Top 10 universities in France
Scroll down for the full list of best universities in France
| World University Rank 2022 | France Rank 2022 | University | City |
| =40 | 1 | Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris | Paris |
| =88 | 2 | Sorbonne University | Paris |
| 95 | 3 | Institut Polytechnique de Paris | Paris |
| =117 | 4 | Université Paris-Saclay | Paris |
| 155 | 5 | Université de Paris | Paris |
| 251–300 | 6 | École des Ponts ParisTech | Paris |
| 301–350 | =7 | Aix-Marseille University | Marseille |
| 301–350 | =7 | University of Bordeaux | Bordeaux |
| 301–350 | =7 | École Normale Supérieure de Lyon | Lyon |
| 301–350 | =7 | Montpellier University | Montpellier |
This league table reveals the top ten universities in France, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022.
The 2022 ranking includes 10 institutions in Paris – the most represented city in France – along with other options across the country. This year, 39 French institutions are counted among the top universities in the world.
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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 study abroad country for international students because of its range of high-ranking universities and reasonable tuition fees.
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5. Université de Paris
- The Université de Paris is a very young university, having only been established in 2019.
- There are 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. Université Paris-Saclay
- Université Paris-Saclay has a 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. This model is similar to the one adopted by the University of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, where each college keeps its independence while remaining part of the university.
The university offers a range of undergraduate, master’s and PhD degree programmes in the fields of science and engineering, life and health sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
3. Institut Polytechnique de Paris
- Around 35 per cent of the student body are international students at The Institut Polytechnique de Paris. with 88 different nationalities represented on campus.
- There are 10 faculties on campus, 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.
2. Sorbonne University
- Sorbonne has a number of campuses across Paris, as well as a satellite campus in Abu Dhabi.
- The university 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 the collections 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 2022
Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2022 results
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Find the best universities in France through Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2022 data