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Intoduction :
Sciences constitute a coherent whole of knowledge relating to certain categories of facts, objects and phenomenon obeying to laws verified by experimental methods. Unlike human sciences, disciplines based on the study of Man and his individual and collective behavior, past and present, the object of fundamental sciences is to study the natural phenomenons governing our universe and our daily life. It is question of either material objects, inert or alive (physics, chemistry, earth sciences, biology), or real or abstract models (mathematics) permitting the research of laws governing these phenomenons. The technical sciences draw their practical character from the fundamental sciences by integrating it in a whole of procedures and methods destined to the industry's crafts.

At high school, the teaching of sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry and natural sciences) aims at developing elements of scientific culture among the pupils, the objective being to prepare their minds to the rigorousness, critics, tolerance and intellectual honesty. Rooted in their daily environment, this teaching should arouse their curiosity and their vocation and show them how the extraordinary richness and complexity of the nature can be described by a little number of laws which give of it a coherent and intelligible representation.

At university, the teaching of sciences and techniques is not only a cultural and human training, but a preparation to professional life. Therefore, the aim consists in providing a solid scientific training in a given speciality and to favor the graduate's adaptation capacity to the conditions of employment. The teaching of sciences at a higher level aims also to cultivate the initiative and innovation spirit.

Fundamental and technical sciences comprise three big families :

• Mathematics and physics Sciences : (mathematics, physics, chemistry, computing).

• Life and Earth Sciences : (biology, geology…)

• Technical Sciences : (mechanic engineering, electric engineering, civil engineering …).

Each of these families comprises many specialties which can lead to diversified careers. In general, the training lasts four years (maîtrise), but can go to nine years (doctorate).

The orientation of the students to these various trainings is gradual and is based first on the choice of one of these families, and second on the results obtained in the subjects preparing to a speciality.

The studies are organized in three cycles :

• The first cycle lasts two years and is sanctioned by a first cycle diploma (DEUPC).

• The second cycle lasts two years and is sanctioned by the B.Sc. degree (maîtrise).

• The third cycle has a duration of two years (diploma of advanced studies –DEA-) or (diploma of higher specialized studies -DESS-), and five years (doctorate).

B.Sc. (MAITRISES) ORGANISATIONS

I - THE FIRST CYCLE

1) Objectives

The first cycle provides a basic scientific and cultural training. It prolongs the trainings sanctioned by the baccalaureate and prepares the students for the pursuit of the studies in the second cycle or to the insertion in the professional life. Its main objectives are :

• To sensitize the student to scientific studies and arouse a motivation and even a vocation for a given scientific discipline.

• To assure a basic general teaching in fundamental disciplines (mathematics, physics, chemistry, computing, biology, geology…) by following an approach apt to develop intuition, imagination, reasoning and rigorousness so as to maintain the balance between the theoretical and practical aspects.

• To initiate the student to new working methods so as to make him aware of his capacities and push him to compose himself his training project.

2) Structure

The two-year first cycle is made up of a global teaching volume of at least 1000 hours. The studies are sanctioned by a DEUPC mentioning the followed discipline.

Each academic year is divided up in two semesters. The first semester corresponds to the period between the middle of September and the middle of January. The second one goes from the middle of January to the end of May. This division in two semesters is doubly advantageous :

• It permits to alleviate the weekly hour-volume by spreading it out on a bigger period of the academic year, and introduce a greater flexibility in knowledge assessment system,

• And to make of the first semester of the first year an undifferentiated common trunk for the students having chosen a scientific orientation on the basis of the knowledge provided at high school, and to reaffirm the orientation in the second semester by choosing an option in the fundamental disciplines.

At the end of the first year, a new orientation of the students admitted in the second year will be decided by the orientation council. This orientation takes into account the student's choice and the obtained results. It allows him to register in one of the second year's paths.

For the four semesters, the teaching is modularly. Each module constitutes a teaching or a number of teachings linked by scientific and pedagogic coherence. The weekly hour-volume of a module varies between one and ten hours. The harmonization of the modules facilitates, thus, the students' reorientation, a better composition of the training project and an efficient resumption of the studies in case of accidental interruption or of a return to university for complementary training.

3) The nature of teaching

The teaching of various subjects is provided by the means of courses, guided works and practical works :

• The course exposes the fundamental principles, concepts, results and methods. It refers also to the real world and the daily life. Avoiding an exclusively formal approach, this course should focus on theoretical aspects as well as on the practical ones.

• The guided works aim essentially at delimitating the action field and the application of the course's results by examples and practical exercises and to ensure the effective participation of the students.

• The practical works allow to illustrate the various parts of the course, to show certain phenomena and to acquire a know-how in the experimental domain.

These three various forms of education complement each other for a given subject and are always in interaction.

Training also contains educations of English, history of sciences, epistemology and human rights which aim at perfecting the general knowledge of the student and at developing his opening of spirit, its tolerance, its intellectual honesty, its curiosity and its duty sense.

II - THE SECOND CYCLE

1) Objectives

The second cycle aims at providing a scientific and cultural training that prolongs and deepens the first cycle's studies. It prepares the students to professional life and to the pursuit of a third cycle's studies.

By the diversification of the provided trainings, the student will be in a position to refine his orientation and elaborate his career's plan.

2) Structure

The two-year second cycle is made up of 800 hours-teachings. The studies are sanctioned by the B.Sc diploma (Maîtrise) mentioning the studied discipline. As for the first cycle, the teaching is half-yearly and consists in harmonized modules. The second cycle's modules constitute a coherent teaching with a dimensioning standard. It represents a volume of six hours per week. Each of the four semesters is made up of three modules to which is added a one-hour-a-week-teaching of English language.

The module may comprise courses, guided works and practical works.

For a given discipline, 75% of the modules are compulsory and 25% are option-modules permitting to diversify the training, enrich the general culture or to refine the profile in order to be prepared for post-graduate studies or for the insertion in the professional life.