Offer of formation

The degrees attributed in the field of health make it possible for the degree-holders to practice in the private and public sectors. Candidates must pass an entrance examination to be accepted.
The first year, which is the same for all academic health studies, prepares the students for the four different entrance examinations (dental surgery, midwifery, medical school, and pharmacy). In Lyon, to become a physical or occupational therapist, a student must also go through this first year of health studies, which takes place at two sites: Lyon-est (in the east of Lyon) and Lyon-sud (in the south). After the first year, dental surgery, pharmaceutical and medical studies are taught in the corresponding departments. They offer diverse specialisations and lengths of study. Midwife studies take place at two different schools, one in Bourg-en-Bresse and the other in Lyon. Each year, there is a determined number of places to be filled by the first year students who take the entrance exams (numerus clausus). This exam also serves to rank the students who take it. The ranking determines which students study in which area or field of health.

Acces to the other paramedical studies (audiology, speech therapy, orthoptics, and psychomotricity) is also determined thanks to an entrance exam during the last year of secondary school, and is also difficult.

The six university degrees cited above (audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, orthoptics, psychomotricity) can be prepared in Lyon, within the Science and Technical Institute of Readaptation, where the students can prepare a bachelor's degree in the Science and Techniques of Readaption at the same time.

Taken as a whole, these studies make the Claude Bernard University of Lyon 1 the number one French university in the field of health.

Since 2004, the Claude Bernard University of Lyon has been part of the European Higher Education Area in the fields of science and technology as well as sport science and physical education. Thanks to this European area, the academic degrees of 47 countries are mutually recognized and mobility between them is made easier. There are three degrees: the bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees, all known in France as LMD. Students holding a two-year university diploma can enroll in the third year of a professional bachelor's degree, during which they can participate in a traineeship or apprenticeship programme. The goal of this degree is to prepare the students to enter a profession immediately after their studies. That is why it is closely linked to all types of professions.

A university diploma of technology (DUT) is a diploma that marks a halfway point in the LMD system. It is awarded to senior technicians after two years of study.  In the field of sport science and physical education, a scientific and technical university diploma (DEUST) is also awarded after two years of study, and allows students to enter the professional world immediately after their studies.

Our university also includes an engineering school, Polytech Lyon, which is made up of six courses of study. Students can enroll once they have validated two years of academic studies.

Let us also point out that ISFA (the Scientific Institute of finance and Insurance) awards degrees to future actuaries. This institute is also part of the University of Lyon 1 and trains one third of the students enrolled in this field in France.

Starting September 2010, the master's programmes will start to prepare students to become school teachers. Thanks to the experience of the teachers at the University Institute of Teacher Education (IUFM), now a part of Claude Bernard University, these master's programmes will prepare students for all the jobs linked to middle and secondary school teaching, as well as for the competitive examinations that the students will have to take. They will also help prepare the students for diverse carriers in teaching, and in school or business mediation. Finally, they will open the path to research in didactics and  epistemology (see list of masters).

Students can also prepare for the more difficult competitive examination to become senior secondary school teachers.

C2i? certifies that the holder is skilled in computer and internet use. It attests to computer skills no matter which course of study is taken. Little by little, it may become mandatory to have this certificate for certain competitive or entrance examinations, especially for competitive examinations for teachers. At the university, you can take this C2i? test at any level in order to be certified.