ICM Programme Structure
The Ingénieur Civil des Mines (ICM) curriculum educates generalist engineers capable of understanding, designing, and managing complex systems in a changing world.
The programme is structured around three complementary years and a highly customizable professionalization pathway: each student builds their own path according to their ambitions.
🎯 An 80% customizable programme
The ICM programme is based on a unique combination of science, engineering, humanities, and management, allowing each student to build a tailor-made engineering profile.
Students structure their curriculum around three main educational components:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| The Majors | 2 choices from 10 options to specialize in specific scientific and technological fields. |
| Societal Challenges | 1 choice from 8 major issues to understand and act on the transitions of the 21st century. |
| Professional Development Modules | Cross-disciplinary courses and applied projects to prepare for professional life. |
🔬 The 10 Scientific and Technological Majors
The majors form the scientific core of the programme.
They enable students to strengthen their skills in two areas from the ten offered:
- Industrial and Territorial Environment
- Fluid Dynamics
- Production Management and Logistics
- Business Management and Finance
- Data Science
- Computer Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Energy Processes
- Materials
- Mechanics
🎓 By combining two majors, students create their own profile: engineer in data and materials, biomedical and energy, mechanics and finance…
🌍 The 8 Societal Challenges
The challenges reflect Mines Saint-Étienne’s commitment to major contemporary transitions: ecological, technological, industrial, digital, and human.
Each student chooses one challenge from the eight offered, which they will explore throughout the curriculum through interdisciplinary projects:
- Ecological Transition
- Levers and Management of Industrial Renewal
- Design Thinking and Innovation
- Eco-design
- Big Data
- Health and Personalized Medicine
- Nanotechnologies
- Artificial intelligence
These challenges enable future engineers to connect their scientific skills with concrete societal issues.
💼 Professional Development Modules
The professional development modules foster discovery of the economic world, understanding of managerial challenges, and preparation for professional integration.
They represent approximately 50% of the training time, dedicated to real-world scenarios: projects, case studies, internships, and business simulations.
Examples of modules:
- Management and Industrial Performance
- Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Creativity
- Human Resources Management and Social Responsibility
- Intercultural Communication
- Change Management and Leadership
- Digital and Data Skills for Industry
- Workshop: “Industry Sectors and Engineering Professions”
More than 65 combinations are possible, tailored to clearly identified career opportunities.
These modules foster autonomy, critical thinking, and adaptability — essential qualities for a Mines Saint-Étienne engineer.
The Capstone Projects: a guiding thread over three years
The capstone projects form the backbone of the ICM programme.
They encompass all projects undertaken during the three years of training, forming a coherent continuum between science, innovation, and commitment.
Each year, a major collective project mobilizes the skills acquired in other courses:
| Year | Capstone Project | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Year (ICM1) | • Citizen Project | Act on a concrete societal, cultural, or environmental issue. |
| 2nd Year (ICM2) | • TECH Project • Innovation, Creation, and Entrepreneurship Project | Design a prototype, innovate, undertake. |
| 3rd Year (ICM3) | • Industrial Project • Research Project | Address a real business or research need. |
These projects form a continuous progression: from discovery to innovation, then to research and industrial implementation.
They embody Mines Saint-Étienne’s project-based pedagogy, rooted in the reality of the professional world.
Collaborate with Our Students
At Mines Saint-Étienne, student projects are central to the training of future engineers. These projects allow companies to benefit from a fresh, innovative, and pragmatic perspective on their challenges while offering students concrete immersion in the professional world. As true “win-win” collaborations, they combine academic expertise, student creativity, and quality support to meet the specific needs of organizations.
🧱 A Progressive Training Architecture
| Year | Educational Objectives | Key Curriculum Elements |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Year (ICM1) | Acquire scientific, technical, and human fundamentals. | Core curriculum, citizen project, toolbox, operator internship (4 weeks). |
| 2nd Year (ICM2) | Specialize, innovate, and gain international exposure. | Choice of majors and challenge, TECH project, Innovation, Creation, and Entrepreneurship Project, application internship (3 months). |
| 3rd Year (ICM3) | Professionalize and prepare for one’s career. | Industrial project, research project, final oral examination, final internship (6 months). |
🌐 International Outlook
- 25% of courses are taught in English from the 2nd year.
- Two compulsory modern languages for all students.
- Compulsory international experience: academic semester, internship, or double degree.
- 140 partners in 50 countries: Europe, Asia, Americas, Africa, Oceania.
- Member of the Erasmus+, Brafitec, Arfitec, TIME, and EULIST networks.
🧭 Pedagogy and Assessment
Each semester combines:
- Lectures and practical work,
- Collective projects,
- Continuous and final assessments,
- Competency-based validation and ECTS credits (180 over 3 years).
The pedagogy is centered on learning by doing, autonomy, and the co-construction of knowledge with faculty and industrial partners.
🧩 A Flexible and Evolving Programme
- 80% of the curriculum is customizable.
- Pathways exist with other schools of the Institut Mines-Télécom.
- 75% of students choose a double degree in the 3rd year (in France or abroad).
- Access to common CHELS modules (Centrale Lyon, ENS, Sciences Po Lyon, VetAgroSup, etc.).
College of Advanced Studies Lyon Sciences – CHEL[s]
Deployed across all campuses of the Lyon–Saint-Étienne site, the College of Advanced Studies Lyon Sciences – CHEL[s] brings together six major public schools around a common ambition: to foster curiosity, creativity, and multidisciplinarity.
Rooted in the city and open to the world, the network enriches the training dynamic of its member institutions through personalized pathways, shared courses, and collaborative digital tools.
By bringing together students, faculty, researchers, and local stakeholders, CHEL[s] encourages the convergence of knowledge and the co-construction of interdisciplinary projects.
It thus offers everyone the opportunity to better understand and transform the world of tomorrow.
🔗 Discover the rest of the curriculum
FAQ
Two main formats:
- Academic exchange (often S5/S6 or end of 3rd year),
- Internships abroad (end of 2nd year; final project in 3rd year).
Each student must complete ≥ 3 consecutive months outside their home country for the international requirement.
👉 See: International and Mobility
Yes, each student must have a computer from the start of the academic year, which will be used for all courses requiring computer tools.
There is no dedicated “aerospace” course unit in the common core curriculum, but you can build a pathway in mechanics/materials, computer science, data, etc., pursue a partner semester (abroad) or a 3rd year in a specialized school (e.g., SupAéro, ENSMA) subject to selection.
Approximately 26 hours of classes/week (Monday–Friday) with 3 free afternoons (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday) often used for oral exams, lab work, projects, or teamwork.
- ICM: generalist degree, Saint-Étienne campus.
- ISMIN: Microelectronics & Computer Science specialization, Gardanne campus.
Two CTI-accredited degrees. 3rd-year pathways (internal dual degree) are available, subject to selection.
The curriculum includes three internships: operator (1st year), application (2nd year), and engineer (3rd year).
Lyon District for all programs, except for the Engineering specialization in microelectronics and computer science and an M2 in Nanosciences/Nanotechnologies (Hybrid electronics) (Aix-Marseille District).
Ten scientific majors and eight societal challenges covering energy, AI, nanotechnology, health, ecological transition, etc.