Officially the French Republic, France has a population of 68,042,591 people. France spans 643,801 square kilometres extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. The government of France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the main cultural and commercial centre in Paris (the capital).
Top colleges in France are composed of French universities and other higher education institutes or Grandes Ecoles (higher education establishments that are not part of the French public university system). The Ecole normale supérieure is one of the French Grandes Ecoles.
These French universities consistently make it to the list of global university rankings and provide education to mostly international students who opt to study in France.
Universities in France also offer full-time undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, which mainly focus on contributing to research. Tuition fees vary according to the program and institution.
Public institutions in France are funded by the government and offers scholarship opportunities to outstanding high school students.
According to statistics released in 2018, the French education system ranks fifth in the world, right after US, UK, Canada, and Germany.
Unlike other countries, higher education institutions in France exist in two forms: publicly funded research organizations and universities. These publicly funded organisations are the more favoured for conducting specialized research in comparison to universities. Additionally, there are subdivision in universities. They either exist as subject-oriented schools or as Les Grandes Ecoles.
Les Grandes Ecoles
These education institutions were first introduced as a part of Napoleon I's legacy aimed towards training France's leading administrators. Carrying forth the tradition, the prestigious Les Grandes Ecoles universities provide the quality of education so fine in efforts of producing the future elitists, politicians, military men, engineers and more.
These institutions are heavily funded, have concentrated class strengths and employ the finest teachers. To be accepted by one, students must appear and pass an entrance exam for the field they wish to specialize in.
Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) and École Polytechnique are two of the most accredited Grandes Ecoles in France.
Lycée and baccalauréat (bac) are concepts that are unique to the French education system. In most countries, students apply to colleges and universities after completing high school. In France, however, students are required to enrol into Lycée, which are institutions higher in ranking than upper-secondary classes but lower than colleges and universities.
Through attending Lycée for a specific field of study, students are expected to earn a baccalauréat, which is similar to a degree. Only after acquiring a baccalauréat can students apply to universities.
International students' background education and specialty are also looked into, prior to considering their application. International students are also required to pass the English-language test and the French-language test according to the course's requirements.
Other documents to keep on hand before commencing the application process are the birth certificate (original and translated into French), Passport, Identity card, bank details, health details, details of educational qualifications and optionally a driver's license.
Prior to or after application, students have to decide whether they wish to opt for a short-term course or a long-term course. French universities operate in a semester of cycles rather than the more familiar format of completing bachelors in order to apply for masters, and later, Doctorate.
Short-term courses
These can be considered as diploma courses from universities or the Instituts universitaires professionnalisés (IUT). Through these courses, students can obtain a license in their field of interest. After which students are eligible to work in the field they have acquired licenses for. However, getting acceptance for a job opportunity requires high academic performance and students are asked to provide a reason for their will to work.
Long-term courses
These are the courses where a breakdown of the cycle is necessary.
Here’s an explanation of the different cycles:
Cycle 1:
Under the first cycle, students are expected to have completed three years of their higher studies and have received their baccalauréat (bac+ 3 years). Science, art and literature, and political and economic science are the three mainstream courses for the students to choose from. After completing the first cycle students are eligible to receive a License, which is more commonly known as a bachelor's degree.
Cycle 2:
Specialisation in fields begins at this level. A baccalauréat+ 4 years of study would earn the student a Maîtrise and after a baccalauréat+ 5 years the student is awarded a Master.
Masters vary in nature and the years of study depending on subject specialization. While a master’s student can choose between researching and studying a vocational course, often those who wish to pursue PhD go for taught courses.
Cycle 3:
After a bac + 6 years or more of higher studies, a student is qualified to have PhD.
Below is a comprehensive list of all universities in France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Grenoble, Villeurbanne, Clermont-Ferrand, Valence, Vénissieux, Chambéry, Annecy, Vaulx-en-Velin, Saint-Priest, Caluire-et-Cuire, Bourg-en-Bresse, Bron, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Montluçon, Montélimar, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Échirolles, Roanne, Saint-Chamond, Thonon-les-Bains, Annemasse, Romans-sur-Isère, Meyzieu, Rillieux-la-Pape, Aix-les-Bains, Vienne, Bourgoin-Jallieu, Décines-Charpieu, Aurillac, Oullins, Vichy, Oyonnax, Fontaine, Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Saint-Genis-Laval, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Dijon, Besançon, Belfort, Chalon-sur-Saône, Auxerre, Nevers, Mâcon, Montbéliard, Sens, Dole, Le Creusot, Beaune, Brittany, Rennes, Brest, Quimper, Lorient, Vannes, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo, Lanester, Centre-Val de Loire, Tours, Orléans, Bourges, Blois, Châteauroux, Chartres, Joué-lès-Tours, Dreux, Vierzon, Fleury-les-Aubrais, Corsica, Ajaccio, Bastia, French Guiana, Cayenne, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Matoury, Kourou, Grand Est, Strasbourg, Reims, Metz, Mulhouse, Nancy, Colmar, Troyes, Charleville-Mézières, Châlons-en-Champagne, Thionville, Haguenau, Épinal, Schiltigheim, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, Saint-Dizier, Épernay, Chaumont, Montigny-lès-Metz, Forbach, Sarreguemines, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, Guadeloupe, Les Abymes, Baie-Mahault, Le Gosier, Sainte-Anne, Petit-Bourg, Le Moule, Sainte-Rose, Hauts-de-France, Lille, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Dunkirk, Calais, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Saint-Quentin, Beauvais, Valenciennes, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Wattrelos, Douai, Arras, Compiègne, Marcq-en-Barœul, Creil, Cambrai, Lens, Liévin, Maubeuge, Lambersart, Soissons, Hénin-Beaumont, Armentières, Béthune, Laon, Abbeville, Bruay-la-Buissière, La Madeleine, Coudekerque-Branche, Hazebrouck, Mons-en-Barœul, Grande-Synthe, Croix, Wasquehal
Halluin, Loos, Denain, Île-de-France, Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, Montreuil, Nanterre, Vitry-sur-Seine, Créteil, Asnières-sur-Seine, Courbevoie, Versailles, Colombes, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Rueil-Malmaison, Aubervilliers, Champigny-sur-Marne, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Drancy, Issy-les, Moulineaux, Levallois-Perret, Noisy-le-Grand, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Antony, Cergy, Clichy, Ivry-sur-Seine, Sarcelles, Villejuif, Épinay-sur-Seine, Maisons-Alfort, Meaux, Chelles, Pantin, Évry, Fontenay-sous-Bois, Bondy, Le Blanc-Mesnil, Clamart, Sartrouville, Bobigny, Vincennes, Montrouge, Sevran, Suresnes, Corbeil-Essonnes, Saint-Ouen, Massy, Mantes-la-Jolie, Meudon, Alfortville, Puteaux, Rosny-sous-Bois, Gennevilliers, Livry-Gargan, Choisy-le-Roi, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Noisy-le-Sec, La Courneuve, Melun, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Gagny, Bagneux, Pontault-Combault, Poissy, Savigny-sur-Orge, Stains, Bagnolet, Châtillon, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Villepinte, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Tremblay-en-France, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Le Perreux-sur-Marne, Franconville, Châtenay-Malabry, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, Houilles, Les Mureaux, Nogent-sur-Marne, Plaisir, Palaiseau, Goussainville, L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Viry-Châtillon, Vigneux-sur-Seine, Chatou, Trappes, Clichy-sous-Bois, Charenton-le-Pont, Malakoff, Athis-Mons, Savigny-le-Temple, Pontoise, Cachan, Thiais, Villemomble, Saint-Cloud, Yerres, Draveil, Le Chesnay, Bois-Colombes, Le Plessis-Robinson, La Garenne-Colombes, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Villiers-sur-Marne, Vanves, Ermont, Bezons, Grigny, Guyancourt, Herblay, Ris-Orangis, Villiers-le-Bel, Fresnes, Sannois, Élancourt, Gonesse, Brunoy, Taverny, Montfermeil, Rambouillet, Villeparisis, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Sucy-en-Brie, Romainville, Brétigny-sur-Orge, Villeneuve-la-Garenne, Bussy-Saint-Georges, Les Ulis, Champs-sur-Marne, Eaubonne, Étampes, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, Torcy, Maisons-Laffitte, Montgeron, Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Sèvres, Les Lilas, Les Pavillons-sous-Bois, Roissy-en-Brie, Saint-Mandé, Fontenay-aux-Roses, Orly, Combs-la-Ville, Deuil-la-Barre, Longjumeau, Morsang-sur-Orge, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, Dammarie-les-Lys, Vélizy-Villacoublay, Saint-Gratien, Neuilly-Plaisance, Montmorency, Lagny-sur-Marne, Le Mée-sur-Seine, Gif-sur-Yvette, Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, Martinique, Fort-de-France, Le Lamentin, Le Robert, Normandy, Le Havre, Rouen, Caen, Évreux, Cherbourg-Octeville, Dieppe, Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Alençon, Le Grand-Quevilly, Vernon, Le Petit-Quevilly, Hérouville-Saint-Clair, Lisieux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux, Limoges, Poitiers, Pau, La Rochelle, Mérignac, Pessac, Niort, Bayonne, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Angoulême, Talence, Anglet, Agen, Mont-de-Marsan, Châtellerault, Villenave-d'Ornon, Périgueux, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Bergerac, Bègles, Saintes, La Teste-de-Buch, Biarritz, Rochefort, Gradignan, Libourne, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Le Bouscat, Cenon, Dax, Occitanie, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nîmes, Perpignan, Béziers, Montauban, Narbonne, Albi, Carcassonne, Sète, Castres, Tarbes, Alès, Colomiers, Tournefeuille, Agde, Lunel, Muret, Rodez, Blagnac, Frontignan, Millau, Auch, Pays de la Loire, Nantes, Angers, Le Mans, Saint-Nazaire, Cholet, La Roche-sur-Yon, Laval, Saint-Herblain, Rezé, Saumur, Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, Orvault, Vertou, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Marseille, Nice, Toulon, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Antibes, Cannes, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Hyères, Fréjus, Arles, Grasse, Martigues, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Aubagne, Salon-de-Provence, Le Cannet, Istres, Gap, Draguignan, La Ciotat, Vitrolles, Six-Fours-les-Plages, Saint-Raphaël, Marignane, Orange, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Carpentras, Menton, Vallauris, Cavaillon, La Garde, Miramas, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Manosque, La Valette-du-Var, Réunion, Saint-Denis, Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre, Le Tampon, Saint-André, Saint-Louis, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Benoît, Le Port, Saint-Leu, Sainte-Marie, La Possession, Sainte-Suzanne). Edarabia strives to offer the latest updates, helping you find the best university in France with information on tuition fees, accreditation details, videos, photos, location map, community reviews and ratings.
Edarabia showcases all universities and colleges in France which can be filtered by courses and tuition fees. International students looking to get a degree in France can choose from a diverse range of programs and diplomas and obtain their Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhDs (or MBAs) from some of the top-rated institutions. Some universities also offer online courses through which students can apply for distance learning and get an online degree in certain fields.
Students who require financial aid can apply for scholarships in order to study higher education at a lower cost. Student visas and accommodation are also provided to students at many universities. There are study abroad and exchange programs offered in order to promote language development skills while giving students the opportunity to interact with other cultures around the world. Additionally, each university/college has ratings based on student reviews and are ranked below accordingly.
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