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Best universities in France 2024

Find the best universities in France through Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024 data

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October 3 2023
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Top 10 universities in France 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in France

France Ranking 2024 World University Ranking 2024 World University Ranking 2023 University City
1 40  47  Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris Paris
2 58  93  Université Paris-Saclay Paris
3 71  =95  Institut Polytechnique de Paris Paris
4 75  90  Sorbonne University Paris
5 =152  =114  Université Paris Cité Paris
6 251–300  301–350  École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Lyon
=7 301–350  401–500  Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble
=7 301–350  301–350  Montpellier University Montpellier
=9 351–400  301–350  Aix-Marseille University Marseille
=9 351–400  301–350  University of Bordeaux Bordeaux

This league table reveals the top universities in France, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

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This year, 44 French institutions are counted among the top universities in the world. The 2024 ranking includes 11 institutions in Paris – the most represented city in France.


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Universities in Paris take the top five spots, but institutions in Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier also feature in the top 10.

The best university in France is Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris, a collegiate university formed of 25 research and higher education institutions in the Paris area and three national research institutions. 

France is a popular destination for international students because of its range of high-ranking universities and reasonable tuition fees.


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Top 5 universities in France

5. Université Paris Cité

The Université Paris Cité is a very young university, having only been established in 2019.

It has 14 campuses and research facilities across Parisian locations that include the historic Latin Quarter.

It was created through the merger of Paris Diderot University, Paris Descartes University and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris.

The university provides teaching across the academic spectrum, including arts, humanities, languages, social science, economics, science and technology, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing.

4. Sorbonne University

Sorbonne University has a number of campuses across Paris, as well as a satellite campus in Abu Dhabi. 

It has three faculties: humanities, science and medicine. Law is taught by Panthéon-Assas University (Paris 2).

Pierre and Marie Curie University and a number of smaller institutions.

The university is home to eight notable scientific collections open to researchers, some of which are also open to the public, such as the minerals, palaeontology and zoology collections. 

3. Institut Polytechnique de Paris

About 35 per cent of the student body at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris are international students, with 88 different nationalities represented on campus.

There are 10 academic departments, including biology; chemistry and processes; economics; mathematics; and humanities, art, literature and languages.

The Institut Polytechnique de Paris is a public higher education and research institution formed through the merger of  five French engineering schools: Télécom SudParis. The admissions process is very selective. 

2. Université Paris-Saclay

University of Paris was established in 2019 it became the Université Paris-Saclay.

The university is part of the Paris-Saclay project, which brings together nine higher education institutions and a business cluster on a research-intensive academic campus. The campus is being developed on the Plateau de Saclay on the outskirts of the city. Its model is similar to the one adopted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, where each college keeps its independence while remaining part of the university.

Paris-Saclay offers a range of undergraduate, master’s and PhD programmes in the fields of science and engineering, life and health sciences, social sciences and humanities.

1. Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris

Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris is made up of 25 higher education institutions and research centres in the Paris area.

A total of 28 Nobel prizes in physics, chemistry, literature, physiology and medicine, and economics have been awarded to researchers from the university.

Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris was formed in April 2010 from five prominent French institutions: the École Normale Supérieure, the Collège de France, the Paris Observatory, Chimie ParisTech and ESPCI ParisTech.

The institutions under the umbrella of the university are a mixture of older institutions established during the Enlightenment period and new institutions.

The university’s main aim is to establish itself as one of the world’s top research institutions. It has also developed links with other top-ranking institutions around the world, including the University of CambridgeUCLPeking University and National Taiwan University. 


Best universities in France 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

France Ranking 2024 World University Ranking 2024 World University Ranking 2023 University City
1 40  47  Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris Paris
2 58  93  Université Paris-Saclay Paris
3 71  =95  Institut Polytechnique de Paris Paris
4 75  90  Sorbonne University Paris
5 =152  =114  Université Paris Cité Paris
6 251–300  301–350  École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Lyon
=7 301–350  401–500  Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble
=7 301–350  301–350  Montpellier University Montpellier
=9 351–400  301–350  Aix-Marseille University Marseille
=9 351–400  301–350  University of Bordeaux Bordeaux
=11 401–500  501–600  Centrale Nantes Nantes
=11 401–500  401–500  Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 Lyon
=11 401–500  251–300  École des Ponts ParisTech Paris
=11 401–500  501–600  Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées Toulouse
=11 401–500  351–400  IMT Atlantique Nantes
=11 401–500  401–500  Institut Agro Nice
=17 501–600  501–600  University of Côte d’Azur Brest
=17 501–600  601–800  ENSTA Bretagne Lille
=17 501–600  601–800  Nantes Université Nancy
=17 501–600  501–600  Sciences Po Lyon
=21 601–800  1001–1200  École Centrale de Lyon Cluny
=21 601–800  501–600  École des Mines de Saint-Étienne Brest
=21 601–800  801–1000  École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (ENTPE) Clermont-Ferrand
=21 601–800  501–600  University of Lille Cergy-Pontoise
=21 601–800  601–800  University of Lorraine Paris
=21 601–800  801–1000  National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA Lyon) Poitiers
=27 801–1000  1001–1200  Arts et Métiers Rennes
=27 801–1000  NR  Université de Bretagne Occidentale Tours
=27 801–1000  801–1000  University of Clermont Auvergne Besançon
=27 801–1000  801–1000  CY Cergy Paris University Valenciennes
=27 801–1000  801–1000  Panthéon-Sorbonne University – Paris 1 Troyes
=27 801–1000  NR  Université de Poitiers Valenciennes
=27 801–1000  801–1000  University of Rennes 1 Lyon
=27 801–1000  NR  University of Tours Nanterre, Paris
=35 1001–1200  NR  University of Franche-Comté Pau
=35 1001–1200  1001–1200  IMT Nord Europe Paris
=35 1001–1200  1201–1500  University of Technology of Troyes Compiègne
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France Lyon
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  Lumière University, Lyon 2 Lyon
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  Paris Nanterre University Nanterre, Paris
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour Pau
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris
=38 1201–1500  1201–1500  University of Technology of Compiègne Compiègne
44 1501+  1501+  Jean Moulin University – Lyon 3 Lyon
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