France has several prestigious universities that are globally recognized for their high education and research standards. Read the following article to know the top universities of France.

Top Universities of France

Every year thousands of international students take admission in various French universities and institutions. These universities offer a number of short and long term courses in different fields. French universities are known for their high education standards. There are 87 universities and over 300 grandes ecoles in France. The admission procedures in these universities are quite different from other countries of the world. These universities not only consider previous academic background of a student, but also check his/her interested area of study. Most of the universities in France are state funded and Ministry of National Education regulates all the educational programs. In France, universities are generally named after big cities, for instance there are universities like University of Paris IV and University of Paris VI. There is no fixed standard to rank French universities as ranking of universities is done on different parameters by different organizations. However, universities are ranked according to the preference of student community and other positive aspects. Herein listed are some of the top universities of France.
 
Top Universities of France
 
College of France
College de France was established in 1530 by King Francis I of France. This education and research establishment is located in Paris. One of the unique features of the college is that the lectures given by professors are open and free to everyone with exception of few high level courses, which are not open to general public. The chosen professors are among the best in their fields. The college doesn’t grant degrees, but it holds one of the best research libraries and laboratories in Europe.
 
Ecole Normale Super
This topmost institution was founded in 1794, and since then, it has continuously trained leading French intellectuals in various fields. There are nearly 2500 students in the campus, which live in student dormitories. ENS has earned a worldwide reputation for its rich campus life, which includes various intellectual and cultural events, conferences, films, concerts, debates and athletic events. This college is known for providing knowledge and research in every field with facilities of outstanding research teams and laboratories.
 
Ecole Polytechnique
This state-run institution was established in 1794 and is situated in Palaiseau, near Paris. It has total student strength of 2,700, which includes 2000 polytechnic engineers, 200 students pursuing two year Master’s degrees and 500 doctoral students. The comprehensive curriculum of the institution provides every student a unique chance to choose from selected courses and pursue his/ her own professional goals. Students from this institution occupy key and influential positions in government, industry, finance and research.
 
University of Bordeaux I
University of Bordeaux, also known as L'Université de Bordeaux, is a group of higher education institutions situated in and around Bordeaux, France. The group has seven founding members and one associate member. University of Bordeaux or Bordeaux I is one of the founding members and mainly focuses on science and technologies. This institution deals with variety of topics such as biological science, chemistry, computer science, earth science, mathematics, physics, and sea science.
 
University of Grenoble I
University of Grenoble I, also known as Université Joseph Fourier, is situated in the city of Grenoble and focuses on the fields of sciences, technologies and health. This French university has more than 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students contributing to the life of this university. This university also holds more than 2,000 international or exchange students. University of Grenoble I has earned global reputation in fundamental as well as applied research and innovation.
 
University of Lyon I
University of Lyon, located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, is a center of higher education and research. It consists of 16 institutions of higher education. The total student strength of the university is 120,000 and has an academic staff of 5, 000. This university is prominently divided into three main universities. The first university in this center is Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, which mainly focuses on health and science studies and has approximately 27,000 students. Other university is Lumière University Lyon 2, which is specialized in social sciences and has about 30,000 students. The third most important university is Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, which focuses upon the humanities and law and has student strength of 20,000 students.
 
University of Montpellier II
Established in 1970, University of Montpellier II is one of the three universities formed from the original University of Montpellier. This university has student strength of 12,529 and an academic staff of 921. University of Montpellier II has earned global recognisation for its research, as more than 95% of its training programs are associated with various research centers, especially the CNRS. This training covers a vast range of disciplines including math, chemistry, physics, earth science and management.
 
University of Paris IV
Also known as Paris-Sorbonne University, this public university is located in Paris. University of Paris IV has twelve campuses in Paris, seven of them are located in historical Latin Quarter, one in the Marais and two others respectively in Malesherbes and in Clignancourt. There are seventeen departments in this university, which specializes in the arts, humanities and languages. Every year, university enrolls about 14,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students from France and around the world.
 
University of Paris VI
Pierre and Marie Curie University was one of the universities formed by the disintegration of University of Paris in 1971. This university is the largest scientific and medical complex in France and contributes in many fields of research, with scope and achievements at the highest level. The total student strength of this university is 31000 including 3400 post-graduate students. The university boasts of over 125 laboratories, which are mainly associated with CNRS.
 
University of Paris VII
Paris Diderot University or Université Paris 7 is a leading university which was formed following the disintegration of University of Paris in 1970. This public university is prominently famous for its teaching in science, particularly in mathematics. There are a total of 26,000 students in the university who study humanities, science and medicine. This public university is among the best French universities and is a founding member of the higher education and research alliance Sorbonne Paris Cité.


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