Programs in France

Higher education in France is world-renowned for its quality and accessibility. The French government pays for tuition and health insurance at public schools. Admission and promotion is through a system of merit-based examinations. University studies are divided into three stages, called the Premier Cycle, Deuxième Cycle, and Troisième Cycles. Each university is divided into departments or UFR (Unités de formation et de recherche) which cover all disciplines, from science to the humanities. Course units called UV or Unités de valeur in each discipline, must be passed in order to graduate. University diplomas are nationally standardised and transferable between institutions.

Undergraduate education in France is renowned for fine arts. Undergraduate education in France is unsurpassed in quality, depth and the last few decades have seen huge changes in the number of pupils and students in the French education system.

Short duration, Summer Courses are offered by French universities during the summer season.  The time period from May end to mid September is the ideal season to be in France. Most of the universities in France offer short term courses in different fields like Fashion, Photography, Language, designing, heritage studies, law& economics, agro health, Management, Material innovations for products and trends.

• Minimum requirement:
  The minimum requirement for admission to any university course is the French higher secondary Certificate (baccalauréat) or an equivalent qualification. Universities offer theoretical,  practical, and job-oriented courses and train students for research in all disciplines.
  
  
• Ranking:
  There is no official Ranking System in France. The student can take admission in university, Grandes Ecoles, or the Advanced Studies centers. There is no official system to compare between French and foreign degrees.
  
  
• Intake:
  The academic year in France starts in September or October. Some institution may also enroll students for Spring, Summer or Winter semesters as well.
  
  
• Popular Courses:
  M.B.A, IT, Engineering, Art & Design.
  
  The National Degree:3 yrs of Bachelors degree (Licence); 1 or 2 yrs for Master Degree.
  
  Institution Degree:3 to 4 yrs for Bachelor, 1 yr for Master Degree.

• Universities:
  They offer courses in fields of humanities, social sciences, law, economics, management, natural sciences, medicine, pharmacology, technology, arts political sciences.
  
  
• The Competitive Institute:
  These  schools groom students in specific areas, such as engineering or business management.
  
  
• Advance Study Centers:
  There are large numbers of advanced centers offering specialization in various  fields such as, architecture, agriculture, public administration. Admission to Advance Study Centers is based on merit. The numbers of enrollments are limited. For international students, admission is subject to the recognition of your qualifications by the concerned institution.

Summer Courses

A lot of short duration courses are offered by French universities during the summer season. Most  universities in France offer short term courses in fields like Fashion, photography, language, designing, heritage studies, law& economics, agro health, Management, and Material innovations for products and trends. For those who are not very fluent in French, there are many courses which are taught in English.

• Photography
  SPEOS– Paris Photographic Institute offers Photography workshops.
  
  One can choose for takin the course, a period of one week to ten weeks, depending on the number of workshops one opts for. One need to have a baccalaureate i.e. one should have cleared their HSC in order to attend these summer workshops.
  
  The summer session is composed of workshops which point out the major arts and techniques of modern photography. The participants choose one or several workshops, depending on their own interests. They may also enroll for the full summer session.
  
  Summer session of Professional photography is of four weeks duration, for each module and part time 15 hours per week.

•  International Museology Summer Class
  It is of a two weeks duration. Admission requirement to this course is Master degree in heritage studies (history of art, archaeology, anthropology, museum studies). It is necessary to have a minimum knowledge of both French and English languages, with proficiency level either in English or French. This seminar is aimed either at students who are beginners in museology or who wish to develop a comparative approach within the French system of museology. The topic of the seminar varies every year, enabling deeper study of the different themes, related to objects, public, institutions and their programmes.

• European Summer Programme BSc level with an Agrohealth Orientation
  The length of this course is three weeks and optional thematic week. The admission requirement is minimum B.Sc. level. Sufficient comprehension level in English is necessary for the short programmes.

• Japanese Fall programme: B.Sc. level with 2 orientations
  The length of the course is two sessions of 10 days. The admission requirement is minimum B.Sc. level.

Undergraduate Programs

Some of the most popular courses in universities of France are as follows:

• Art History
• Comparative Literature
• European and Mediterranean Cultures Film Studies
• French Studies
• Global Communications History
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business Administration
• International Economics
• International Finance
• International and Comparative Politics
• Literary Studies
• Creative Arts
• Psychology
• Applied Mathematics
• Applied Statistics
• Art History
• Classical Civilization
• Comparative Literature
• Comparative Political Communication
• Critical Theory
• Environmental Policy
• European and Mediterranean Cultures
• European Languages and Cultures
• Film Studies
• Fine Arts
• French Studies
• Gender Studies
• Global Communications
• History
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business Administration
• International Economics
• International Journalism
• International Law
• Medieval Studies
• Middle Eastern and Islamic Cultures
• Philosophy
• Politics
• Psychology
• Renaissance Studies
• Theater and Performance
• Urban Studies
• Visual Culture

Fees:
Education in France is funded directly by the state thus making the tuition fee affordable by most middle class families. As an approximation, tuition can cost anywhere between Euro 170 and Euro 15,000 per year, depending on the institution and the course selected.

Eligibility:

• Any student aspiring to complete a Bachelor’s program in France must have completed their higher secondary education.
  
  
• International students must have a fair knowledge of French.

Postgraduate Programs

• Engineering:Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering
• Arts and Humanities
• Fine Arts
• Fashion
• Mathematics
• Computer Sciences
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Business/Finance
• Marketing
• Sociology
• History
• Economics
• Management and Law
• Design
• Educational sciences
• Law (LLM)

Fees:
The cost of education at a post-graduate level is considerably low as compared to other European countries. This is due to the fact that the education  system is supported by a public institution with funds. The approximate cost of an entire program may be Euro 10,000 per year. There are many scholarships available for eligible students who cannot afford this amount.

Eligibility:

• The French higher education system is divided into three cycles. The first cycle is a Bachelor’s degree called a ‘licence’. Following this, a student qualifies to apply for a Master’s program.
  
  
• Other than the undergraduate level of education, international students must have a good grip over the French Language, to qualify as an applicant in most French institutes. For admission into the Grand Ecoles, students need to  pass certain competitive exams.

Doctorate Research Programs

• Agriculture
• Architecture
• Art
• Bioinformatics
• Business Administration
• Chemistry
• Cognition
• Computer Science
• Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Ecosystems
• Electronics
• Energy and Processes
• Engineering
• Environmental Microbiology
• Evolution
• Finance
• Fine Arts
• Fundamental and Applied Sciences
• Geosciences
• Health
• Humanities
• Informatics
• Information/Communication
• Language
• Life Sciences
• Marine Sciences
• Materials and natural resources
• Mathematics
• Nano Science
• Neurosciences
• Performing Arts
• Physics
• Signal
• Space Science
• Systems
• Telecommunications

Eligibility:

• It is mandatory that the student is qualified with the degrees in the first cycles, i.e. a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree/Diploma.

• The student also require funding and a doctoral advisor to assist them in the process.

Financial Aid:
The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research is the primary provider of finances for Ph.D. programs in France. Funding can be obtained by taking a short term employment contract called as ‘Doctoral Contract’, which makes the institute under which you are pursuing the degree, an employer. There are also other options where the Ph.D. host (company/university/laboratory) provides the candidate with funds, grants or associations.

Vocational courses in France after Baccalauréat

BTS(Brevet de Technicien Supérieur)

BTS stands for Brevet de Technicien Supérieur. It is a two-year professional course, the equivalent of the UK HND (Higher National Diploma) and the French title means the same.

The difference between a BTS and, say a similar two-year post-bac course in an IUT (Institut Universitaire Technologique) is that although it is a university qualification, BTS courses are run by schools.

Its features include:

1. Tuition is free.
2. School rules apply.
3. There is usually accommodation provided on site, but school rules will apply.
4. Groups are small; the teachers are secondary school teachers who have opted to teach on these courses. This means plenty of individual attention.

There are many different types of BTS. Some are full-time courses, with work experience during the holiday period. Others (BTS en alternance) alternate between work experience and study year-round. In such a case, the student has to work as an apprentice under an employer. If the student does well, then he or she  has a good chance of being absorbed in the company,  at the end of the two-year period of study, sometimes even obtaining the actual diploma is not necessary.