| Objectives | Conditions for admission | Tuition fees |
| Initial skills | International | Internships & project |
| Academic perspectives | Professional perspectives | Training program |
Objectives of the training program
The research-oriented Master in Agriculture, Food Sciences, Environment and Nutrition (MAFEN) is at the core of the IMPLANTEUS Graduate School (GS), which has been designed to address the challenge of adapting Mediterranean agricultural systems for fruit and vegetable production to the constraints of global change all while fostering high nutritional quality.
The MAFEN program includes a curriculum in English covering the fundamental aspects of plant and environmental sciences, food chemistry, food processing, microbiology, human nutrition, consumer science with a common objective of developing the production and consumption of safe and high-quality plant food in a Mediterranean context.
This integrated research-oriented training and the financial support of research internships and international mobility aim at fostering both i) awareness to research & innovation and ii) a doctoral experience.
Tuition fees
Highly subsidised by the government, the cost of studying in France is moderate for students.
Choosing to study in France means access to high-quality courses that are accessible to as many people as possible. Tuition fees at public higher education establishments in France are low because the government covers part of the cost of these courses. The real cost of studying in France is the same as elsewhere in the world, at around €10,000 a year. The difference is that in France, the State covers a large part of the cost.
What’s more, at Avignon University we’ve decided to make it easier for students to gain access to our international master’s programme. The University covers most of the €3,879 tuition fees for students from outside the European Union.
The tuition fees are the same for everyone, €250* per year. You will also have to pay the Student Life and Campus Contribution (CVEC) of €103*.
*These fees were for the start of the 2024-2025 academic year and are likely to change slightly for the start of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Conditions for admission
- Admission to M1 level: a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or biology, transcripts from the Bachelor’s curriculum, a curriculum vitae, a letter of motivation, any document attesting to the level in English
- Direct admission to M2 level: a M1 level or a complete Master’s degree (or equivalent degree) in chemistry or biology, transcripts from the Bachelor’s and Master’s curricula, a curriculum vitae, a letter of motivation, any document attesting to the level in English
Note: Regarding the level in English, the admission jury may decide a case-by-case evaluation (face-to-face or by phone).
Initial skills
- Fundamental bases in chemistry, biochemistry and/or biology
- A strong motivation to learn outside your initial disciplinary field through the multidisciplinary teaching program proposed by the Graduate School
- A good level in English. Candidates must be able to attend classes and seminars delivered in scientific English (oral + visual support)
International
The MAFEN program has a strong international character as shown by:
- A systematic use of English in the teaching program.
- Aids for outgoing mobility. Master’s students will benefit from a dynamic policy encouraging their outgoing mobility during their internships. This policy will heavily rely on the dense global network of international partners of the IMPLANTEUS Graduate School.
- A strong involvement of international academic partners in the teaching program (through seminars and Summer schools) and in the hosting of Master’s students for their research internships.
Internships & Project
By enrolling in this competitive Master’s curriculum, M1 and M2 students are committed to:
- Completing their two internships in the research labs associated with the Graduate School (including international partners) with adequate financial support from IMPLANTEUS via research grants and mobility aids
- Developing a project in collaboration with the private sector and mentored by a socio-economic partner. Each year, proposals by M2 students will be validated and supported (g., to cover travel costs). Projects may deal with research, innovation and any topic at the science – society interface.
Note: A scientific mentor will be assigned to each Master’s student. During the first semester, appointments will be held between the student and his/her mentor to discuss the curriculum and prepare the research internship (lab contacts, bibliography…).
Academic perspectives
Given the research orientation of the MAFEN curriculum and the two internships in research labs for a total of 10 months, Master’s students are naturally encouraged to consider pursuing a Doctoral diploma, in particular in the laboratories associated with the Graduate School and that are part of the Agricultural sciences & Sciences Doctoral School (ED536).
ED536 in brief: 14 Research Units. Roughly 200 researchers and 120 – 130 doctoral candidates with 75% involved in agricultural sciences.
A competitive examination for allocating three-year Doctoral grants funded by Avignon University, its Research Federation Tersys and the IMPLANTEUS Graduate School will be held each year in June for Doctoral candidates who will enroll in the university as of Sept. 1 of the same year.
Professional perspectives
The MAFEN program aims to train:
- Future researchers to promote the sustainable production, transformation and consumption of safe high-quality plant food
- Future managers in innovation for the agro-food industry with an experience of research
Note: Support for professional insertion will be provided to MAFEN students via the program’s effort to:
- Promote student projects in collaboration with the private sector
- Involve the socio-economic partners in the following actions:
- Train through keynotes and short modules focused on R&D, in particular
- Tutor student projects
- Host students for short periods in relation with their lab internships
- Organize an annual Job Fair and workshops for job placement
Training program
The MAFEN program is part of the Master’s program in Agricultural Sciences (MAS), which also proposes 4 other curricula (in French) centered on SDPV : sciences et durabilité des productions végétales, HSE : hydrogéologie, sol & environnement, IPA : ingénierie de la production alimentaire, IFV : ingénierie des filières végétales plant production. See: http://univ-avignon.fr/rechercher-une-formation/
The master is fully accessible to non-French-speaking students: course materials in English, implementation of general courses in English, innovative pedagogy based on hybridization of face-to-face courses / online courses.
Academic year 2025-2026 – New: Option Agronomy or Food & Health Sciences
M1S1
UE 1: MASTER SCIENTIFIC METHODS TO CONDUCT A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (66H30)
ECUE 1 USE BASIC PROBABILITIC AND STATISTICAL METHODS TO SOLVE A SCIENTIFIC QUESTION
ECUE 2 CONDUCT A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH RESPECTING ETHICS AND GOOD PRACTICES
ECUE 3 EXTRACT INFORMATION FROM A LARGE DATASET WITH MULIVARIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
UE 2 MASTER THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE PRIMARY DISCIPLINES TO CONDUCT A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (67H00)
ECUE 1 MASTER FUNDAMENTAL OF PLANT HEALTH (PART1 FUNDAMENTALS)
ECUE 2 MASTER FUNDAMENTAL OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION & GENETICS
ECUE 3 UNDERSTAND FOOD QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND THEIR CHANGES TOIMPROVE SENSORIAL NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS (PART 1 Conventional food processing)
ECUE 4 MASTER THE MAIN CLASSES OF FOOD COMPONENTS
OPTION AGRONOMY UE3 + UE4 (60H)
UE3 MASTER AGRONOMY, PLANTS AND ENVIRONMENT
UE4 UNDERSTAND INTEGRATED NUTRITION AND METABOLISM OF PLANTS
OPTION FOOD&HEALTH SCIENCES UE3 + UE4 (60H)
UE3 UNDERSTAND PHYSIOLOGY OF HUMAN NUTRITION AND CONSUMERS BEHAVIORS
UE4 BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFY DIFFERENT TYPES OF MICRO-ORGANISMS AND EXPLORE THEIR ABILITY TO CARRY OUT BIO-TRANSFORMATIONS (30H)
UE5 BE ABLE TO COLLECT, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA AS WELL AS CONDUCT IN-DEPTH LITERATURE REVIEWS FOR A LABORATORY (60H)
UE6 CONFERENCE CYCLE (6H)
UE7 FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS (60H)
M1S2
UE 1 UNDERSTAND TOXICOLOGY DEFINITION AND CONTAMINATION OF PLANT PRODUCTION BY TOXIC SUBSTANCES 25H)
UE 2 MASTER FRUITS AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING AND CONSEQUENCES ON THEIR QUALITIES (25H)
CHOOSE 1 OPTION
UE 3 UNDERSTAND THE ESSENTIALS OF BIOCLIMATOLOGY, SOIL PHYSICS AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (PART 1) (24H)
OR
UE 3 MASTER MICROBIAL CLASSIFICATION, BIO-TRANSFORMATIONS, AND PHYTOCHEMICALS IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING AND DIGESTION (24H)
ECUE1 BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFY DIFFERENT TYPES OFMICRO-ORGANISMS AND EXPLORE THEIR ABILITY TO CARRY OUT BI
ECUE2 MASTER PHYTOCHEMICALS IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROCESSING ANDGASTROINTESTINAL DIGESTION
UE 4 CONFERENCE CYCLE (6H)
UE 5 IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (AMS, INTERSHIP INCLUDED) (10H)
4-month internship in the laboratory
M2S1
UE 1: MASTER SCIENTIFIC METHODS TO CONDUCT A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (68H)
ECUE 1 PERFORM A MODELING METHOD TO EXPLAIN AND PREDICT A BIOLOGICAL COMPLEX PHENOMENA
ECUE 2 MASTER THE MAIN IMAGING AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
UE 2 MASTER THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE PRIMARY DISCIPLINES TO CONDUCT A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (69H)
ECUE 1 UNDERSTANDING ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERACTIONS INAGRO-ECOSYSTEMS, IN PARTICULAR BETWEEN CROPS, SPONTANEOUSLY OCCURING PLANTS AND ARTHROPODS
ECUE 2 UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL OF FOOD BY-PRODUCTS FOR FOOD ANDNON-FOOD APPLICATIONS
ECUE 3 UNDERSTAND FOOD QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND THEIR CHANGES TO IMPROVE SENSORIAL NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS (PAR 2 Innovation food processing)
OPTION AGRONOMY UE3 + UE4 (54H)
UE 3: UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO CONSERVE PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES AND THE MAIN METHODS OF USING THESE RESOURCES IN PLANT BREEDING (25H)
UE4: MASTER FUNDAMENTALS OF PLANT HEALTH, NUTRITION AND ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT (29H)
OPTION FOOD&HEALTH SCIENCES UE3 +UE4 (54H)
UE3: MASTER SAFETY OF THE PRODUCTION CHAIN OF FRESH OR PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (12H)
UE4: MASTER THE ROLE OF MICRONUTRIENTS IN NUTRITION: FROM ABSORPTION TO HEALTH EFFECTS (42H)
ECUE 1 MICRONUTRIENT IN NUTRITION: FROM ABSORPTION TO HEALTH EFFECTS
ECUE 2 IMPACT OF NUTRITION ON CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (42H)
UE5 BE ABLE TO COLLECT, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA AS WELL AS CONDUCT IN-DEPTH LITERATURE REVIEWS FOR A COMPANY (60H)
UE6 CONFERENCE CYCLE (6H)
UE7 FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS (60H)
M2S2
UE 4: CONFERENCE CYCLE (6H)
UE 5: IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING A PROJECT LINKED TO AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND HEALTH (AMS, INTERSHIP INCLUDED) (10H)
6-month internship in the laboratory