From 7 to 11 July 2025, the World Maritime Campus and UBO will be jointly organising a course entitled ‘Understanding the environmental challenges of the maritime economy’. The course will take place in Brest and Roscoff and, like the previous edition, will be organised in two sessions: an introductory session and a more in-depth session.
Registration is open until 30 April 2025 at this link.
The city of Brest has been chosen to host, from February 9 to 11, 2022, an international summit dedicated to the protection of the ocean, the One Ocean Summit. This event, organized within the framework of the French presidency of the European Union, will be the occasion for forums and workshops of world experts in the field and will close with a meeting of high-ranking political leaders. The workshops are expected to produce calls for action and the summit will make commitments to strengthen international ocean governance.
At the request of Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, French ambassador of the poles and maritime issues in charge of the organization of the summit, the Brest University (UBO) is taking the initiative to mobilize its cooperating networks for a contribution of young researchers to One Ocean Summit. This initiative is included in the official program of the summit under the name of One Ocean Summit University. It is structured around three key moments:
In order to fulfill this ambition, a compilation of the different contacts throughout UBO’s networks and on-going projects has already started. Following its creation, this set of network contacts will form a “convention” of young international researchers (students or professional) that will be led by the project team.
The objective here is to use a participatory approach to synthesize the broad the expertise and dynamics represented by the One Ocean Summit University in order to articulate common themes regarding the issues of research and research training in the context of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The goal is to produce actionable recommendations and a call for actions.
These recommendations will be presented in the thematic workshops of the One Ocean Summit by a panel of ambassadors of the One Ocean Summit University.
Following the meeting, UBO will work to ensure that this group of young researchers continues this work and take part in various initiatives and international meetings such as the United Nations Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1, 2022.
You want to join the One Ocean Summit University?
- Check the topics of the One Ocean Summit workshops and select one you want to contribute to,
- Contact the project team and be ready to contribute,
- Join a group of young researchers at your place or with your international network to produce your contribution to the One Ocean Summit.
The SML Master‘s application campaign will begin in April, according to a calendar specific to each course, which can be consulted on the Ecandidat application site, under the heading “Training offer”.
To find out more, go to the “Practical information” section at the bottom of the SML Master’s page.
Friday 21 March 2025
We offer training in geosciences, coastal and marine environment professions through the research unit of the Ocean Geosciences Laboratory based in Plouzané (IUEM, UBO) and Vannes (UBS), in close collaboration with the IFREMER Marine Geosciences Institute.
The expertise of these two units covers a wide range of topics: from coastal dynamics to the evolution of the Earth’s mantle, including the dynamics of rifts, margins, ridges and sediment, paleo-climatic and paleo-environmental recording. The work is based on a multidisciplinary and multiproxy approach based on instrumental poles: ocean spectrometry pole – instrumental pole in geophysics – pole in sedimentology/micropaleontology/palynology.
The strong points of this mention are the numerous land and sea sites carried out throughout the training, the intervention of high-level researchers from both institutes, the possibility of research internships, among other possibilities, within IUEM, IFREMER or SHOM.
Ocean Geosciences(GO)
The Ocean Geosciences Course is closely linked to the Geo-Ocean laboratory. Graduates of this master’s degree will be able to develop and design research projects, provide expertise and advice within public or private organisations in the fields of geosciences and, in particular, marine geosciences. This master’s degree allows students to pursue a doctorate in the field of marine geosciences, particularly in the following areas: margins, ridges, rifts, mineral resources, sedimentology, palaeoenvironment, palaeoclimates and marine geochemistry.
Download the full presentation of the training and its scientific and local context.
Feedback from the field course in the Alps
Feedback from the field course in England
See the training sheet in the official UBO catalogue
Coastal and Shoreline Resource Management and Engineering (IGRECL)
The IGRECL course is clearly aimed at non-academic professional integration in the management of coastal and shoreline resources with SMEs in the sector, local authorities and large groups whose work affects these environments. At the end of this course, students will have multidisciplinary skills in the management and exploitation of mineral and biological resources, with an understanding of the concepts of risk and vulnerability. These skills will enable them to adapt, anticipate and respond to coastal zone management strategies, taking into account the European legal and socio-economic framework.
MOVE (PETROLEUM EXPERTS)
Since December 2018, UBO’s STU (Earth and Universe Sciences) courses have had free access to PETROLEUM EXPERTS’ MOVE software suite, under an agreement signed between the UBO’s Earth Sciences Department and this company. The commercial equivalent of this donation of the MOVE software suite is £1,308,000.00.
This software is the most complete structural geology analysis and modeling “toolbox” available. It provides a complete digital environment to report in 3 dimensions on geological properties and characteristics by reducing the risks and uncertainties of geological models. It is a platform for the integration and interpretation of geophysical data, section construction, 3D model construction, kinematic restoration and validation, geo-mechanical modeling, fracture modeling, fault role modeling and analysis of the relationships between faults and tectonic constraints.
The Earth Sciences Department and the University of Brest (UBO) sincerely thank PETROLEUM EXPERTS Limited for their donation for the free use of the MOVE software suite. This tool will allow us to train our students in Licence 3 (at the UFR Sciences et Techniques du Bouguen) and in Master 1 and 2 (at the IUEM, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer) to use in the classroom this professional software commonly used in design offices, consulting firms and large geoscience companies working on geological reservoirs. For doctoral students, the databases at their disposal (most often bathymetric data and dense seismic reflection profiles) can thus be significantly enhanced according to the objectives of their thesis work.
More informations :
Kingdom Suite
UBO’s Earth Sciences learning path benefit from the free availability of the Kingdom Suite Software distributed by S&P Global through the University Grant Program, which is updated every year since 2008.
Kingdom Suite software is a worldwide reference for 2D and 3D seismic interpretation and allows the integration of geophysical and geological data offering a wide variety of uses in fundamental and applied research. The software is used in the classroom for Master’s degree courses in Ocean Geosciences and Coastal Resource Engineering and Management. It is also used during sea teaching campaigns and for projects conducted individually by doctoral students at the Ocean Geosciences Laboratory.
The Department of Earth Sciences and the University of Brest (UBO) sincerely thank S&P Global for the accreditation they have received for the free use of the Kingdom Suite software.
QGIS
Free and Open Source Geographic Information System
Matlab
Programming language for technical calculation, paid software, license acquired at the Laboratory.
Octave
Technical calculation programming language, free numerical calculation software comparable to MATLAB.
Q Suite
Les formations en Sciences de la Terre de l’UBO bénéficient depuis 2022 de la mise à disposition gratuite de la « Q-suite » distribué par la société QPS. Cette suite comporte plusieurs logiciels principalement dédiés à la bathymétrie :
-Le logiciel Qinsy. Il est dédié à la préparation des missions ou surveys océanographiques, à l’acquisition hydrographique et traitement en temps réel à bord des navires pour la bathymétrie multifaisceaux, mais aussi l’imagerie sonar latéral, la magnétométrie.
– The Quimera software is dedicated to the processing and interpretation of data following multibeam bathymetry surveys. It makes the processing of hydrographic data didactic and as simple and intuitive as possible. Qimera is currently the most powerful application for all bathymetric processing applications: integrating the latest technologies and design to optimise ease of use. This software is compatible with the main sonar data formats, and has revolutionised data management through the creation of dynamic data flows.
– The Fledermaus software. For 4D geospatial analysis with video integration and film editing. A standard for presentation and communication that integrates into the QPS workflow and allows the integration of multibeam, reflectivity, water column and other GIS data on the same view.
The QPS suite is used in the classroom for Master’s teaching purposes for the Ocean Geosciences and Coastal and Littoral Resources Engineering and Management courses. It is also used during teaching campaigns at sea and for projects carried out individually by doctoral students of the Ocean Geosciences Laboratory. It is also used for hydrographic degree training.
The Department of Earth Sciences and the University of Brest (UBO) would like to express their sincere thanks to the company QPS for allowing them to use the software free of charge.
Christine AUTHEMAYOU (Send an email)
M1 : Aurélie PENAUD (Send an email)
M2 : Christine AUTHEMAYOU (Send an email)
Evelyne GOUBERT (Send an email)
This international specialty is co-accredited by IUEM to UBO and by ENSTA Bretagne. It aims to provide students the knowledge of the physical and dynamic properties of the marine environment and related engineering elements (especially ships). It has 4 courses: Ocean and Climate Physics (POC), Marine Geophysics (GM), Naval Hydrodynamics (HN) and Data sciences. GM, HN et POC have a common block in M1: fluid mechanics, solids, applied mathematics, data analysis, numerical modelling. The specializations for each course are more important in M2. The SDO course is only offered in M2. The training is based on long academic or industrial research internships at the end of M2.
This Master’s degree allows access to doctoral training within the framework of the Doctoral School of Marine and Coastal Sciences, as well as to jobs as a research engineer in many regional, national or foreign companies. The context in Brest is particularly developed for marine science and technologies.
The new Ocean Data Science course opened at the start of the 2020 academic year. Following this pathway and then taking a year of Marine Geomatics at ENSTA Bretagne (subject to admission by application) will lead to a diploma from this leading engineering school.
The Marine Physics/Marine Sciences program in cooperation with graduate engineering schools in Brest, is international and taught essentially in English (see the site for more information).
The program focuses on the physics of the sea (POC specialty), of the Earth particularly under the sea (GM specialty) and of ships and naval structures (HN specialty). In M1 the common scientific basics (Fluid and solid mechanics, applied maths, numerical analysis) are taught. In M2, the specific knowledge of each specialty is taught. Projects and internships are essential in the program. Relation with research centres and with private companies are central to research training.
Attending and validating this specialty and then validating the (one-year) specialty Marine Geomatics (provided the results of the M2 are good) would lead to obtaining the Engineering Degree of ENSTA Bretagne.
More precise information in English about our program and how to apply can be obtained with contacting Master.Marphys@univ-brest.fr
The course is based on the Laboratory for Ocean Physics and Satellite remote sensing (LOPS), the Laboratory of Environmental Marine Sciences (LEMAR), both of IUEM laboratories, the Hydrography, Oceanography and Meteorology department of SHOM, the Laboratory of Coastal Hydrodynamics of CEREMA.
Opportunities: research, teaching and research, consulting firms (impact of ocean circulation, or extreme events on offshore structures, on coastal erosion, on marine ecology, on exploitation of marine resources, or changes in pollution levels).
The course is based on the Geo-Ocean Laboratory (GO), which is a research unit, and the Marine Geosciences Department of Ifremer.
Opportunities: research, teaching and research, research and development in the fields of marine energies, offshore / petroleum, marine mineral resources, and in consulting firms (sedimentary transport, coastal risks…).
The course is based on the Dupuy de Lôme Research Institute (IRDL, FRE, Brest) and the Institut de Recherche de l’École Navale (IRENAV).
Opportunities: research, teaching and research, consulting firms and test centres, marine energies, architecture and shipbuilding.
Xavier CARTON
Send an e-mail
Olivier Arzel
Send an e-mail
Cécile GRIGNÉ
Send an e-mail
Pierre-Michel GUILCHER
Send an e-mail
Xavier CARTON
Send an e-mail
EGEL (Expertise and Management of the Coastal Environment) is one of the eight Master’s degrees in the SML field (Marine and Coastal Sciences) at IUEM. Created in 2000, it is, historically, one of the first specialised training courses on coastal and marine environment management in France with a network of more than 500 alumni trained over the last 20 years.
Nationally recognized, EGEL aims to prepare students for careers in planning, environmental engineering and research in the field of coastal and marine management. A multidisciplinary Master’s degree in excellence (geography, planning, biology, ecology, law, economics, chemistry, etc.), it offers a cross-disciplinary approach to the knowledge, understanding and management of coastal and marine issues in a logic of transition and sustainability of territories.
Our training is divided into two years.
The first year (M1) is considered as a disciplinary refresher course. It is therefore more focused on the acquisition of knowledge and methodologies. However, this does not prevent students from being in the field on a regular basis (data collection, meetings with stakeholders, boat trips, etc.).
The second year (M2) is more professional, as it is based on numerous applications of knowledge and professional situations: workshops over several months, organisation of round tables, field trips, transplanted classes in the territories to meet the needs of stakeholders, etc.
The course allows students to validate a “research” or “professional” pathway, but the master’s degree is generally applied (especially in M2). At the end of the course, most students enter the job market. However, it should be noted that each year, some students decide to extend their studies by doing a PhD in one of the Institute’s research laboratories.
The professional opportunities at EGEL are very varied: protection and management of coastal and marine heritage; fishing and aquaculture; study, management, restoration of fauna/flora/habitats; management of protected areas (MPAs, reserves, etc.); cartography, geomatics, GIS, database; mediation, awareness-raising, scientific animation; coastal risks (study, prevention); management, coastal development; animation, coordination of sea and coastal public policies; study, management, monitoring of water; energy (especially sustainable energy sources); tourism and sports activities, pollution and waste, etc. (non-exhaustive list).
The courses taught in the Master’s programme are based on the research activities of the AMURE laboratory, whose three research areas are:
The aim of the course is to train high-level lawyers specialized in the law of the sea, the coastline and maritime activities.
The second year of the course is open to work-study contracts or apprenticeship contracts. Most of the teaching takes place at the UFR Droit et sciences économiques 12 rue de Kergoat in Brest.
There are many professional opportunities after completing this course. Graduates can work in the fields of insurance, banking and the sectors of activity covered by all operators (private or public companies) in the maritime sector; in the field of legal advice, studies and expertise; in professional and trade union organisations, maritime social benefit organisations, maritime cooperatives; in the territorial or national internal administration and the Community administration.
They can work as company lawyers or consultants (experts, lawyers after passing competitive examinations); as lawyers in harbours, in the fields of marine renewable energy, maritime and harbour safety, maritime works, shipbuilders; as project or contract managers (risk management in companies, contract managers in insurance); as agents or brokers (insurance); as project managers or managers in representative or public bodies (e.g. regional fisheries committee, natural marine parks); as legal advisors in the maritime sector (e.g. in the maritime sector); administrative lawyer (after competitive examination) in the State or territorial civil service or in the European institutions.
The Master’s degree DEAM is one of the eight Master’s degrees in the field of “Marine and Coastal Sciences” of IUEM.
The objective of the course is to train professionals who can be in charge of detecting, analysing and dealing with legal problems relating to the various fields of maritime activities and the law of the sea. They are able to draw up documents for litigation cases, following up on contentious cases, defining, designing and drafting useful documents, legal acts and regulations.
Created more than 40 years ago, this Master’s degree is today recognised as a training course of excellence in the field of maritime spaces and activities law. The course is supported by a large network of alumni who put their experience at the service of students (conferences, training). This network also facilitates the search for internships, work-study programmes and the professional integration of young graduates.
Within IUEM, this Master’s degree is linked to the Laboratory of Environmental Marine Sciences (LEMAR/UBO-CNRS-IRD-Ifremer) and the Geo-Ocean Laboratory (GO/UBO-CNRS-Ifremer-UBS). Both laboratories include a lot of teachers-researchers and researchers likely to participate in teaching and/or offer internships to students.
This Master’s degree in Marine and Coastal Sciences prepares young scientists for a PhD with a strong background in marine and analytical chemistry. It also enables graduates to join an engineering school program or to work directly.
The professions targeted following the training are diverse: teacher-researcher in higher education, researcher in research organisms, senior environmental executive, expert for state services, project manager for local authorities…
The professional environments that welcome these new graduates are universities, research centres, chemical and/or environmental engineering departments, chemical analysis and quality control laboratories, and public service organizations.
Following this course, the graduate:
Marine and coastal sciences
The Marine and Coastal Sciences training area is unique in France. It comprises 8 master’s degrees, each of which covers different aspects of marine and coastal sciences, according to their respective fields of study: Biotechnologies, Biology, Environmental Management, Applied Economics, Law of Maritime Spaces and Activities, Earth, Planet and Environmental Sciences, Marine Environmental Chemistry, Physics.
Doctoral School of Marine and Coastal Sciences
The Doctoral School of Marine and Coastal Sciences is naturally multidisciplinary and aims to bring together the disciplines involved in the study of the marine environment in the broadest sense. It trains high-level specialists in the universe sciences, life sciences, human sciences and engineering.
The SML Master’s degrees offer, at IUEM, the framework for UBO’s continuing education on marine topics and offers a complete catalogue.
The Pedagogical Innovation Service supports university pedagogy. A pedagogical engineer accompanies, supports and trains teachers, students and doctoral students in the transformation of their pedagogical practices. It also helps to promote these initiatives.
IUEM has seven laboratories (joint research units involving the UBO, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer and UBS) employing nearly 500 permanent and contract researchers, teacher-researchers, engineers, technicians and administrative staff.
As an internal school of Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), IUEM offers eight master’s programmes in the field of Marine and Coastal Sciences (SML), very closely associated with its laboratories, and also hosts the Doctoral School of Marine and Coastal Sciences (EDSML), a multidisciplinary school with 25 laboratories, within and outside the IUEM.
IUEM, as an Observatory of Universe Sciences (OSU), contributes to a national observation mission supported by a dedicated service unit. The Ocean is observed from the coast to the offshore, from the surface to the deep sea and in all its aspects: living and Physical Ocean, coastal and bottom interfaces, human use and management.
Scientific, technical and administrative staff
Masters students
PhD students
in marine and coastal sciences
Six years after the launch of IUEM by Paul Tréguer in 1991, the Institute was officially created in 1997. The personnel working in marine sciences at UBO are housed in new offices at the Plouzané Technopole.
iuem_1997
The Ministry appoints Paul Tréguer, founder of the Institute, as the first Director for a period of 5 years. He was reappointed in 2003 for a second term.
The CNRS recognizes IUEM as a Research Federation. The Institute also integrates the “National Network of Marine Stations”.
Unique in France, the SML Master’s degree aims to train researchers and managers capable of understanding current scientific issues and providing appropriate responses to problems related to marine and coastal areas.
Authorized by the CNRS, the primary mission of a Universe Science Observa tory (OSU) is to observe the Earth system in the service of a large national and international community and to host master’s and doctoral courses.
Created in 2004 to promote synergy on high-flying joint research projects in Western France, the Europôle Mer is recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research as a Group of Scientific Interest (GIS) and has a budget of €4 million. David Nelson, from Oregon State University, is appointed Director.
The IRD becomes a supervisor of LEMAR and LOPS. The IRD is a multidisciplinary body dedicated to research in the field of development and scientific cooperation with Southern countries. Yves-Marie Paulet takes over the management of the Institute.
Senegal
As an IUEM and Iroise Marine Natural Park station ship , it is mobilized to support various observation, research and teaching activities.
Coordinated and managed by IUEM, the LabexMER has a 10-year action plan and is endowed with 11 million euros. It brings together 12 research units in the Great West specialized in science and technology.
Coordinated by LEMAR and LETG, its objective is to improve understanding of the functioning and evolution of the coastal socio-ecosystem in a context of change and from an integrated management perspective.
This one is intended to train secondary level teachers on societal themes related to the sea and the coast. Every year, it brings together more and more teachers from all over France and abroad.
This scientific cooperation organisation brings together European research organisations and university consortia in the field of marine science and technology. Anne Marie Tréguier becomes director.
Until then, the ocean was not very much involved in discussions on climate change, but it was at the heart of the negotiations. IUEM was there to take part in the debate, by organizing an exhibition “Ocean and climate connected in change”, by participating in the climate train and other events organized in Paris.
It was built to house the LOPS and AMURE laboratories, which were previously shared between the university campus and the Ifremer. Bringing all the laboratories together in the same place makes it possible to encourage exchanges between scientists.
The ISblue “Interdisciplinary School for the blue planet” University Research School (EUR) project is selected. It is endowed with €11.1 million for a period of 10 years.
As it does every 2 years, the Institute opened its doors to the general public. The aim was to give potential future students an insight into the 8 Masters courses and the research activities of the 6 on-site laboratories.
To build a world-class research infrastructure capable of detecting, anticipating and supporting the socio-environmental transitions that terrestrial and coastal ecosystems will undergo over the coming decades. This is the objective of the CPER 2021 – 2026 GLAZ research project, led by the IUEM, an internal school of the UBO, theOSUR, theOSUNA, theINRAE and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme en Bretagne (MSHB).
Fred Jean has been appointed by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research for a further five-year term. He was appointed for the 1st time in 2018.
European Institute for Marine Studies – 2018
The IUEM is member of the Interdisciplinary graduate School for the Blue planet ISblue
