Education in France is divided between mostly-private grandes écoles and public universities. Grandes écoles are considered more prestigious than universities (tellingly, the term literally means “great schools”, “elite schools”), and they are generally much more selective than other higher education institutions. Universities considered as Grand_Établissement are also very well recognized. They belong to the public system, and carry out a large part of French academic research.
A striking trait of French higher education, compared with other countries, is the small size and multiplicity of establishments, each specialized in a more or less broad spectrum of areas. A middle-sized French city, such as Grenoble or Nancy, may have 2 or 3 universities (focused on science or sociological studies), and also a number of engineering and other specialized higher education establishments. In Paris and its suburbs there are 13 universities, none of which is specialized in one area or another, and a large number of smaller institutions which are highly specialized.
It is not uncommon for graduate teaching programmes (master’s degrees, the course part of PhD programmes etc.) to be operated in common by several institutions, allowing the institutions to present a larger variety of courses.
In engineering schools, a large share of the teaching staff is often made up of non-permanent professors; instead, part-time professors are hired to teach one specific point only. These part-time professors are generally hired from neighbouring universities, research institutes, or industries.
Another original feature of the French higher education system is that a large share of the scientific research is not done by universities, but by research establishments such as CNRS or INSERM. In many cases, the research units of those establishments are installed inside universities (or other higher education establishments), and jointly operated by the research establishment and the university.
Intakes: The major intake in France is September and February.