Best Universities in France

French higher education runs on two parallel tracks: public universities, which teach most subjects and award nationally recognised degrees, and the grandes écoles, a separate tradition of selective schools in engineering, business and science with their own admissions routes. A recent wave of mergers and federations has reshaped the first track, gathering formerly independent faculties and schools into large consolidated universities.

Our catalogue covers 30 universities in France and 292 programmes between them; 24 of those carry an EduRank research ranking, and the six without one sit outside its coverage rather than below it. Ranking databases have not consistently caught up with the recent reorganisation, so a French list is best read alongside the member schools behind each name. The universities below are ordered by EduRank world rank; open one for its key facts, acceptance rate and programmes.