University of Toulouse

The Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées is a ComUE – an association of higher education and research institutions – based in the Mid-Pyrénées.

The Federal University developed from the University of Toulouse;  first formed with the Treaty of Paris in 1229 by Count Raymond VII. Accused of sympathising with heretics, he was forced to finance local theological education.

The University of Toulouse split into specialised institutions – including three universities – in 1969, and became known as the Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées. In 2007, the centre of research and higher education University of Toulouse was established to manage these activities in the Mid- Pyrénées.

The Law on Higher Education and Research turned the Federal University into a ComUE in 2015. It has no individual campus, but more than 100,000 students spread across its varied 14 institutions: Toulouse I University Capitole, the University of Toulouse II – Le Mirail, Paul Sabatier University, the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, the Institut national des sciences appliquées de Toulouse, the Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace, the Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse, the Jean-François Champollion University Center for Teaching and Research, the École des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux, the École nationale de l'aviation civile, the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Toulouse, the École nationale de formation agronomique, the Toulouse Business School, and the Institut Catholique d'Arts et Métiers.

The constituent institutions of the Federal University of Toulouse Mid- Pyrénées awards a range of vocational qualifications, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, PhDs, and other awards in specialist disciplines, such as veterinary sciences. The association aids its institutions with research collaboration – between other universities and with businesses – and other shared projects, such as fostering partnerships between scientists and science teachers, and developing more sustainable campuses. 

Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrenees was first ranked by THE in the 2017 World University Rankings. Prior to that year, only Toulouse 1 Capitol one of the institutions part of Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrenees, was ranked.