The third year of the Ingénieur Civil des Mines curriculum is dedicated to the full implementation of skills acquired during the programme.
Students choose their specialisation track, undertake an industrial or research project, and complete their final internship, a true springboard for their future career.
🎯 Objectives for the third year
- Deepen a chosen scientific or industrial field,
- Develop autonomy and responsibility,
- Successfully complete a complex and concrete project,
- Gain professional experience through a long internship in a company or laboratory,
- Prepare for career entry or for further studies (doctorate, double degree, etc.).
📚 Organisation of the year
| Semester | Main Focus Areas | Projects and Internships |
|---|---|---|
| Semester 9 (S9) | • Scientific Major (160 h) • Societal Challenge (80 h) • Modern Languages (40 h) • Introduction to Business Sectors (20 h) and Professions (50 h) | • Industrial Project (220 h) |
| Semester 10 (S10) | • Introduction to Skills Workshop (20 h) • Professional Grand Oral Examination | • Research Project (200 h) •Final Internship (6 months) |
🧠 Specialisation Tracks
Specialisation in the ICM programme does not begin in the third year: it is built progressively throughout the three years of training.
From the first year, students shape their profile through their projects, technical modules, and internships.
In the second year, they refine their path through their majors and their societal challenge, which structure their scientific and professional profile.
Finally, the third year culminates this journey by offering a comprehensive specialization track, consistent with the choices and skills developed since the beginning of the programme.
🔧 Areas of Specialisation
The third-year specialisation tracks are based on Mines Saint-Étienne’s research and innovation centers and cover the following major areas:
- Advanced Materials and Structures
- Data and Artificial Intelligence
- Industrial Management and Supply Chain
- Sustainable Energy and Processes
- Environment and Transitions
- Biomedical Engineering
- Product Design and Innovation
- Management of Technological Innovation
These paths finalise the engineering profile built over three years: scientific, innovative, responsible, and globally-minded.
🧭 The Capstone Projects
The capstone projects accompany students from the beginning to the end of the programme.
In the third year, they reach their most advanced form: an industrial project or a research project, conducted in partnership with a company, a laboratory, or an institutional organization.
These projects represent the synthesis of learning: they require students to mobilize their scientific, technical, and human skills to provide concrete solutions.
🧪 The Industrial Project
The Industrial Project involves addressing a real company problem by applying a comprehensive engineering approach:
needs analysis, modeling, design, prototyping, testing, and recommendations.
Objectives
- Collaborate with a partner company on a strategic mission,
- Mobilize technical and project management skills,
- Write a report and present the results before a joint school-company jury.
These projects allow students to immerse themselves in industrial reality while developing their communication, management, and innovation skills.
🔬 The Research Project
Some students choose a Research Project, carried out in an academic or industrial R&D laboratory.
It introduces scientific methodology, critical analysis, and scientific communication.
This project particularly prepares students for doctoral studies, applied research, or professions with a strong technological component.
🧩 Grand Oral Examination and Career Support
At the end of the programme, each student presents a Professional Grand Oral Examination: a synthesis and professional positioning exercise before a joint school-company jury.
This key moment allows for:
- showcasing the educational journey,
- asserting one’s identity as an engineer,
- and preparing for entry into the job market.
Career support is provided throughout the programme by the professionalization department of the training directorate.
💼 The Final Internship: The Engineering Internship
The engineering internship concludes the ICM programme.
Lasting 6 months (April to September), it takes place in a company, a startup, or a research center, in France or abroad.
Objectives
- Assume a full-fledged engineering role,
- Carry out a strategic mission, often related to research or innovation,
- Demonstrate the ability to manage a complex project from start to finish.
In 2025, 99% of ICM graduates were employed within 6 months of their internship, often with the host company.
🌍 Double Degrees and International Opportunities
In the 3rd year, many students choose to pursue a double degree in France or abroad.
These partnerships allow students to obtain two degrees within a coherent and valued career path.
Examples
- Engineer-Manager Double Degree with emlyon business school
- Pharmacist-Engineer Double Degree, Doctor-Engineer, or Dentist-Engineer
- International Double Degree with partner universities (Europe, Canada, Asia, Americas)
These programmes enhance cultural openness and managerial or scientific skills depending on the chosen orientation.