For many students, attending one of the universities in France is a dream waiting to happen. With its rich culture, history, and cuisine, the famed European country is high on many aspiring student lists.
However, it’s no secret that living in France, or its capital city of Paris, is expensive.
This might make navigating student life doubly difficult.
Students already have many costs to manage, such as tuition fees and rent — which are rising due to academic inflation by the day. Adding the inflationary increase in living expenses would only add to this burden.
Enter tuition-free or discounted universities in France. These are institutions that either charge low fees or do not charge students fees at all. The best part? This extends to international students, too.
Still, everything comes with a cost
Tuition fees in France are much, much higher for non-EU/EEA students. This was implemented in 2019, when the French government decided to introduce differentiated tuition fees for non-EU students enrolling in higher education, whether for a bachelor’s degree or beyond.
While the cost of learning in France is still much lower than in the UK, Canada, the US, and Australia, the 2026 to 2027 academic year will still see an increase in tuition fees for non-EU students, at a rate that’s about 16 times higher than what they were before — so do keep that in mind.
While we went ahead and listed the most updated information we could find, it’s important to look into each university seperately, as they all have different methods of approaching tuition fees for non-EU students.
There are exceptions to the differentiated tuition fees, however, which you can check out here.
7 affordable, yet prestigious universities in France
1. National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations
Located in Paris, the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (Inalco) is one of the few public universities in France that centres on the teaching of languages and cultures around the world.
The institute offers bachelor’s degrees, doctorates, and even institutional diplomas, boasting a diversity of over 100 languages and civilizations for students to explore. Though the university is small — there are only around 9,000 students and 3,000 teaching staff — they consist of over 120 nationalities altogether, forming a vibrant and varied community.
Here, for non-EU students, it costs2,902 euros (US$3,350.17) per year for a bachelor’s degree and 3,950 euros (US$4,560.02) per year for a master’s degree.
2. École Normale Supérieure de Lyon
École Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Lyon is an elite French public institution that trains professors, researchers, senior civil servants, and business and political leaders. It is part of Université de Lyon and is one of the country’s four prestigious higher education institutions. It ranks #235 on the QS World University Rankings 2027.
The school offers a range of English-taught and French-taught master’s programmes, has 214 partner universities in 54 countries, and 78 nationalities on campus, with international students forming 16% of the community.
Annual tuition fees here cost around 255 euros (US$294.38) per year for master’s programmes.
3. Université Grenoble Alpe
Located in Grenoble, which has a significantly cheaper cost of living than Paris, Université Grenoble Alps is the third largest university in France. Its community of 60,000 students includes about 150 different nationalitiesand welcomes nearly 6,000 international students yearly.
They offer various English programmes, including those in STEM, humanities and social sciences, arts and languages, law, economics, political science, and more. French programmes, of course, are offered too.
For tuition fees, undergraduates pay178 euros (US$205.49) annually, master’s students pay 254 euros (US$293.23), PhD students pay 397 euros (US$458.31), and engineering degree students pay 628 euros (US$724.99) — though this is mainly applied to EU students. Non-EU students are subject to differentiated tuition fees, unless they ask for an exemption.
4. University of Strasbourg
Ranked within the top 500 of the QS World University Rankings 2027, the international students at the University of Strasbourg represent 20% of the student population. Each year, students from over 150 countries come to study within the university’s halls, making Strasbourg one of France’s top cities for international students.
The university has four schools for you to choose from across its undergraduate and postgraduate offerings: Arts, Letters, Languages; Law, Economics and Management and Political and Social Sciences; Science, Technology, Health; and Humanities and Social Sciences.
For European students, tuition fees rarely exceed 700 euros (US$808.12) per academic year. A bachelor’s degree will cost 178 euros (US$205.49) per year, a master’s 255 euros (US$294.38), a doctoral 398 euros (US$459.47), and an engineering degree will come up to 630 euros (US$727.30) a year. It is, however, much pricier for non-EU/EEA students, so do keep that in mind.
Being in Paris is nice and all, but other parts of France are just as beautiful too. Better yet, they’re definitely cheaper to live in.
5. Sorbonne University
Sorbonne University is a top public institution in France, ranking #73 on the QS WorldUniversity Rankings 2027. It’s located in Paris, and its reputation for being one of the most prestigious universities in Europe has attracted over 11,500 international students.
It has three faculties: arts and humanities, science and engineering, and medicine. They currently only offer English-taught postgraduate programmes, though they have a range of French undergraduate programmes you could opt for too.
For the 2026 to 2027 academic year, the tuition fees, also known as enrolment fees or university fees, is 178 euros (US$205.49) for bachelor’s degrees, 255 euros (US$294.39) for master’s degrees, 398 euros (US$459.48) for doctoral programmes, and 630 euros (US$727.31) for engineering programmes. Non-EU students are subject to differentiated fees.
6. University of Clermont Auvergne
Locatedin the heart of France, the University of Clermont Auvergne is an internationally focused institution that develops educational programmes for the global citizen. It has signed numerous international agreements with corresponding universities, allowing thousands of students worldwide to travel to its campus on an exchange or similar programme.
They offer a range of English programmes, including law and engineering, as well as a variety of French-taught programmes. The university’s FLEURA centre welcomes foreigners who want to learn French and deepen their knowledge of the language and French culture, both in regular education and continuing education.
As ofits last update, international students pay only 178 euros (US$205.50) for a bachelor’s degree, while those enrolling in master’s programmes pay 254 euros (US$293.24).
Studying in universities in France that aren’t in Paris also means you might get a chance to catch the iconic Tour de France in its different locations.
7. University of Orléans
The University of Orléans is located less than two hours outside of Paris and is part of ATHENA European University 2024, an alliance of ten Higher Education and Research Institutions throughout Europe.
The University of Orléans is inherently multidisciplinary. They have three colleges (referred to as Training and Research Units), one engineering school, four University Institutes of Technology, one National Institute of Higher Education, one University Science of the Universe Observatory, one physiotherapy school, and one medical training department.
Non-EU students in the undergraduate programmes are required to pay 2902 euros (US$3,349.95) per year. Master’s degree students pay 3950 euros (US$4,559.72), and postgraduate students pay 398 euros (US$459.44). If you’re studying engineering, you’ll also be required to pay 2902 euros (US$3,349.95) per year.
Disclaimer: This article was last updated on August 6, 2026.
