In this article, we will be looking at cheap universities in Paris.

Cheapest Universities in Paris

1. Sorbonne University

Also known as the University of Paris, Sorbonne University has a long and eventful history. It came into being in 1257 as the Sorbonne College as an institution for imparting theological knowledge among the students. It was basically aimed for the financially crippled students who were keen to acquire religious knowledge.

Passing through a tumultuous history—that includes its closing down after the French revolution and reopening during the Restoration by King Louis XVIII—it gained its present status as late as January, 2018.

Presently it offers multidisciplinary courses and maintains an impressive reputation among the locals as well as the international students.

Sorbonne University offers low tuition fee in Paris and accommodation fee for the foreign students as compared to the locals.

  • Bachelor (foreigners): 209 USD/year
  • Master (foreigners): 295 USD/year
  • Bachelor (citizens): 1,000 USD/year
  • Master (citizens): 1,000 USD/year
  • Cost of accommodation: $906-1,621 USD/month

 

2. Jean Monnet University

This French public sector university has been ranked among the top universities of the world time and again. It is situated in Saint-Étienne. It was created in March 27, 1969. It offers a variety of courses belonging to law, management, economics, arts, letters, languages, humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and health disciplines.

It comes under the Academy of Lyon along with other institutes based in Lyon and Saint-Étienne. During the 90s, it began engineering schools. It provides state-of-the-art research based education, and an equally comfortable accommodation to the international as well as local students of graduate and postgraduate level. It is one of the most affordable universities in Paris for foreign as well as local students.

  • Bachelors and postgraduate programs : 500 to 750 Euros/year
  • Cost of accommodation and other expenses: $692-1,272 USD/month.

 

3. Blaise Pascal University

Blaise Pascal University is another public sector university that offers an advanced level of education at affordable rates. It is also known as Clermont-Ferrand II. It officially came into being in 1854 with its main campus in Clermont-Ferrand. It was named after the renowned scientist, mathematician, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. This university lies in the heart of the region of Auvergne—an extremely picturesque location that is surrounded by medieval castles and old villages.

It provides local as well as foreign students with bachelors, masters, and postgraduate courses in the disciplines of social sciences, cultural studies, languages, humanities, science and technology. It is a highly prestigious institution.

  • It depends upon the choice of course and degree level but the tuition-fee for all the students is generally between 2000 -2600 Euros.
  • It also offers a scholarship of 30 to 50% of the tuition fee to the best foreign applicant.
  • The annual accommodation and other expenses range from $692-1,272 USD/monthly.

 

4. Henri Poincaré University

This prestigious institution is also known as Nancy 1. It offers a higher level of research based education to all the students, foreign and local alike. It is located in Nancy, a magnificent city in the northeastern French region. It was a member of Nancy-Université federation and in 2012; it was merged into the University of Lorraine that belongs to the French Nancy-Metz academy.

It offers a higher level of studies in science and technology, pharmacy, medicine and engineering. It has a state-of-the-art architecture and a highly capable and competitive faculty. It welcomes foreign students with affordable fee in bachelors, masters, and postgraduate courses.

Its different fee structure for local and foreign students is as follows:

  • Bachelor (foreigners) : 210 USD/year
  • Master (foreigners) : 291 USD/year
  • Bachelor (citizens) : 1,000 USD/year
  • Master (citizens) : 1,000 USD/year
  • Cost of accommodation : $692-1,272 USD/month

 

5. Université Paris Descartes

This university enjoys the reputation of being the only university that offers the courses pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine under one roof in Paris. It is named after the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes. It was created in 1971 when a reform of the University of Paris resulted in the creation of eight further institutes under different faculties. It is one of the top ten universities in Paris and it is also ranked 450th in the world as per QS World University Rankings. It offers bachelors and masters degree to foreign students in remarkably cheap tuition fees in Paris as compared to the local students.

  • Bachelor (foreigners) : 206 USD/year
  • Master (foreigners) : 280 USD/year
  • Bachelor (citizens) : 1,000 USD/year
  • Master (citizens) : 1,000 USD/year
  • Cost of accommodation : 906-1,621 USD/month

 

6. Catholic University of Lyon

This university is a private sector university that is situated in Lyon, France. It came into being in 1875. Its founders were Catholics who decided to open and education institute in the heart of the regional capital.  It unites the respect of religion (catholic) and liberal thinking. It promotes critical thinking, creativity and academic competitiveness. It offers programs in the following disciplines:  Philosophy and Human Sciences, Language and Literature, Law, Economics, Theology and Religious Sciences. It is ranked 219th in France and 7882nd in the world. It reserves 14% seats for the foreign students. It is best for the students who seek to study under the old-school values.

It is one of the cheapest universities in Paris for international students.

  • The tuition fee largely depends upon the nature and duration of the course selected but it is roughly around 1500 Euros.
  • Cost of accommodation: $677-1,244 USD/month

 

7. Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

Among the three public sector universities of France, it is one of the best educational institutes. It is ranked 16th in France. It offers a higher level of academic excellence in the faculties of science and medicine. Also, it has various campuses. The main campus is situated in Villeurbanne while other campuses are in Gerland, Rockefeller, and Laennec.

It has one of the most capable faculties and it provides its students with a great environment and numerous sports and cultural facilities. It reserves 10.2% of its seats for the foreign students. It is a prestigious institution that offers one of the best bachelors and masters programs in the world.

  • Bachelor (foreigners): 209 USD/year
  • Master (foreigners) : 295 USD/year
  • Bachelor (citizens): 1,000 USD/year
  • Master (citizens): 1,000 USD/year
  • Cost of accommodation: $677-1,244 USD/month

 

We hope that this article on cheap universities in Paris was helpful. Make sure to also check out the Available Programs in Europe!

About the Author: Hyun Lee

Hyun is the founder at Global Scholarships. He has received a full-tuition scholarship at Birmingham-Southern College as well as $1,000 Burger King Scholarship for his undergraduate degree and has been offered a fully funded scholarship consisting of tuition, living stipend, and health insurance for computer science Ph.D. program at North Carolina State University. Read more about his scholarship journey here.

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4 Comments

  1. John - Reply

    How can I apply to one of this university

    • Hyun Lee - Reply

      Hi, you would need to look at the admission requirements for the universities in Paris. Depending on the language of instruction, you might need to take French Proficiency Exams or go to a language school there. Other requirements might include latest academic transcripts, standardized test scores, etc

  2. Cheska - Reply

    Do you mean you can go to a language school while going to the university?

    • Hyun Lee - Reply

      Hi, you can go to French language school at a French University before you start the actual degree.

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