France: Low public fees, grandes écoles, and Campus France

France is the fourth most popular study destination globally and the second most popular non-Anglophone destination after Germany. Its attractiveness rests on three pillars: low public university tuition even after the 2019 fee restructuring, the prestige of its grandes écoles system, and a structured visa pathway through Campus France that, while bureaucratic, provides clarity on requirements.

The French system is complex. It has two parallel tracks — public universities and grandes écoles — with different admissions mechanisms, fee structures, and career pipelines. Understanding this bifurcation is essential to navigating the French higher education market.

Public universities: the fee structure

Before 2019, non-EU students at French public universities paid the same fees as French and EU students — approximately €200 per year for a licence (bachelor’s) and €260 for a master’s. In 2019, the French government introduced differentiated fees for non-EU students, setting them at:

• Licence (bachelor’s): €2,770 per year
• Master’s: €3,770 per year
• Doctorat (PhD): €380 per year (unchanged)

Even after the increase, these fees remain among the lowest in Europe for a major economy. For comparison, the €3,770 master’s fee is lower than one year of tuition at a public university in most US states and significantly lower than any UK or Irish university.

Some universities and programmes are exempt from the differentiated fees. The French government allows universities to waive up to 10% of their non-EU enrolment from the higher fees. Individual universities set their own criteria for fee exemptions — typically based on academic merit, financial need, or origin from a priority country. Students from countries that have bilateral agreements with France (including many Francophone African nations) retain the lower EU-rate fees.

The cost of living in France is moderate by Western European standards. Campus France recommends a budget of approximately €10,000–€14,000 per year, covering rent, food, transport, insurance, and miscellaneous expenses. The French student housing benefit (CAF — Caisse d’Allocations Familiales) is available to international students and can reduce rent by €100–€200 per month, depending on the city and the type of accommodation.

Grandes écoles