France

Country in Europe

Capital: Paris
Dialing code: +33
President: François Hollande
Prime minister: Bernard Cazeneuve
Currencies: Euro, CFP franc

France, in Western Europe, encompasses medieval cities, alpine villages and Mediterranean beaches. Paris, its capital, is famed for its fashion houses, classical art museums including the Louvre and monuments like the Eiffel Tower. The country is also renowned for its wines and sophisticated cuisine. Lascaux’s ancient cave drawings, Lyon’s Roman theater and the vast Palace of Versailles attest to its rich history.

Noted as much for its rich culture as for its illustrious scientific achievements, France is unsurprisingly one of the top education destinations for international students. In fact, in 2007, France welcomed 265,000 international students that constituted 14% of its student population.

Higher Education System

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French degrees are granted by a comprehensive network of higher education institutions and world-famous research centers. This network comprises 88 universities, some 500 "Grandes ecoles" - uniquely French institutions that cover more than 240 engineering schools and 220 schools of business and management - 59 public schools of Arts, as well as many specialized schools for specific sectors such as fashion, social work, paramedical disciplines, tourism and sports.

The French degrees awarded are based on the European system of Bachelor, Master, and PhD, expressed in credits as defined by the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

France's 88 public universities cover the entire range of academic disciplines, from the sciences to technology to literature, languages, arts, social sciences, law, economics, management etc. Tuition fees (in fact only registration fees in most institutions) are among the lowest in the world and are kept affordable as public institutions enjoy the financial support of the State. However, the quality of the degree programs is not compromised by low tuition fees; throughout, high international standards are maintained at all levels. In addition, French and foreign students have equal access to student benefits and face similar admission requirements.

Universities in France

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France’s strong academic and artistic tradition continues in the modern day; there are few countries which invest as much in research and education. Global university rankings reflect this; a total of 39 French universities are included in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017, of which 10 are within the global top 250. The nation’s two leading universities, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris and Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech, both make the world's top 55 at 33rd and joint 53rd respectively, cementing their reputations as two of Europe’s and the world’s leading institutions.

In addition to the 39 French universities featured in the QS World University Rankings, France is also known for its strong contingent of specialized business schools. These are not placed in the overall rankings due to their subject-specific focus, but nonetheless enjoy wide-reaching international reputations. Notable examples include ESCP Europe, ESSEC Business School, HEC Paris and INSEAD.

What’s more, tuition fees at the leading universities in France are among the lowest in the world, with annual fees averaging under US$1,000 per year for domestic and international students alike.