Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis - UNS (reviews)

I really enjoyed the program because it had excellent content, and the teachers were well-informed as they were actively engaged in research. It was great to find a program that was in my preferred language and that allowed me to expand on my previous degree in microbiology and my work experience in plant biology. The program was truly relevant to my interests and career goals.

The teachers are kind and always ready to answer any question if you don’t understand something. The presence of more math-oriented courses would be a plus. I guess the administration could improve the way they distribute the semester lectures, because I think it’s a bit extreme if a student has courses from 8 AM till 7 PM without pause, except for the lunch break of an hour). I’d recommend that the university has more English courses. Also, the university provides meals for 1 euro if you receive financial aid or 3.30 euro if you’re a simple student. Also, it has like a Cafe where students can buy a sandwich with a fruit and yogurt for the same tariff as in the restaurant.
In general, I’d recommend the university for your studies, but only if you’re at least somewhat confident in your French.

The early years of my university experience were quite old fashioned and most professors had a standardised method of teaching. Over the next 4 years, under the impulse of a couple of professors, the teaching methods were broadened, emphasizing the use of technology and modern means, which was desperately needed there and still needs to be improved. For example, the use of video or audio recording of classes is greatly needed as well renowned Universities have been doing so and the benefits of course recordings are unquestionable. As for alternative teaching methods, some teachers have accomplished wonders with practical theory during classes and, by doing so, made the class very interactive. Whether students were ready for these new methods was something else, however, the efficiency of this type of teaching is high and would be absolute if only the classic written course was given in advance for the interactivity to be accrued and more assimilated.

I loved the program, the course content was great and the teachers were well equipped with information as they were hands on researchers. It was good to find a program being taught in my preferred language and which also provided me the opportunity to build on my previous degree (microbiology) and my working experience (plant biology).

However organization wasn’t perfect which is understandable considering the fact that it was the first year of the masters. It only gets better from here.