Why study wine in Bordeaux? More specifically, why choose BSA (Bordeaux Sciences Agro)? For some wine enthusiasts, Bordeaux’s status as the historic capital of the world’s most prestigious wines is quite enough. Yet Bordeaux Sciences Agro has many other assets that make it one of the world’s best places for higher education in viticulture and oenology.
What degrees are offered at Bordeaux Sciences Agro?
BSA’s first advantage: wine tasting starts with sensory analysis at molecular scale
High-quality teaching informed by research and the field
Personalized coaching by professors
International student integration services
Very high quality education from internationally recognized scientist and people that actually work in the industry.
BSA in the heart of Bordeaux wine country: tradition meets environmental renewal
A multicultural student body
Attractive employment opportunities
What degrees does Bordeaux Sciences Agro offer for foreign students?
When you study oenology at BSA, you benefit from time-honoured expertise, international teaching by experts from around the world, high-quality teaching based on research and the field, and a culture of innovation.
All classes are offered in English by professor-researchers and professionals from the wine sector.
BSA is part of the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles (watch the video on Youtube), making it one of the France’s most prestigious schools.
Whether you are from the Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania or Africa, two courses have been specifically designed for you:
Bachelor’s Degree in Viticulture and Oenology (1 year)
This one-year Bachelor’s degree course (after two years of higher education or a community college-level qualification) provides specialised training in viticulture and oenology. The program is open to students pursuing a change of career.
Portions of the course are held in Dijon, Montpellier or Toulouse, allowing students to discover the specific characteristics of France’s wine regions.
After completing the degree, students may start working in the field or continue their studies with a Master’s degree at Bordeaux Sciences Agro or abroad.
Discover the Bachelor’s degree
Master of Science in Vineyard & Winery Management (2 years)
A hybrid Master’s degree offering dual expertise:
- Scientific and technical skills
- Skills in management and wine economics (global wine economy, wine exports, marketing, agricultural land, organisation of the wine industry in different countries, wine production costs, developing of business plan, etc.)
The Master’s is therefore interesting for students from different backgrounds:
- Agronomists not familiar with management in the wine sector
- Managers seeking to discover or improve their knowledge of the wine industry
- Wine enthusiasts from a wide range of backgrounds with a strong desire to start a new career in the wine world.
BSA’s first advantage: wine tasting starts with sensory analysis at molecular scale
If you study at BSA, you will become more than a sommelier who knows how to taste wine. You will learn how to analyse wine in all of its sensory complexity and for the entire wine-making process. You will also know how to make a wine using blending techniques and target sensory profiles.
Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students are also highly trained in recognising wines. By the end of their training, they know how to describe and understand a wine, and identify its strengths and weaknesses. They participate in at least two tasting sessions per week, in a tasting room equipped with individual booths and spittoons.
Sensory analysis is the assessment of a wine’s quality. At BSA, on both the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, it is approached from different angles:
The sensory properties of molecules
Students conduct conventional sensory analyses, like in many other schools. However, students at BSA also learn about links to the latest advances in research: such as molecules and their interactions, a topic explored in recent research by the school’s professor-researchers.
Students are trained in how to identify a wine’s components using test strips. Wine’s aromatic components are composed of hundreds of compounds. Students learn to know and master these compounds. Their noses and mouths become their most important allies for assessing a wine’s composition, guiding their development of a product, or creating a style of wine.
Wine quality analysis
The vinification of red and white wines, blending, ageing and wine fining are studied.
High-quality teaching informed by research and the field
All the professors are recognized researchers. Their work is regularly published in prestigious journals. At BSA, the link between research and teaching is very important.
Students go into the field on a regular basis. In fact, the Bachelor’s program starts with two weeks of work at a wine estate during the harvest.
Performing field audits
Master’s students are trained to perform comprehensive audits (technical, economic and accounting) of wine estates. They are immersed in the actual context of the wine estate and the issues it faces. These audits allow them to study the true concerns winegrowers face and push them to find solutions. During their last professional academic project, they carry out an actual consulting assignment.
Teaching on sustainable and organic viticulture
The training addresses the new challenges facing the global wine industry. BSA professors carry out extensive research on sustainable and organic viticulture, and alternative production techniques. The professor-researchers do more than share their knowledge, they produce it!
Personalized coaching by professors
BSA’s International Relations Department can assist students with all their administrative procedures. Optional French language classes are offered every Thursday afternoon. An association of French students is also available to help integrate foreign students. Every Thursday, French and foreign students meet for a drink. BSA is located in the heart of the Bordeaux campus, the venue for numerous parties.
Very high quality education from internationally recognized scientist and people that actually work in the industry.
The two-year Master’s program costs €10,000 per year. This price includes foreign study trips (Western Europe). Since BSA is a public institution, it does not make any profits on the tuition fees for training. It therefore offers excellent value for money, as opposed to American or Australian universities that charge €30,000 per year.
The Bachelor’s program costs €9,000 for the year.
BSA in the heart of Bordeaux wine country: tradition meets environmental renewal
Bordeaux Sciences Agro is located in the heart of the Bordeaux wine region, which is a major advantage. The school shares its connections with the Bordeaux region’s greatest wine chateaux and most prestigious wine appellations. There are many opportunities for students to interact with wine professionals, including outside of the school, with students organising frequent visits to wine estates. They therefore create a professional network that allows them to easily find internships and employment.
While the Bordeaux wine region symbolizes the old world of wine, with its elegance, traditions and grand cru classé, don’t overlook the agro-ecological transition that is already underway, with an increase in organic vineyards in recent years. This makes the Bordeaux region an especially interesting laboratory for experimentation for foreign students.
A multicultural student body
The Bachelor’s and Master’s programs are multicultural. Students come from many different wine-producing countries:
- North America (USA, Canada)
- South America (Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil)
- Australia
- New Zealand
- China
- India
- Western Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, France)
- Central Europe (Poland, Balkan countries, Hungary)
Students also come from a variety of different backgrounds. Many are pursuing a career change, which creates an incredibly rich context for the programs.
A wide range of attractive employment opportunities
Upon completing their studies at BSA, foreign students enjoy very rewarding careers. The employment rate after graduation from the Master’s degree is 95%.
There are a wide range of attractive employment opportunities:
- Wine estate manager
- Cellar manager
- Vineyard manager
- Consultant in viticulture, oenology and management
- Marketing manager
- Consultant in wine trading and distributions companies, research
- Developer departments in wine industry, education, etc.
- Winemaker
Read more on the BSA website: