If you do not have an opportunity to study in Paris within the framework of an exchange programme involving your university or school of origin and a university or school in France, you must register on an individual basis.

N.B.: since the admission formalities for French higher-education institutions are long and complex, a period of study in France should be planned a year in advance.

The admission requirements for the various cases are as follows :

> If you are a citizen of an EU Member State or an European Economic Area (EEA) member country:

You may apply directly for a place in your preferred universities or schools. See the "International" section of their website for details of registration procedures for foreign students.

> If you are a citizen of one of the following countries:
Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo Brazzaville, South Korea, United States, Gabon, Guinea, India, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, Syria, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey or Vietnam.

Whatever your institutions and subjects of choice, you must use the online application procedure on your country's Espace CampusFrance (formerly Centre pour les Etudes en France - CEF) website.
Contact details for Espaces CampusFrance worldwide >>

Complete the Espace CampusFrance registration form online. You must subsequently attend a personalised interview during which you can present your study plan and, where applicable, take a French language test. For registration with Espace CampusFrance, there is a fee (which varies from one country to another).

You may apply for places in certain institutions via the Espace CampusFrance online-applications procedure. For the others, you must look after your application yourself after registering on the Espace CampusFrance website.

N.B.: This online-applications procedure is also available to citizens of the Czech Republic and Sweden, but its use is optional. The procedure does, however, allow students to optimise their study-project preparation and their arrival in France.

> If you are a citizen of another country:

- Admission to university in the first or second year of a Licence (Licence 1 and Licence 2) programme, or in the first year of Medicine, Pharmacy or Law capacité

Obtain a preliminary admission application (demande d'admission préalable) form from the Cooperation and Cultural Affairs department of the French embassy in your country between 1 December and 15 January of the year preceding the initial academic year to be spent in France (white form if you are resident in your own country, or green form if you are resident in France). The completed form must be returned before 31 January to the place from which it was obtained, along with the relevant supporting documents. It is wise to post these items well in advance.
The forms may be downloaded from the French Education Ministry's website >>

You must specify three universities by order of preference. Initially, your dossier will be sent to your preferred university. In the event of a refusal, it will be sent to your second choice, and, where applicable, to the third. Each university has one month in which to reply (April to June).

Unless you are a citizen of a country where French is the official language, have received a bilingual (incl. French) education or have obtained the Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française, you must take a language test in February. There is a fee for this test.

N.B.: Applicants holding a French baccalauréat who wish to register in the first year of a Licence programme in a French university (as well as first year of medicine or pharmacy programmes, “classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles”, DUT, BTS, DMA, and some schools, especially engineering schools) must apply via www.admission-postbac.fr between 20th of January and 20th of March.

- Admission to university in the third year of a Licence programme (Licence 3), in a Master programme (Master 1 and Master 2) or in a Doctorat programme

Applications must be made directly to the university concerned, generally between February and June. For details of registration procedures for foreign students, see the "International" section of the website of the university concerned. The university will ask you for your score in an official French test or diploma.
N.B.: there are more than 90 Espaces CampusFrance worldwide to help you with the process.
Contact details for Espaces CampusFrance worldwide >>

- Admission to a "Grande Ecole", specialist school, BTS or IUT
Applications must be made directly to the institution concerned. See the relevant website for information on the entrance examination.
N.B.: If you wish to apply for a place in a school of architecture, you must obtain a preliminary admission application form for architecture from the Cultural Affairs department of the French embassy in your country (or download it from www.archi.fr/ECOLES/index.html) between 15 December and 31 January.

> If you wish to register for an Art or Engineering Sciences programme:

You may apply online to certain institutions, via the relevant CampusFrance website:

CampusArt >> (art-related courses)
or CampusIngénierie >> (engineering-related courses).

This optional procedure makes your application easier to handle.

N.B.: as well as registering with the relevant website for his or her discipline, each citizen of the 29 abovementioned countries must also register with his or her country's Espace CampusFrance website.

In all events, you are strongly advised to submit several applications (to different schools and universities and/or for different levels), in order to increase your chance of success. This is important, since universities receive large numbers of applications from foreign students.

> Where to find information:
More than 100 Espaces CampusFrance in over 70 countries assist young people wishing to study in France, analysing their study project, providing guidance in the choice of course and helping them prepare their applications.
Contact details for Espaces CampusFrance worldwide >>