Top universities in France

Aix-Marseille University is a relatively new university having officially opened in 2012. As well as being one of the youngest universities in France, it is also the largest in terms of its student body, its faculty and staff, and its budget in the whole of the French-speaking world.

These factors combine with the remarkable results already achieved in teaching and research to make Aix-Marseille University a top class higher education and research institution.

Université Grenoble Alpes is another top French university with an impressive international research network.

Founded in the year 1339, the University of Grenoble Alpes is located mainly in the Grenoble metropolitan area and in the city of Valence. The university primarily specialises in a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to: science, technology, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and business. 

Sciences Po Paris scores particularly well for its international students’ ratio and employment outcomes. 

Sciences Po Paris is a university that specialises in law, economics, social science, politics, history and related fields. It has around 14,000 students, of which almost half are international, with more than 150 nationalities represented on campus. 

Université Paris Cité is an intensive research university that contributes to French and European scientific power and the national economy, and scores well for its international research network. The university's dedicated research units in health, science, and humanities subject areas make it a compelling choice for students passionate about these fields. 

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne achieves a notably high score for its academic reputation. The university was founded in 1971 by two faculties of the University of Paris. Today the school specialises in economic and management sciences, human sciences and legal and political sciences. 

École Normale Supérieure has scored excellently in the citations per faculty, a mark of the university's research output.

Another of the Grande écoles, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon is an elite public university in France which trains researchers and teachers in the humanities and sciences. With its strong emphasis on research and academic excellence, the university attracts students interested in fields such as mathematics, physics, computer science, philosophy, literature, linguistics, economics, and political science, among several others. 

Université Paris-Saclay scores consistently well across all rankings indicators. Being one of the major European and global universities, Université Paris-Saclay provides education in the areas of science and engineering, life sciences and health, and humanities and social sciences.  

Sorbonne University has one of the world's top international research networks according to our rankings.

This university was established in 2018 as a result of a merger between Paris-Sorbonne University and Pierre et Marie Curie University and is one of the top public universities in France. The study areas that the university specialises in are mainly humanities, languages and social sciences, science and engineering, and health sciences. 

Institut Polytechnique de Paris scores excellently across all indicators, particularly employer reputation.

Located 30km outside the Paris city centre, the campus offers 120 hectares of green space for its 4,600 students to enjoy. Institut Polytechnique de Paris unites five prestigious French engineering schools offering world-class education and research opportunities in various fields of engineering, technology and applied sciences. 

Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres) is a collegiate university which was formed in 2010 and is made up of nine constituent colleges, including the highly selective École normale supérieure (ENS Paris). 

Université PSL has demonstrated exceptional performance across all indicators, particularly excelling in the international research network category. Additionally, the university has earned high scores for the faculty-student ratio and employer reputation, further solidifying its reputation as a top-tier institution.