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France

Universities

There are around 700 English-taught master’s courses in France, which are provided by 83 public universities, 250 grandes ecoles (elite schools) and numerous private universities and art schools. Some universities and specialised institutions are organised into research clusters called PRES. These clusters pool their resources and research to compete internationally.

The typical master’s degree at a French university combines two individual diplomas and takes two years of full-time study to complete. The first year of the Master is commonly known as "Master 1" (M1), whereas the second year is called a "Master 2" (M2) and more specialised. In particular, in their M2, students who want to begin their careers directly after graduation often elect a Master Professionnel (professional master), and students who intend to go on to earn a doctorate normally choose a Master Recherche(research master).

Within the grandes ecoles system, a Master’s degree generally takes five years to complete. Typically, students spend two years at “preparatoires aux grandes ecoles” (preparatory schools) then complete a competitive entrance exam to get into grandes ecoles, where they complete three more years of increasingly specialised study. Graduates from these schools are awarded Master of Science (MSc) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). Many grandes ecoles now offer alternative admission procedures that allow international students to apply at different stages of their academic careers without attending preparatory schools. However, they are still extremely selective and hence not a popular option for international students.

Each year more than 278,000 international students choose France for their higher education.

The quality of the French HE system is widely recognized internationally. The Financial Times ranked 6 French schools among the world’s top 20 Master’s programmes in Management (2014): HEC Paris (2), Essec Business School (3), ESCPC Europe (7), Grenoble Graduate School of Business (15), Edhec Business School (16), EMLyon Business School (20). Moreover, according to WHO, France has the best healthcare system, and international students can access this at an affordable cost.

Studying an English-taught Master’s in France is also a good opportunity to learn or improve your French.

Accreditation & Recognition

The Ministry of National Education gives Master’s degree accreditation to all public universities, while the accreditation authority for private schools are Commission d'evaluation des formations et diplomes de gestion (for business schools) and Commission des Titres d'Ingenieur (for engineering schools).

The Conference des Grandes ecoles issues accreditations for grandes ecoles.

No predetermined set of equivalences between French and foreign degrees is officially recognized in France.

However, French institutions of higher education now employ the European Credit Transfer System, which enables students to easily progress to other institutions within the EU and around the world.

Universities in France

• Sciences Po

  City: Paris

• Skema Business School, Sophia-Antipolis

  City: Sophia Antipolis

• Burgundy School of Business

  City: Dijon

• Toulouse Business School

  City: Toulouse

• University of Nice Sophia Antipolis

  City: Nice

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Mines Saint-Etienne

  City: Saint-Etienne

• ENS de Lyon

  City: Lyon

• ISEP

  City: Paris

• University of Bordeaux

  City: Bordeaux

• Arts et Metiers ParisTech

  City: Paris

• University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour

  City: Pau

• Paris School of Business

  City: Paris

• Blaise Pascal University

  City: Clermont-Ferrand

• ESSEC Business School

  City: Paris

• La Rochelle Business School

  City: La Rochelle

• University of Burgundy

  City: Dijon

• University of Reims

  City: Reims

• University of Nimes

  City: Nimes

• ESIGELEC

  City: Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray

• INSEEC Business School, Lyon

  City: Lyon

• Normandy Business School, Paris

  City: Paris

• ENSEIRB-MATMECA

  City: Bordeux

• ECE Paris

  City: Paris

• Skema Business School, Raleigh

  City: Raleigh

• Pierre and Marie Curie University

  City: Paris

• University of Auvergne

  City: Clermont-Ferrand

• ESTP Paris

  City: Paris

• EM Strasbourg Business School

  City: Strasbourg

• ICN Business School

  City: Nancy

• Ecole Centrale de Lille

  City: Lille

• University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne

  City: Reims

• Normandy Business School

  City: Le Havre

• Jean Moulin University Lyon 3

  City: Lyon

• Pantheon-Assas University

  City: Paris

• KEDGE Business School, Bordeaux

  City: Bordeux

• Ecole centrale Paris

  City: Paris

• ESC Rennes School of Business

  City: Rennes

• Skema Business School

  City: Paris

• Normandy Business School, Deauville

  City: Deauville

• Grenoble Ecole de Management, Paris

  City: Paris

• Skema Business School, Suzhou

  City: Suzhou

• Montpellier Business School

  City: Montpellier

• EDHEC Business School, Lille

  City: Lille

• University of Poitiers

  City: Poitiers

• University of Le Havre

  City: Le Havre

• Lumiere University Lyon 2

  City: Lyon

• Pantheon-Sorbonne University Paris 1

  City: Paris

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Telecom Bretagne

  City: Bretagne

• Ecole Polytechnique

  City: Paris

• INSA Rennes

  City: Rennes

• Toulouse Business School, Paris

  City: Paris

• Telecom Ecole de Management

  City: Evry

• HEC Paris

  City: Paris

• Cergy-Pontoise University

  City: Versailles

• ENAC

  City: Toulouse

• IESEG School of Management, Lille

  City: Lille

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Mines Albi

  City: Albi

• Audencia School of Management

  City: Nantes

• Lyon Catholic University

  City: Lyon

• Paris 12 Val de Marne University

  City: Paris

• Normandy Business School, Caen

  City: Caen

• EPF Graduate School of Engineering

  City: Paris

• ECAM Lyon

  City: Rhone-alps

• University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle

  City: Paris

• ENSG Geomatique

  City: Ile-de-France

• IESEG School of Management

  City: Paris

• Grenoble Institute of Technology

  City: Grenoble

• University of Paris-Sud

  City: Versailles

• INP Toulouse

  City: Toulouse

• Lille University of Science and Technology

  City: Lille

• University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour, Bayonne

  City: Bayonne

• Ecole centrale de Nantes

  City: Nantes

• KEDGE Business School, Marseille

  City: Marseille

• Paris 13 University

  City: Paris

• EISTI

  City: Cergy Pontoise

• ESCE - Paris

  City: Paris

• ENSAIT

  City: Roubaix

• Grenoble Ecole de Management

  City: Grenoble

• ESIEA

  City: Ivry-sur-Seine

• INSEEC Business School, Paris

  City: Paris

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Mines Nantes

  City: Nantes

• Joseph Fourier University

  City: Grenoble

• EFREI

  City: Villejuif

• INSA Toulouse

  City: Toulouse

• Skema Business School, Lille

  City: Lille

• NEOMA Business School

  City: Mont-Saint-Aignan

• Paris College of Art

  City: Paris

• INSEEC Business School, Chambery

  City: Chambery

• ESCP Europe Paris

  City: Paris

• IFP School

  City: Rueil-Malmaison

• Claude Bernard University Lyon 1

  City: Lyon

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Telecom ParisTech

  City: Paris

• Institut Mines-Telecom, Eurocom

  City: Biot

• American University of Paris

  City: Paris

• University of Nantes

  City: Nantes

• Pierre Mendes-France University

  City: Grenoble

• ESIGETEL

  City: Villejuif

• ISAE-SUPAER

  City: Toulouse

• EDHEC Business School, Nice

  City: Nice

• INSEEC Business School, Bordeaux

  City: Bordeaux

• American Graduate School in Paris

  City: Paris

• University of Orleans

  City: Orleans

• Paris Descartes University

  City: Paris

• ISAE-ENSMA

  City: Chasseneuil-du-Poitou

• ESIEE Paris

  City: Paris

• EMLYON Business School

  City: Lyon

• ISC Paris

  City: Paris