Study in France and French Universities

Why study in France – an overview

France is an extremely popular destination for international students, offering a vast range of universities, low tuition fees, cultural and historic riches and a wealth of art and architecture to enjoy. Whether you want to live in the Alps or on the Atlantic coast, to stroll down palm-lined Riviera boulevards or immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of Paris, you will find exactly what you are looking for in this amazing country.

Approximately 500,000 international students are currently working towards their bachelor’s Master’s and doctoral degrees in France. If you are looking for courses taught in English, this field is rapidly expanding, with over a thousand postgraduate options open to you, including courses at some of the world’s best  business schools. Many universities offer cheap or free French language courses, and you should consider benefitting from these, since an extra language will be a useful addition to your CV, and learning French will make it far easier to become part of the local community and immerse yourself in its lifestyle- wherever you may decide to enrol.

Educational institutions in France are either private or public, and the latter are generously funded by the government, so the gap in tuition fee costs between the two sectors is very wide. As a result, you need to bear in mind that competition for places at public universities is fierce, given their low tuition fees. France is a participant in the Bologna Process, so you are able to carry over credits from one institution to another and your degree is officially recognised all over the world.

Choosing a university in France

France has over 3500 public and private universities. When deciding where to study in France, you should consider location, cost of living and price of accommodation. The capital is, of course, the most expensive option. Remember, too, that it is far easier to find part-time work to expand your budget if you live in a city or large town than if you opt for a rural campus. It is important to choose the right university, since you will be living there throughout your undergraduate or postgraduate studies and only you can decide what to prioritise when deciding where to apply. It is essential to double-check whether the course you wish to take is taught at the campus where you want to live. For example, Sciences Po has campuses in Paris, as well as Reims, Menton, Dijon, Le Havre, Nancy and Poitiers and not every course is available on every campus.

Paris is currently the most popular destination for students wishing to study in France, followed by Lyon, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Aix-Marseilles.

Popular university rankings and specialisms

University	QS ranking  2024/5	Specialisms	Location
PSL	24	Applied maths, social sciences, economics, AI, organisational IT	Paris
Institut Polytechnique de Paris	46	Engineering, technology, Applied sciences	Paris
Sorbonne University	63	Humanities, languages, science, engineering	Paris
Université Paris-Saclay	73	Life sciences and health, social sciences, engineering	Gif-sur-Yvette
École normale superieure de Lyon	187	Maths, physics, computer science, linguistics	Lyon
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne	283	Economics and management, legal and political sciences	Paris
University Paris Cité	302	Science, health, humanities	Paris
Grenoble Alpes University	344	Technology, sciences, business, engineering	Grenoble
Sciences Po	350	Law, economics ,politics, history	Paris + 8 campuses

Choosing a course in France

Undergraduate level

You have less choice when looking for a university which offers bachelor’s degrees taught in English, than if you are considering doing your Master’s or doctorate in France. There are currently just over 80 undergraduate courses on offer, in contrast with 1100+ at postgraduate level.

Thus, while Université PSL ,the top university in the country according to the QS rankings 2025, only has one bachelor programme in Sustainability Sciences, partly not wholly taught in English,  at Master’s level, the university provides 20  programmes entirely in English, and another ten taught partly in English. 

The Sorbonne offers many English-taught postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, but nothing at undergraduate level. Its bachelor in life sciences program has two semesters which are taught in English, in the second and third years respectively, but the rest of the course is in French.

The École Polytechnique runs a three-year Bachelor of Science programme and a dual degree in Engineering which takes five years to complete, while at Master’s level you can take a two-year Master of Science and Technology, an Executive Masters, or a double degree in Data and Finance X-HEC etc.

Sciences Po, which has an outstanding reputation for research in humanities and social sciences, provides a range of dual BA degrees, in partnership  with Columbia University, Keio University, the University of Hong Kong, UC Berkeley, the National University of Singapore, the University of British Columbia, the University of Sydney and UCL,London. These courses run for four years.

English-taught business courses at bachelor level are found at:

• KEDGE Business School
• EDHEC Business School
• Emlyon Business School
•  ESCE Business School
• NEOMA Business School
• HEC in partnership with Bocconi: Bachelor of Arts and Science  in Data, Society and Organisations

The most popular courses taught in English at undergraduate level include:

• Engineering
• Data science
• Sciences, the environment and health sciences
• Business administration
• International Business
• Fashion
• Design
• Humanities, languages and literature

Campus France, a government organisation set up to promote the educational opportunities available in France, has an excellent database that lets you search for bachelor’s courses by region and check whether the courses you are interested in are entirely or partly taught in English. You will also be able to find the entry requirements, the length of the course, an outline of the content, information on the tuition fees, as well as a map of the university location. There is also a scholarship search function available at bachelor and postgraduate level. This will save you a great deal of time and effort.

Postgraduate degrees

There are various types of Master’s : the MSc, MBA and MIM, and Specialised Master’s. When you click on Campus France’s course search engine, you will see that you can choose between the M1,M2, the MBA and the Specialised Master. A Master’s program is usually completed after two years of studies in France,  termed M1 (Master’s first year) and M2 (Master’s second year).However, it is  possible to apply for either the M1, resulting in studying for two years, or the M2 which will enable you to obtain your degree after one year of studies, as long as you have completed the M1 -this could be in another country or at another institution.

France has an outstanding reputation for its business schools, 19 of which are Triple Crown accredited, placing them in the top 1% of all global business schools. The Financial Times rankings 2024 place them in the following order:

• HEC,Paris
• ESCP Business School
• EDHEC Business School
• ESSEC Business School
• Emlyon Business School
• INSEAD
• KEDGE Business School
• Grenoble École de Management
• Toulouse School of Management
• Audencia Business School

A number of Grandes Écoles,specialised private institutions created to produce a ruling elite which can administer the country and serve the state, also teach Master’s in business. These include:

• IPAG Business School
• Burgundy School of Business
• ESSCA School of Management
• ESDES School of Business and Management
• European Business School
• PSB Paris School of Business.

Candidates normally spend two years post-secondary school preparing for the incredibly difficult entrance exams and tuition fees are higher than those of universities.

Study in France – The application process

Undergraduate applications

Applications are processed through the Parcoursup platform, which opens at the end of December. You will need to register 10 wishes -courses – between mid-January and early March and upload all your documents in support of your application. Once you have registered your wishes, in order of preference, you have a short period of time in which you can confirm your choices.  In 2025 this falls on 2 April, but all deadlines change  slightly from one year to the next. The main admission period runs from around 11 June to 10 July,and if there are any places available which still need to be filled, a second round of admissions takes place between July and mid-September.

You will receive an acceptance or rejection notification between 2 June and 13 July (2025 dates) and will be able to respond through your account on the Parcoursup website.

Be prepared to upload a broad range of documents, including but not limited to:

• The application form and fee
• A photo ID
• Transcripts of your high school certificates, translated into French
• Copy of your EHIC card
• TOEFL or IELTS certificate
• Copy of your birth certificate
• Copy of your passport
• A statement of purpose
• Proof of financial means (minimum of 615 euros a month)
• Possibly a portfolio or essay

Postgraduate applications

You will need to apply to universities individually rather than through a centralised platform, and each university will have its own requirements and deadlines.

As well as the relevant above documents, you  may also need to upload:

• Your GRE or GMAT scores, if required. Note that institutions such as INSEAD do not require the GMAT. The GMAT  average score for entry onto the MIM is 610 and 650 for the MBA, while you will need to score 320 or higher if you are submitting the GRE to the Sorbonne, Sciences Po Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, or Audencia Business School etc.
• Your bachelor’s degree and university transcripts and scores
• Documentation which establishes your work history, if you are applying to  business school. This can take the form of payslips, employment references, and an outline of your responsibilities and job role
• A full CV
• Academic and professional recommendations.
• An overview of any projects, publications and academic avenues you wish to pursue at postgraduate level.

Study in France -Tuition fees

Public university tuition fees are extremely reasonable in France, since the government sets the fees, which range from 175 euros a year at undergraduate level, to 250 for a Master’s and 319 for a doctorate. Schools of engineering are slightly more expensive, averaging out at 618 euros a year.

Private universities and business schools, as well as the Grandes Écoles, are free to decide how much they will charge students. In general, tuition fees range from 5,000-22,000 per year, although prestigious and highly rated business schools charge more if you wish to take an MBA.

Emlyon Business School charges 25,000 euros for a Master’s and 39,000 for an MBA.

HEC charges 21,000-40,000 for a Master’s and 80,000 for the MBA program, while INSEAD is slightly more expensive, charging 50,000-70,000 for a Master’s and 90,000 for its MBA course. In contrast, Audencia and Grenoble business schools have lower tuition fees, of 16,000-20,000 and 22,000-24,000 euros respectively for a Master’s degree, and 32,000 euros for the MBA course.

The cost of living when you study in France

Accommodation makes up the largest part of every student’s expenses, and prices vary widely, with provincial towns and smaller cities offering accommodation in the 500-800 per month bracket, or even lower, whereas you need to budget 1300-1500 euros a month if you want to live in fashionable central Paris. On average, you will need to put aside between 900-1300 euros a month to cover food, transport, utilities and  rent .This sum will fall if you choose to share accommodation, and if you decide to study outside the capital. The government CROUS agency offers low-rent university-owned residential places, and is organised on a regional basis, but there is no guarantee that you will be successful and most students end up having to rent in the private sector. Nevertheless, it is worth contacting and registering with the agency on

Scholarships

The majority of scholarships are offered to students who are taking a Master’s degree in France. These tend to be merit-based rather than purely need-based, and include:

• The Eiffel Scholarship for excellence
• Université Paris-Saclay IDEX scholarships
• Ampère Excellence scholarship
• ENS International Selection scholarships
• Erasmus Mundus joint Master’s  scholarship
• HEC MBA scholarships
• France Excellence Europe scholarships
• INSEAD MBA scholarship

 Undergraduates can apply  for:

• EDHEC business school high honours and excellence scholarships
• The International Fashion Academy’s various scholarships
• Crous scholarships (need-based)
• ESSEC business school merit-based scholarships
• Erasmus grants
• Émily Boutmy scholarships

If you are interested in further details of eligibility, the amount of money  which you can receive and the application process, contact Elab for a breakdown of deadlines and  requirements.

Other useful information

• Students are eligible for many discounts on public transport, museum, cinema and theatre entry tickets. Individual universities can also offer deals which they have agreed with banks and retailers. For example, ESSCA has a bank account with HSBC , which offers students who sign up a 80 euro gift card.
• UNESCO has recognised French gastronomy as cultural heritage, so make sure you take advantage of the menu of the day and sample local cuisine.
• Never place your baguette upside down, since during the Middle Ages upside-down baguettes were earmarked for executioners, and this is now  associated with bad luck -unless you draw the sign of the cross on it !
• Some 275 million people speak French all across the world, so take the opportunity to learn the language while you are studying in France.
• When you are kissing someone’s cheeks in greeting, always start on the left.

Studying in France – Summary

France is an extremely popular destination for international students, offering a vast range of universities, low tuition fees, cultural and historic riches and a wealth of art and architecture to enjoy. Whether you want to live in the Alps or on the Atlantic coast, to stroll down palm-lined Riviera boulevards or go to small farmers’ markets, you will find exactly what you are looking for in this amazing country.

Elab is here to help you make the best choices of course and university, to ensure you meet every deadline and produce the right documents. What is more, we can maximise your chances of being accepted to the French university of your dreams.

To sum up, call or email us today so we can start working together on preparing your application to study in France.