The second year of the master program is common to Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Université de Montpellier. Some teaching units (unités d’enseignements, UEs) are taught by a teacher from Lyon, others by a teacher from Montpellier. Students enrolled in each site attend the classes either in person or via videoconference, depending on the teacher’s location. It’s important to note that students from one site attend the classes taught from the other site all together in the same videoconference room and not alone in front of their screen. To compensate the more limited interaction with teachers from the other site, students from each site are hosted (i.e. attend the classes and have an office to work in) in the local astrophysics laboratory, either the Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, or the Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, in which they can interact with the teachers and researchers. All students from both sites meet for a one-week observation workshop at Observatoire de Haute-Provence.
The M2 year is composed of three blocks. UEs can be compensated within one block but blocks cannot be compensated.
Fundamental block
The fundamental block (30 ECTS) is composed of a list of seven astrophysics UEs of 3 or 6 ECTS: radiative transfer and stellar atmospheres (transfert de rayonnement et atmosphères stellaires, 3 ECTS), stellar structure and evolution (structure et évolution stellaires, 3 ECTS), observational cosmology (cosmologie observationnelle, 3 ECTS), galaxy formation and evolution (formation et évolution des galaxies, 6 ECTS), star and planetary system formation (formation des étoiles et des systèmes planétaires, 6 ECTS), interstellar medium (milieu interstellaire, 3 ECTS), and astrophysical instrumentation (instrumentation astrophysique, 6 ECTS).
Professionalizing block
The professionalizing block (9 ECTS) includes one UE consisting of an observational astrophysics project including a one-week workshop at Observatoire de Haute-Provence (projet astrophysique observationnelle, 4 ECTS), a computational project (projet numérique, 3 ECTS), and one UE of English (anglais pour la communication professionnelle niveau 2 in Lyon and anglais M2 PFA in Montpellier, 2 ECTS).
Internship block
The internship block only comprises the research internship (stage de recherche) in a laboratory for a duration of 4 months (21 ECTS).
All courses are normally taught in French but can welcome non-French speaking students by adapting the lectures and accompanying documents in English.
