Master in Earth Sciences - SSTE

Master in Earth Sciences Home

Are you looking for a course that combines fundamental and applied sciences ? Do you want to contribute to the reduction of natural disasters and help make the energy transition thanks to new sustainable geo-energy resources? Are you curious to understand the processes that have shaped the Earth and its environment from its inception onward, to predict their evolution in the context of human influence and actively contribute to a future that respects our planet? Thus the ELSTE Master in Earth Sciences is for you! Delivered jointly by the universities of Geneva and Lausanne, through the Lemanic School of Earth Sciences (ELSTE), this Master offers you a unique multidisciplinary program, providing the skills necessary to meet the major current challenges: the scarcity of resources, the climate change, the environmental problems, and the volcanic and seismic risks. The proximity of the Alps and a unique course built around numerous excursions all over the world will allow you to directly observe the geological processes and their recording into the rocks. A modern education in all major disciplines of earth sciences is provided by more than 50 researchers. They also offer research topics that will allow you to contribute to the major scientific questions of the moment. For your courses and your research work, you will be able to benefit from exceptional measuring devices within one of the largest analytical platforms in Switzerland (chemistry, spectrometry, geophysics, microscopy, surface analysis) between the universities of Geneva and Lausanne. By integrating the ELSTE Master in Earth Sciences you will join a vast international academic and industrial environment. It will open up many opportunities: academic and private research, federal or cantonal administration, industrial sector like the booming field of renewable and geothermal energies, consulting offices in geology, risks and the environment, but also within large NGOs and international organizations such as the Red Cross, UNEP or WHO.

Program of Studies

The ELSTE Masters program is structured in the form of three orientations. Each orientation has a number of obligatory courses plus a list of specialized courses from which students may select those which serve his/her specific needs. Students in any orientation may take one or more courses from another orientation where appropriate, and courses offered at other institutions may be approved for credit. 120 ECTS credit are required.

Orientations

Geochemistry-Alpine Tectonics-Ore Deposits
Geological risk
Sedimentary, Environmental, and Reservoir Geology

Language

A French exam is not anymore required to follow a Master program at the Faculty of Science. Each student is responsible of having the adequate proficiency in English and/or French. In some orientations, including the orientation Geochemistry-Alpine Tectonics-Ore Deposits, all courses are taught in English. Masters theses may be written in either English or in French.

Financial Support

The Faculty of Sciences, in collaboration with several sponsors, has established an Excellence Fellowship Program to support outstanding and highly motivated candidates who intend to pursue a Master of Science in any of the disciplines covered by the Faculty

Admission Requirements

This Masters program is a cooperative endeavor offered jointly by the University of Geneva and the University of Lausanne. Students from these universities must have completed their Bachelors degrees (180 ECTS credits: UNIGE - Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNIL - Geosciences and Environment, concentration in Geology or an equivalent background). Students with science degrees in disciplines related to the Earth Sciences may be admitted to the Masters Program. However, courses totaling a maximum of 20 ECTS credits may be required as a function of limitations in the individual’s academic preparation with respect to specific knowledge in Earth Science topics.