Description
Université Bordeaux Montaigne is offering this Master’s programme in Scientific and Technical Information and Mediation in conjunction with the University of Bordeaux. It includes theory-based, methodology-based and applied course units.
The programme of study is based on research activity and experience of the professional context. It is also based on a common core curriculum made up of course units on the philosophy, sociology and history of the sciences and scientific techniques. From Semester 2 onwards, course units vary according to the subject pathway chosen.
There are two possible subject pathways:
• A vocationally oriented subject pathway entitled ‘Mediation of the Sciences (MS)’, which aims at students’ direct entry into employment and which combines university teaching with skills gained via experience of different socioeconomic contexts.
• A subject pathway entitled ‘Epistemology and History of Sciences and Techniques (EHST)’, which is geared towards research-oriented professions and which draws primarily on the scientific output of the team of university lecturer-researchers and teaching staff who contribute to this programme.
Objectives
The key objectives of the ‘Mediation of the Sciences’ pathway are to:
- bring together and analyse the knowledge needed to develop strategies for mediation of the sciences, in light of the needs of the target audience;
- know how to identify the different linguistic registers and to adapt communication outputs for a given audience;
- understand the issues at stake in scientific communication, for the different stakeholders within a given communication process;
- structure mediation processes with recourse to a varied range of tools and innovative measures, which are likely to be interactive, collaborative and participative;
- determine the consequences of a mediation operation and measure the extent to which it has achieved its objectives.
Graduates are capable of designing and overseeing communication activities, of running projects in a communication agency and of designing and organising events for entities that handle the propagation and mediation of the sciences. They know how to measure the extent to which the objectives of a given communication activity have been achieved. Their editorial skills enable them to work for specialised, scientific or health publications.
Training content
Two years of study: Master 1 (M1) and Master 2 (M2)
Students are taught the fundamentals in information and communication sciences. This is particularly through course units on Journalism, Communication Tools and Mediation of the Sciences, which are studied during the first three semesters.
These units revolve around the completion of real-life works-project requests from our external partners. An instruction in ‘Support and Coaching’ is also implemented to meet these needs, enabling students to grasp the demands of the professional context even from this early stage in their university programme of study.
Language classes are taught during these first three semesters of the programme. Semester 4 is entirely reserved for the final internship (there is also a compulsory internship in the second semester).
In Semester 1, a part of the course units within this Master’s programme in Mediation of the Sciences is merged with course units from the Master’s in Epistemology and History of Sciences and Techniques. These units are centred on the history and philosophy of the sciences. Students identify key contemporary issues in the field of the philosophy of the sciences, so as to tackle the fundamental philosophical problems posed by formal and experimental sciences. A further course unit gives an introduction to the principle schools of thought in the history of the sciences, the projects underway and the methods in use. In addition, a course unit (merged with the Master’s in Information and Communication Sciences) equips students with the fundamental theories within this latter discipline and encourages a study of the key trends in communication for scientific purposes.
Finally, particular attention is paid to the relationship between science and society, through a reflection on risk, expertise, decision, mediation, communication and deliberation.
In Semester 2, students gain experience of the professional context via participation from practising professionals. Through course units on writing for journalism, students tackle press ethics and gain an overview of the scientific press and the framing of information printed format and online media. The methods and practices of mediation are tackled through course units on museum studies and practical elements on exhibition design. Classes on (among other subjects) the semiotics of image and speech analysis support this professional process.
The year is brought to a close with a three-month internship from May to August. Students prepare for this internship with the support of the teaching staff and in accordance with their personal professional ambitions.
In Semester 3 students continue to implement mediation projects and progress towards the completion of these projects, with on-going guidance from a team of teaching staff and participants from the professional world. The practical classes on interview skills, along with classes on effective writing for the press, culminate in the planning and production of a paper. Similarly, classes on museum studies and exhibition design lead to the creation of an exhibition aimed at the general public. Students also develop and implement a communication strategy, with supervision from the programme’s professional participants and with a unit on communicating with images. This offers students insight into the audiovisual tools that are employed in mediation activities.
Semester 4 is entirely reserved for the internship. Students prepare for this internship with the support of the teaching staff and in accordance with his or her personal professional ambitions.
Access condition
Find information regarding enrolment procedures and the supporting documents to be provided, according to your profile and your level of studies :
Trainings
Dissertation
In the second year of this two-year programme students are asked to produce a dissertation on the professional context of their internship, as well as a traditional written report.
Internship
There is a three-month internship in Master 1 and a six-month internship in Master 2.
Career pathways
For the most parts, students gain their first position within the six months following graduation.
Employment opportunities
Head of internal/external communications in industrial sectors and health or environmental structures; project managers in communication agencies specialising in scientific or health communications; events planner/organiser for structures related to scientific outreach including museums, French Centres of Scientific and Industrial Culture (CCSTI), associations etc.; head of research in audiovisual or multimedia production companies; editor for medical or scientific press.
