Mapping the teaching of crystallography in French universities
Abstract
In recent years, the presence of crystallography in higher education curricula in France has been diminishing. This study presents an in-depth analysis based on a targeted survey across five major French universities traditionally involved in crystallographic teaching and research. By examining course structures, teaching volumes, and staff profiles from 2000 to 2022, we identify a global decline in both the quantity and visibility of crystallography instruction. This decline appears to be particularly marked in biology and physics, but relatively limited in chemistry, and is leading to a shift in teaching towards the final years of university. The crystallography-teaching program is now fragmented, often diluted within broader subjects, and increasingly marginalized notably at the undergraduate level. While research in the field remains vigorous, crystallography suffers from systemic and structural challenges within academic institutions.
Related
- Distinguishing Pharmaceutical Salts and Cocrystals by Fluorescence Lifetime Mapping and Quantum Crystallography
- Direct Determination of Pyroelectric Coefficients in Molecular Crystals by X-ray Quantum Crystallography
- Mechanistic Basis of Sulfo Transfer in a PAPS-Independent ArylSulfate SulfoTransferases Revealed by Crystallography and QM/MM Simulations
- How do the research evaluation requirements of Chinese universities, which are oriented towards paper publication, affect the development of chemistry graduate students and faculty members?
- Crystallography of organic energetic materials: thermoelastic properties and equation of state
BibTeX
@article{cabaret2026mapping,
title = {{Mapping the teaching of crystallography in French universities}},
author = {Delphine Cabaret and Michel Giorgi and Sébastien Pillet and Claude Sauter and Philippe Guionneau},
journal = {IUCr Newsletter},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
url = {https://u-bordeaux.hal.science/hal-05741930v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mapping the teaching of crystallography in French universities
AU - Delphine Cabaret
AU - Michel Giorgi
AU - Sébastien Pillet
AU - Claude Sauter
AU - Philippe Guionneau
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
JO - IUCr Newsletter
UR - https://u-bordeaux.hal.science/hal-05741930v1
AB - In recent years, the presence of crystallography in higher education curricula in France has been diminishing. This study presents an in-depth analysis based on a targeted survey across five major French universities traditionally involved in crystallographic teaching and research. By examining course structures, teaching volumes, and staff profiles from 2000 to 2022, we identify a global decline in both the quantity and visibility of crystallography instruction. This decline appears to be particularly marked in biology and physics, but relatively limited in chemistry, and is leading to a shift in teaching towards the final years of university. The crystallography-teaching program is now fragmented, often diluted within broader subjects, and increasingly marginalized notably at the undergraduate level. While research in the field remains vigorous, crystallography suffers from systemic and structural challenges within academic institutions.
SN - 1067-0696
ER -