Best universities in France 2023

Top 10 universities in France

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in France

France Rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City
1	47	Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris	Paris
2	90	Sorbonne University	Paris
3	93	Université Paris-Saclay	Paris
4	=95	Institut Polytechnique de Paris	Paris
5	=114	Université Paris Cité	Paris
6	251–300	École des Ponts ParisTech	Paris
=7	301–350	Aix-Marseille University	Marseille
=7	301–350	University of Bordeaux	Bordeaux
=7	301–350	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Lyon
=7	301–350	Montpellier University	Montpellier

This league table reveals the top 10 universities in France, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.

This year, 39 French institutions are counted among the top universities in the world. The 2023 ranking includes 11 institutions in Paris – the most represented city in France.

---

Europe’s best universities
Best universities in the United States
Best universities in the UK
Best universities in Germany 
Best universities in Australia
Best universities in Canada
Best universities in the world

---

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.

---

Working on a student visa in France
Everything international students need to know about student visas in France
The cost of studying at a university in France
The 10 most beautiful universities in Europe
International perspective: a Serbian student in France
A day in the life of a student in France

---

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. 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: École Polytechnique, ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Télécom Paris and Télécom SudParis. The admissions process is very selective. 

3. Université Paris-Saclay

Université Paris-Saclay has a long history dating back to 1150 when the 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.

2. 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).

Sorbonne University is a public research university in Paris. It was established in 2018 through the merger of Paris-Sorbonne University, 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. 

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 Cambridge, UCL, Peking University and National Taiwan University. 

---

Best universities in France 2023

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2023 results

France Rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City
1	47	Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris	Paris
2	90	Sorbonne University	Paris
3	93	Université Paris-Saclay	Paris
4	=95	Institut Polytechnique de Paris	Paris
5	=114	Université Paris Cité	Paris
6	251–300	École des Ponts ParisTech	Paris
=7	301–350	Aix-Marseille University	Marseille
=7	301–350	University of Bordeaux	Bordeaux
=7	301–350	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Lyon
=7	301–350	Montpellier University	Montpellier
11	351–400	IMT Atlantique	Brest
=12	401–500	Claude Bernard University Lyon 1	Lyon
=12	401–500	Université Grenoble Alpes	Grenobles
=12	401–500	Institut Agro	Paris
=15	501–600	Centrale Nantes	Nantes
=15	501–600	University of Côte d’Azur	Nice
=15	501–600	École des Mines de Saint-Étienne	Saint-Étienne
=15	501–600	Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées	Toulouse
=15	501–600	University of Lille	Lille
=15	501–600	Sciences Po	Paris
=21	601–800	Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (UBFC)	Besançon
=21	601–800	ENSTA Bretagne	Brittany
=21	601–800	University of Lorraine	Nancy
=21	601–800	University of Nantes	Nantes
=21	601–800	University of Strasbourg	Strasbourg
=26	801–1000	University of Clermont Auvergne	Clermont-Ferrand
=26	801–1000	CY Cergy Paris University	Cergy-Pontoise
=26	801–1000	National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA Lyon)	Lyon
=26	801–1000	École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (ENTPE)	Vaulx-en-Velin
=26	801–1000	Panthéon-Sorbonne University – Paris 1	Paris
=26	801–1000	University of Rennes 1	Rennes
=32	1001–1200	Arts et Métiers	Paris
=32	1001–1200	École Centrale de Lyon	Lyon
=32	1001–1200	IMT Nord Europe	Nantes
=35	1201–1500	Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France	Valenciennes
=35	1201–1500	Lumière University, Lyon 2	Lyon
=35	1201–1500	Paris Nanterre University	Nanterre
=35	1201–1500	University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour	Pau
=35	1201–1500	Université Sorbonne Nouvelle	Paris
=35	1201–1500	University of Technology of Compiègne	Compiègne
=35	1201–1500	University of Technology of Troyes	Troyes
42	1501+	Jean Moulin University – Lyon 3	Lyon