students, particularly in terms of identifying and preparing their personal integration project, depends on the many international scientific, university and heritage networks of which the Museum is a member and which it has often initiated. In turn, these networks contribute to the scientific reputation of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle and to its attractiveness, particularly for international students (of whom there are around 25%).
For over fifteen years, the institution has been involved in the development of joint Erasmus Mundus Masters programmes, international doctoral programmes and international co-supervision of theses. Some fifteen Erasmus agreements, including some set up as part of extra-European cooperation, encourage students to undertake mobility to and from the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. The institution also coordinates a number of teaching modules, summer schools and intensive programmes bringing together students from several countries.