Overview
Presentation
Since 2015, ENS de Lyon and ENS Paris-Saclay have partnered with the French National Veterinary schools (ENV) VetAgroSup and Maison-Alfort to offer their Biology departement students a dual degree program combining training in research with veterinary practice.
This dual degree program was created out of a desire by ENS de Lyon and ENS Paris-Saclay to diversify their students’ academic paths and career opportunities, and by the ENVs to enhance the research training of veterinary students. The goal is to train unique professionals capable of addressing the complex challenges of animal and human health from a “One Health” perspective. These students, trained at the highest level in fundamental biology and research on the one hand, and in clinical animal pathology on the other, develop an original, integrated perspective on animal and human health issues, and more broadly, on the ethical and environmental challenges of our modern world.
This dual degree program was created with the aim of diversifying the academic paths and career opportunities for students at ENS de Lyon and ENS Paris-Saclay, and to enhance the research training of veterinary students at ENV. The goal is to train unique professionals capable of addressing the complex challenges of animal and human health from a “One Health” perspective. These students, trained at the highest level in fundamental biology and research on the one hand, and in clinical animal pathology on the other, develop an original, integrated perspective on animal and human health issues, and more broadly on the ethical and environmental challenges of our modern world.
Each year, four students from the two institutions are admitted through a competitive examination to this demanding dual-track program, which spans six years. They are recruited annually among ENS first-year students who come from BCPST. Since its inception, approximately forty students from the two ENS institutions have enrolled in this dual-track program. Most of the students who have completed it now hold high-level positions that make use of their dual expertise.
An evaluation report on this dual degree program conducted in 2025 concluded that it very clearly opens up “broad career prospects” as high-level researchers and research professors in basic or applied sciences, or as senior civil servants.
Curriculum
Curriculum
The program lasts six years, four of which are four of which are compensated as Normalien students. During their studies at VetAgroSup, students are encouraged to complete additional research training by taking courses from the first-year Master's Degree in Biomedical Research program at the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL). Students obtain a Bachelor's degree and a Master degree in Biosciences from ENS de Lyon and UCBL, and a Veterinary Degree from VetAgroSup (DEFV).
Most of them continue by completing a Veterinary PhD and a Science PhD at a French institution for which students may apply for the three-year “Contrats Doctoraux Spécifiques Normalien” (Specialized Doctoral Contracts).
The program structure is as follows:
| ENS de Lyon | UCBL | VetAgroSup |
|---|---|---|
| First-year ENS de Lyon Degree Third-year Bachelor's degree in Biosciences at ENS de Lyon | ENS examination competition | |
| 2nd-year Degree | first-year Master's degree in Biomedical research | A2 |
| 3rd-year Degree | first-year Master's degree in Biomedical research | A3 |
| 4th-year Degree | A4 | |
| Gap year | A5 - DEFV | |
| Master in Biosciences | A6 - Master | |
| PhD in Sciences (France) | Veterinary PhD | |
After an information session at the start of the academic year, interested applicants can speak with current dual-degree students during a meeting organized for this purpose. They then receive guidance to prepare for the oral exam, which takes place in March or April of their third undergraduate year.
For the duration of this dual-track program, students fully benefit from the advantages offered by both tracks: student organizations, an international focus (internships abroad, Erasmus year), and advanced research training (additional internships during veterinary school)…
Students receive personalized support coordinated by both of their educational institutions.
Program details:
Admission
Entry requirements
This dual-track program is designed for ENS de Lyon (or ENS Paris-Saclay) third-year students who were admitted through the competitive examination during their first year of the BCPST specialized track and who passed the CPGE BCPST competitive examination for the French National Veterinary Schools in the same year.
They are selected through the ENS competitive examination for the National Veterinary Schools, held during their third year of undergraduate studies. This examination offers two spots at VetAgroSup and two spots at Maison-Alfort.
What next ?
Career oppotunities
At the initiative of French ministry for agriculture and food, an evaluation of this dual degree program was conducted in November 2025, ten years after the first admissions. At that time, among the few students who had just completed the dual degree program, some were already holding positions that fully utilized their complementary skills in research and veterinary medicine: they were researchers, faculty members at veterinary schools, or senior civil servants (Veterinary Public Health Inspectors).
After interviewing numerous stakeholders involved in this dual-track program, the report concludes that “career prospects are strongly oriented toward research and higher education, with a wide range of specializations: neuroscience, ethology, health ecology, microbiology, evolutionary oncology, parasitology, and national (and international) public health.” The students interviewed viewed this program as a “unique, enriching, and formative opportunity”; they envision careers as “faculty researchers, in public research (particularly at CNRS, INSERM, INRAE, and CIRAD), in applied research, or in positions at international institutions.” According to those surveyed, this dual degree program produces “rare profiles, with a high level of knowledge, possessing great maturity and valuable skills in adaptability and interdisciplinarity.” This relatively new program thus opens up “broad professional prospects,” including in research and high-level management.