The top 56 best universities in France: 2025 rankings

Top ranked universities in France

University	QS Ranking 2026	THE Ranking 2025	ARWU Ranking 2024
Université PSL	28	42	33
École Polytechnique	41	71	301
Université Paris-Saclay	70	64	12
Sorbonne University	72	76	41
ENS de Lyon	205	251	301
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne	257	801	–
Université Paris Cité	300	183	60
Université Grenoble Alpes	321	351	101
Sciences Po	367	601	–
INSA Lyon	406	601	–
University of Strasbourg	420	–	101
Aix-Marseille University	428	401	101
University of Montpellier	430	351	151
University of Bordeaux	494	401	201
Université Paul Sabatier	587	–	301
Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University	587	401	201
University of Lille	654	601	301
Université Côte d’Azur	688	601	401
Université de Rennes 1	711	601	401
Université de Lorraine	751	601	201
Université de Nantes	851	601	501
University of Franche-Comté	851	1201	–
CY Cergy Paris University	951	801	–
Université Sorbonne Paris Nord	1001	–	–
University of Western Brittany	1001	801	–
Toulouse 1 Capitole University	1001	–	301
Université Lumière Lyon 2	1001	–	–
University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas	1001	–	–
University of Limoges	1201	–	–
University of Caen Normandy	1201	–	–
Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3	1201	–	–
University Toulouse - Jean Jaurès	1201	–	–
University of Poitiers	1201	1001	901
Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University	1201	1501	–
University Paris Nanterre	1201	1201	–
University of Orléans	–	1001	–
University of Tours	–	1001	–
INSA Strasbourg	–	1201	–
Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France	–	1201	–
La Rochelle Université	–	1201	–
University of Rouen Normandy	–	1201	–
Université de Bourgogne	–	–	801
INSA Toulouse	–	–	801
University Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)	–	–	701
University of Technology of Troyes	–	1201	–
University of Angers	–	1201	–
University of Clermont Auvergne	–	801	601
University of Technology of Compiègne	–	1201	–
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle	–	1501	–
Université Savoie Mont Blanc	–	801	801
Arts et Métiers	–	801	–
University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour	–	1501	–
Institut Agro	–	351	–
Centrale Nantes	–	501	–
ENTPE	–	601	–
École Centrale de Lyon	–	601	–

Explained: How do the university rankings work?

The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).

The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.

Summary: Top 10 universities

Top 10 best universities in France

Study in France

Thanks to world-leading universities and tuition-free education at public institutions, France is one of the most popular student host countries in the world. Many French universities have increased the number of English-taught degree programmes in recent years. Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Social Studies - in France, you can study virtually any subject in English.