France was the cheap option in Europe, and from the 2026–27 year it is less so: a decree of May 2026 makes differentiated fees compulsory for new non-EU students, about €2,902 for a bachelor's and €3,950 for a master's, with institutional exemptions capped (30% of non-EU students in 2026–27, 25% the year after). Doctoral study is exempt and still costs the national rate. Even at the new level it remains far below the UK, the US or Australia.
English-taught master's programmes are now common in engineering and business, but French is still what makes life and internships work outside the classroom.
At a glance
| Language | Growing number of English-taught master's; French needed for most public-university programmes and daily life |
|---|---|
| Tuition | Differentiated non-EU rates are now compulsory: about €2,902 a year for a bachelor's and €3,950 for a master's from 2026–27. Doctoral students pay the national rate of about €398. Grandes écoles set their own, much higher, fees |
| Living costs for the visa | Around €615 a month in evidenced funds |
| Main intake | September; Études en France opens in the autumn of the previous year |
| Where you apply | Études en France (Campus France) for listed countries; directly otherwise |
| After graduation | APS, 12 months |
What they require
- Bachelor's in a related field, with the French system paying close attention to the year-by-year record
- DELF/DALF B2 for French-taught programmes; IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 for English-taught ones
- Motivation letter (lettre de motivation) written formally
- CV in the French format
- Campus France interview at the local office for applicants in the Études en France countries
How admission actually works
Programme-level selection with a strong emphasis on academic coherence: French committees look for a logical progression from your bachelor's to the master's and then to a stated career. A gap year or a change of field needs explaining in the letter.
For the Études en France countries the interview is part of the assessment, and the visa appointment follows automatically from the accepted file.
How much does a supervisor matter?
Not needed for master's. Essential for PhD.
A French doctorate is registered with a doctoral school (école doctorale) under a named director. Funding usually comes from a contrat doctoral, an ANR project or an industrial CIFRE contract, and all of them start with a professor who has a funded place.
When applications open and close
The pattern below is what these systems normally do. Every programme sets its own dates, so treat this as the planning shape and confirm on the official portal linked at the end.
Funding that genuinely exists here
Government award for master's and doctoral candidates, nominated by the institution, with a January deadline for the institution's file.
Country-specific programmes run by French embassies.
Many institutions reduce the differentiated fee automatically or on request.
A three-year salaried doctoral contract, the standard PhD funding.
Documents this country asks for
- Études en France file with certified transcripts and translations into French
- Lettre de motivation, formal in tone
- French or English language certificate
- Proof of funds of around €615 a month for the visa
- Attestation of accommodation for the visa appointment
Visa and permit
The long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) doubles as a residence permit once validated online within three months of arrival. For Études en France countries the visa appointment is booked through the platform after acceptance, which is why the platform timeline governs everything.
After you graduate
APS, 12 months
The autorisation provisoire de séjour lets master's graduates stay and work for a year while looking for a post matched to their level, with routes into the Talent Passport afterwards.
What they favour
- A coherent academic path explained clearly
- Any French language study, even at B1
- Applicants who respect formal conventions in letters and documents
- Early files, because the platform queue and the interview take weeks
Where applications fail
- Starting the Études en France file late and missing the interview slot
- Submitting translations that are not by a sworn translator
- Assuming English-taught means French is unnecessary for internships
- Budgeting on the old symbolic fee instead of the 2026–27 differentiated rate
Official sources
Rules and dates change, sometimes mid-cycle. These are the pages that carry the authoritative version; if anything here disagrees with them, they are right. Reviewed September 2026.