Higher education in France

THERE are 83 universities in France. However also considered part of the higher education (enseignement supérieur) system are 224 engineering schools and 220 schools of commerce, management or accounting.

Some of these are among the elite grandes écoles (which are not classed as universities) and 3,000 other institutions, notably those lycées which have certain post-baccalauréat courses like STS (section de téchnicien supérieur) or CPGE (classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles).

An undergraduate degree is called une licence and takes three years. It may be followed by un master, which takes two years, and un doctorat (PhD).

The state subsidises university degree studies and the fees are the same for French residents as well as students coming to study from abroad - currently a standard undergraduate degree is just €156/year.

Expat parents should be aware British university fees are much higher, however a spokesman for the University of Manchester said it was standard in the UK for students coming from within the EU not to be charged the even higher “international fees.”

With the cost of study in France so low, many people opt to study close to home, thus solving the problem of living costs as well.

Nonetheless, a system of grants is available, allocated by “social” criteria (parents’ income) and boosted by factors including how far away the student is studying, how many siblings they have and academic merit.

Emergency grants also exist for students facing hardship. Grants are also available to help those from low-income families towards study abroad (more information on financing studies next month).

A system of student loans, with fixed rates and with no means-testing has recently been introduced.

This year will see ten major renovation schemes for university campuses get off the ground.

Opération campus is a public-private partnership (PPP) partly funded by the state selling off 3% of electricity provider EDF.

Higher Education Minister Valérie Pécresse is calling for universities to make more use of PPPs, which are more typical of the UK.

She also wants them to take a cue from the UK where universities are typically more pro-active in finding ways to generate extra funds.

She singled out the Sorbonne in Paris as a good example for schemes like renting out buildings to use as film locations or selling branded t-shirts.