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Universities in France: from academic tradition to multicultural future

PROS:

  • Education and research account for nearly 6% of French public expenditure (World Bank, 2016), ensuring that university tuition fees are proportionate to family income, both for French and European students.

  • Approximately 10% of students in France are international students (Informagiovani, 2020).

  • French cities are vibrant and modern yet steeped in local history and culture.

 

CONS:

  • Many courses are taught in French and require a language certificate for admission.

How does the admission procedure work?

1

Choose universities 

 

Choose in advance which universities you would like to apply to. With our help, you will be able to choose the ones that best reflect your priorities (relevance of the course of study, costs, city of location, extracurricular opportunities, etc). 

 

2

Sign in

To access the first year of a three-year degree course (Licence) at a French university, you will need to register on the Parcoursup.fr platform, between January and March of the year in which you want to start studying. Pre-registration on Parcoursup is mandatory for most study courses offered in France, for French and European students. The exceptions to this process are: Paris-Dauphine University, Sciences Po and the IEPs (Institutes of Political Studies), some schools of commerce, engineering and art (Source: Campusfrance.org).  If you do not have European citizenship and/or if you want to enroll in an architecture course, you will instead have to pre-register via the DAP (Demande d'admission préalable). The submission of the DAP expires on January 17th to start studying in September of the same year. 

3

Prepare your materials and practice for interviews

 

Following administrative pre-registration, each school or university requires several steps to finalize the admission application, which may involve assessments through interviews, motivational letters, and specific exams. Many schools also require the submission of a DELF certificate at the C1 level. Valdo Academics tutors will help you understand what needs to be done and when, and assist in preparing all the required materials for your university application.

What are the best universities?

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Sorbonne University

The Sorbonne owes its reputation to a unique combination of history and innovation. The Times Higher Education European Teaching Rankings ranked it 2nd in Europe, after Oxford and Cambridge, and 1st among continental European universities (THE, 2018). It enjoys excellent partnerships with other universities, a branch office in Abu Dhabi, and numerous campuses on French territory.

Annual fee 2020-21 (EU/EEA students): €170 registration fee for a three-year degree (Source: Sorbonne)

Average cost of living for students in Paris: €1200 - 1800 per month

(Source: CampusFrance)

Sciences Po

A large école of excellence for the study of social sciences, which counts among its former students 7 French presidents and 13 prime ministers, as well as dozens of foreign politicians and CEOs of prominent companies (Sciencespo.fr). In the most recent rankings, Sciences Po was awarded second place worldwide for the disciplines of Political Science and International Studies (QS Rankings 2020). The study program  for the three-year degree it is multidisciplinary and includes the possibility of specializing in a geographical area of your choice at one of the 7 thematic campuses of Sciences Po or through a Dual Degree with another partner university.

Annual fee 2020-21 (EU/EEA students): between €0 - 10,700 based on family income

Average cost of living for students:

Sciences Po Paris €1200 - 1800 per month

Other campuses €800 - 1200 per month 

(Sources: CampusFrance, Sciences Po)

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École Normale Supérieure (ENS)

ENS is an institution of excellence that also shines among the French grandes écoles themselves. Unique in its structure compared to other universities in the country, the number of students does not exceed 2500, allowing a great investment and attention to each pupil. Over the course of its long history, it has trained 14 Nobel Prize winners and is the university with the highest proportion of Nobel Prize winners and number of students in the world (Nature, 2016). 

Annual fee 2020-21 (EU/EEA students): €184 registration fee

(Source: ENS)

Average cost of living for students:

ENS Paris €1200-1800 per month

ENS Lyon €700 - 1000 per month

(Source: ENS Lyon)

École Polytechnique

One of the renowned grandes écoles of France, located in the south of Paris.

In 2019, it was ranked 30th by the QS Graduate Employability Ranking (QS). The École Polytechnique's post-graduation employment rate is among the highest in the world. The most famous and selective course is engineering, which after competitive admission and a rigorous program, leads to the prestigious title of "diplôme d'ingénieur".

Annual fee 2020-21 (EU/EEA students): Bachelor's program €12,000 per year

Program "ingénieur polytechnicien" €3,500 (first year), €7,000 (second and third year

Average cost of living for students in Paris: €1200 - 1800 per month

(Source: CampusFrance)

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