HOW TO APPLY TO A FRENCH INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION?
Depending on your nationality, your residence country, your High school diploma and the level of studies you want to join, the process may differ to apply in a Higher education institution in France.
TIMETABLE OF PROCEDURES
If you want to join the French higher education system for the academic year 2025-2026, here are the important timetables.
Parcoursup (New calendar to follow)
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Opening of the platform : 15th of January 2025
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Complete your list of academic choices and register before : 13th of March 2025
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Last day to fill-up your registration and validate your academic choices : 2nd of April 2025
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University responses and proposal for acceptance : end of May/beginning of June
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End of the main admission phase : 10th of July 2025
DAP – “Demande d’Admission Préalable” (preliminary request for admission)
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Registrations open on the 1st of October 2024
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Registrations close on the 15th of December 2024
Your application will be examined at the same time by the 3 universities you have requested.
- University response and proposals for acceptance : 30th of April 2025
If it occurs, universities will share with you exemptions from which you may benefit. - Student response : until 31st of May 2025
If you have received several acceptance proposals, you will have to make a choice.
Beware, if you do not answer before May 31st, the absence of answer will be considered as a refusal.
CampusArt
This exceptional program makes it possible to submit an online application at different levels of courses in art, design, fashion, music, architecture, etc. and thus gives students from all countries access to artistic training that school managers have. chose to offer via CampusArt. » : www.campusart.org
Registrations open on 1st of October 2024 and close on 28th of February 2025
Feel free to check out the Website of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation to know more.
“PARCOURSUP” TO APPLY IN 1ST YEAR
Parcoursup is the French platform dedicated to registrations in first year of the 1st cycle of Higher Education (1st year fo Bachelor's)
You must follow this process if :
- You are a European student who wants to study in 1st year of Bachelor's ;
- You are a non-European student who graduated from a French baccalauréat in a Lycée Français à l'étranger (French High school abroad) placed under the supervision of the AEFE (Agence Française pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Etranger - Agency for French Education abroad) and you want to join the French Higher Education System in 1st year of Bachelor's ;
- You are a non-European student who wants to register in 1st year of a selective program ("filière sélective"). It is generally the case for IUTs (Instituts Universitaires Technologiques), STS (Sections de Techniciens Supérieur) and preparatory classes to “Grandes Ecoles” (CPGE). Enrolment process for "filières sélectives" is excluded from the DAP procédure (“Demande d'Admission Préalable”, Preliminary request for admission).
THE PRELIMINARY REQUEST FOR ADMISSION (DAP)
The "Demande d'Admission Préalable - DAP" (preliminary request for admission) applies to all foreign students wishing to enrol in the first year of Bachelor's at a university or in school of architecture. It is mandatory for the non-European foreign students.
You must file a request with the department of cooperation and cultural action at the French Embassy in your country of residence. The white files concern enrolment in first-year university; the yellow for first year in a school of architecture.
Complete the procedure as soon as possible. Ideally, in November of the year preceding the academic year you are applying for. Regularly check your personal account on the Campus France site so you don't miss the deadline.
ENROLLING IN AN ARTS PROGRAM
The CampusArt platform is the main entry to enrol in an arts program in France. It covers approximately one hundred institutes offering programs in fine art, design, fashion, music and architecture, from preparatory classes to Doctorate.
The CampusArt application area is accessible from anywhere around the world. Nonetheless, it does not replace the "Etudes en France" procedure in the countries where that applies. A single file is used for applying to several institutes or programs at the same time. The filing fees are only invoiced if you are accepted.
HOW DO YOU CONFIRM YOUR ENROLMENT?
Once your application is accepted, you must confirm your enrolment in your host institution before classes start. For universities, final enrolment includes an administrative component and a pedagogical component. The first consists of filling in your file ; the second involves you choosing a cursus and options (optional classes, sport, etc.).
Your institution will then give you a certificate of school attendance and a student card that attest to your legal status as a student. The documents are given to you in person, after payment of enrolment fees has been received.
