Published date: 07 Jun 2019 Updated on: 06 Apr 2020 From historical cities to magnificent vineyards, France brings to the imagination a colourful panorama but the country is more than history, drinks and food. It’s been a centre of education long before the more modern marvels came into existence. In this post, we discover the top universities in France to study. Why Study in France? Because training and internship are a vital part of education in France, 87% of Indian students enrolled for Masters in the country in 2018. This is a massive jump from 2016-2017 that saw “approximately 40% students in Masters, 21% in bachelors and 39% in higher education”. Moreover, besides getting an education in a leading economic power of the world, studying in France inculcates two valuable teachings: understanding another culture and learning one of the most common business languages. Both these qualities come in handy during professional life. Moreover, the nation is home to noteworthy international companies like LVMH, Airbus, Capgemini, Orange, Danone, and L’Oréal making it easier to build a career. What are the Popular Courses In France? In France, the employment rate of 25-34 age group with a graduate STEM degree is high at 89% as compared to 77% of other streams like arts, humanities, and social science. It makes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics one of the most opted programs in the country. For management courses, MBA remains one of the most popular options for international students to study in France given that the QS Global MBA Rankings for 2019 has 6 French institutes featuring in the top 100 with INSEAD and HEC coming within the top 10! Need Help in Abroad Admissions? Fill this form and get a free counselling call What Are The Top Universities For STEM in France? 1. Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University (PSL) QS Global Ranking: 50 Fees: €2,770 a year for undergraduate and €3,770 a year for graduate programs. PSL is a collegiate university comprising of many colleges, old and new, including the extraordinarily prestigious École Normale Supérieure (ENS Paris). PSL focuses mainly on sciences and engineering, which has led to more than 25 researchers from the university winning a Nobel prize in Physics, chemistry, medicine, etc. At present, PSL ranks at the 20th position for Mathematics worldwide by QS. And yes, a lot of its License (or what we know as bachelor’s) and Master courses are taught in English. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, an international student will pay: €90 for the CVEC (Contribution Vie étudiante et campus/ the Student and Campus Life) tax. Mandatory student social security of €217. Obligatory home insurance mandatory which varies. €58 for a tax stamp to confirm your student visa’s validity for a residence permit. Housing, food, transport, phone, etc. comes around €1,000 per month with the cheapest accommodation provided by Crous de Paris. Financial Aid - The rise in tuition fees is a recent addition to France. To offset the cost, “for the 2019-2020 school year, PSL wishes to partially waive the fees of non-EU international students in both Bachelor's and Master’s programs affected by the measure and apply the same tuition rates to them that apply to all PSL students.” International students can also “work up to 964 hours max per year, i.e., 60% of a normal work year in France.” Average Salary - The median wage of a graduate of Paris-Dauphine, one of the schools under PSL, is €41,000. 2. Ecole Polytechnique (ParisTech) QS Global Ranking: 65 Fees : €15,000 per year for bachelor and €38,000 for 3 years of Ingénieur polytechnicien program. École Polytechnique, nestled about thirty km from Paris, specializes in sciences and technology. The three-year bachelor program is enormously selective with the first year focusing on gaining fundamental science skills and the other two on double majoring. The university has less than three thousand students, 30% of them are international. The Ingénieur Polytechnicien, a 4-year engineering degree is the most opted course at the École Polytechnique. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, an international student will pay: The Student Life and Campus Improvement Fee (CVEC) of €90. Campus accommodation is around €800 per month. A breakdown of the cost as provided by the college: Financial Aid - The École Polytechnique Foundation provides an excellence scholarship to students admitted to the college with honours. The amount of the award for each year is €4,000. For female students, there is a Women in Science Scholarship which amounts to €6,000 but applicable only for the first year. Average Salary - Graduates of Ingénieur Polytechnicien are offered pay in the range of €69,000 to €99,000. 3. Sorbonne University QS Global Ranking: 75 Fee: €170 for License level engineering or science course Located in the heart of Paris, Sorbonne Université was created by the merger of Paris-Sorbonne and Pierre & Marie Curie Universities. It has been awarded the Initiatives of Excellence, a program that invests in the future by funding higher education and research. For an Indian student looking for a good college for a Masters in STEM, Sorbonne makes an excellent choice in France as it offers a lot of courses in English. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee, an international student will pay CVEC, health insurance, and Social security coverage like for all other colleges in France. An estimate of the living expenses that a scholar from India will have to bear follows: Accommodation range from €300/month for a shared room in university residence to €800/month for a private apartment in Paris: Meals: About €190 Transportation: Imagine R Card for students under 26: €35-77 Entertainment: €00 Study supplies: €60 Miscellaneous: 100€ Financial Aid - Since the college only has modest registration fees and no tuition fees, there are not many scholarships available. Of those given to overseas students, priority is given to third-year scholars. To offset the expense of living, a student can have part-time jobs which can be found here. Average Salary - Salary information for Sorbonne University is not available but according to Paysa.com, the average salary for UPMC Sorbonne graduates is $63,349 (The data is based on less than 20 data points) 4. CentraleSupélec QS Global Ranking: 137 Fees: €3,500 For Engineering Program One of the most prestigious colleges in France, CentraleSupélec or CS was established 4 years after Ecole Centrale Paris and Supélec merged. The university is known for its focus on research and higher education in engineering and science. It has been ranked in the top 50 colleges of the world by QS for electrical and electronic engineering course. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, an international student enrolled in an engineering program will pay: Health care insurance, mandatory for all students, of €251.40. French Social Security insurance of €215 for one year. Housing costs around €420 to 630 per month. Financial Aid - The École Centrale Paris Foundation is one of the best scholarships available to students from overseas. It grants fund for tuition fees, living & transport costs, etc. The CROUS scholarship awards funds in the range of €1,008 to €5,545, though they can vary year to year. For more aids on different programs, click here. Average Salary - The median pay, a student of CS can expect, is €48,100. What Are The Best Universities In France For MBA? 1. INSEAD Business School QS MBA Global Ranking: 6 Course: MBA Duration: 10 months Fee: September intake: €85,500 and January intake: €87,000. INSEAD has an accelerated MBA program which requires a minimum of six years of work experience to apply. The discerning feature of the degree is the 5 eight weeks periods that conclude in an exam, essay, or project. The short time ensures that the student bears fewer expenses and goes back to the employment pool quickly. Total Cost- For the 10 months, the cost of living in Fontainebleau comes to around €23,000. INSEAD explains the expenses below: Accommodation(includes utilities and charges) - €10,000 Books - €300 Field Trips - €2,000 Local Transport - €633 Meals - €6,000 Miscellaneous - €1,500 Telephone - €400 Laptop(optional) -€ 1,000 Travel for Exchange and Job Search(optional) - €2,000 Financial Aid - When it comes to funding, INSEAD has over 90 scholarships from which a student can choose depending upon their nationality or gender. For example, the INSEAD Christina Law MBA ‘91D Endowed Scholarship for Asian Women awards €8,000 - €12,000 each year. Average Salary - A Business Administration graduate from INSEAD gets a median pay of €98,000. 2. HEC Paris QS MBA Global Ranking: 7 Course: MBA Duration: 16 Months Fee for Indian Student: € 69,500 HEC keeps the student body limited to 250 to ensure that every scholar gets a personalised experience, and the bulk of the class is from overseas. The style of teaching, diving the course into the Fundamental Phase and the Customized Phase, has turned the MBA from HEC much sought after. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, the total cost of living for 16 months comes to €25,065. Given below is the breakdown of it. Accommodation - €9,925 Books- €1,000 Meals - €6,000 HEC MBA Council Membership - €130 Sports Membership (obligatory) - €120 Miscellaneous - €3,200 Transportation - €4,700 Financial Aid - The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship grants around €1,100 to international students as monthly allowance besides sponsoring one international return ticket, social security, and cultural activities too. There are a few other scholarships such as the HEC Paris MBA Scholarship for Excellence. Average Salary - A business administrative graduate from HEC gets a median pay of €100,700. 3. ESSEC Business School QS MBA Global Ranking: 26 Course: Global MBA Duration: 12 months Fee for Indian Student: €45,000 for France campus. ESSEC has an intensive one-year MBA program which requires a minimum of three years of work experience to apply. The distinguishing feature of the degree is the five majors it offers - Hospitality Management, Digital Business & Innovation, Luxury Brand Management, Strategy & Management, and Finance. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, an international student will pay: €130 for the application fee. Housing, food, and sundry take about €1,000 per month. Alumni association life-long membership of €1,600 paid in annual instalments over the program duration. A Further Breakdown of Expenses For a Year Housing (includes utilities, charge, insurance) - €7,000 - €11,000 (average €8,000) Meals - €3,500 - €5,000 (average €4,000) Local Transport - €500 - €800 Telephone - €500 Health insuranse for the year - €200 - €700 Miscellaneous (excludes leisure) - €1,500 Travel for Exchange and Job Search(optional) - €2,000 Financial Aid - To maintain diversity in the student body, ESSEC grants the best student from different geographical area a scholarship of up to €15,000. A heavier €20,000 aid is given to the winner of an essay contest under the ESSEC Future Leader scholarship. ESSEC also allows students “part-time, short-term contracts” of work like assisting teachers, carrying out market research, and helping out at conferences. Average Salary - The median pay of an ESSEC graduate is €88,000. 4. EDHEC Business School QS MBA Global Ranking: 35 Course: Global MBA Duration: 10 months Fees: € 44,000 An intensive MBA course, it is meant for people with minimum three-years work experience and wish to change their professional path. The USP of the program is the 'action learning', which lasts for 8 weeks and requires an integrative project on a strategic issue. Total Cost - Besides the tuition fee listed above, an international student will pay: The Application fee is €150. Accommodation can range from 400 to 600 euros for each month. Insurance including health (15 euro/month) and home (starting from 50 euro/year) Living expenses of about 1000 to 1200 euros per month. Financial Aid - EDHEC offers automatic scholarships such as: If GMAT score is above 50%, then the fee is reduced by 50%. If you are one of the top three to apply from your nationality, then the fee is further reduced by 20%. Besides these, the business school also has other need and merit-based scholarship and funding, which can be found on the college website. Average Salary - The median pay of EDHEC graduates is €99,000. The Rise Of Indian Students In Colleges In France “In 2018, around 7, 500 Indian students picked France for pursuing higher education.” This number is rising because its public universities are affordable. Add to it the excellent research facilities in the nation and the employment opportunities available in the country makes for a good investment when it comes to education.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.gyandhan.com/blogs/top-ranked-universities-in-france