Prsentation PowerPoint

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CampusFrance
Higher education in France
December 2008
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Contents
Higher education in France
Presentation for international students slides
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Institutional presentation slides
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Key figures 
Growth in international student enrollment in
French institutions of higher education since 1998

• Frances system of higher education enrolls more
  than 2.2 million students.
• 260,000 come from outside France and make up 12
  of postsecondary enrollments.
• By comparison, internationals are 14 of British
  and 13 of German enrollments.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Institutions of higher education
More than 3,500 postsecondary institutions-public
and private-operate in France
88 universities and affiliated institutions (accou
nting for 70 of enrollments)
224 engineering schools (1/4 university-affiliated
)
220 schools of business and management (90
confer degrees recognized by the government)
120 schools of art
20 schools of architecture
3,000 other schools and institutes
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
A European qualifications framework

• French higher education is divided into 3 stages
  in accord with the
• harmonized European system. The stages are marked
  by degrees
• licence (bachelor), master, doctorate (LMD).
• The time to degree is measured in terms of
  semesters of study and
• corresponding ECTS credits.
• Licence (L) 6 semesters 180 ECTS credits
• Master (M) 4 semesters 120 ECTS credits
• Doctorate (D) 3 or more years following the
  master (not expressed in ECTS credits)
• ECTS, the European Credit Transfer System, is a
  common European
• System of cumulable, transferable credits that
  reflect the time a student
• has spent in higher education.
• The system facilitates intra-European mobility of
  students over their
• academic career.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Postsecondary degrees in France
Source MESR
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
The nations universities

• All of Frances 83 universities and affiliated
  institutions are public.
• The universities are comprehensive, covering all
  disciplines.
• Of the 1.4 million students enrolled, 70,000 are
  doctoral candidates.
• Any student holding a French baccalauréat or
  equivalent diploma may enroll in the first year
  of university study. Enrollment is open.
• The universities award so-called national
  diplomas-licence, master, doctorate-as well as
  other degrees specific to each institution.
• Many university degree programs have a
  professional orientation-among them the DUT, the
  licence professionnelle, the professional master,
  and teacher-training programs.
• International students wishing to study medicine
  in France are subject to special requirements.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
The grandes écoles

• The postsecondary institutions known as grandes
  écoles may be public
• or private. They include schools of engineering,
  the écoles normales
• supérieures, the institutes of political science,
  schools of business and
• management, veterinary colleges, and other
  specialized schools.
• Admission is highly selective. Most students are
  admitted after 2 years of preparatory study based
  on (i) their performance on an entrance exam or
  (ii) their academic record. Schools that offer
  the preparatory curriculum in-house admit
  students directly out of secondary school.
• Schools recognized by the French government
  confer a degree that represents 5 years of
  postsecondary study. Some of these degrees (e.g.,
  the nationally regulated engineering degree) are
  the equivalent of a European master.
• Programs require 3 to 7 years to complete.
• Private grandes écoles are more expensive than
  public.
• 285,000 students are enrolled in the nations 584
  grandes écoles.

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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Other postsecondary schools and specialized
institutes

• Complementing the offerings of the universities
  and grandes écoles,
• more than 3,000 tuition-charging institutions,
  public and private,
• offer postsecondary degrees in specific
  disciplines.
• Free-standing schools and institutes specialize
  in health, paramedicine, media, communication,
  journalism, social work, fashion, design,
  tourism, cooking, military arts, agriculture,
  agronomy, and political science, among others.
• These institutions confer state-sanctioned
  diplomas as well as other degrees and
  certificates that are not recognized or regulated
  by the government.
• Some programs require as few as 2 years, others
  as many as 5.
• Admission is by examination or on the basis of
  the applicants background and academic record.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Doctoral training

• A doctorate requires 3 years of study beyond the
  master (or
• equivalent degree). Doctoral training occurs in
  doctoral
• departments within institutions of higher
  education and
• research.
• Throughout France, there are
• nearly 300 doctoral departments and 70,000
  candidates
• 10,000 dissertations defended each year.
• The comprehensive catalog of doctoral programs
  available at
• www.campusfrance.org includes all doctoral
  programs and
• their research units, which number nearly 3,000.
  A search engine
• that employs multiple criteria helps users find
  the information they
• need.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Doctoral departments

• All doctoral departments operate under the
  authority of one or more
• institutions of higher education. Each brings
  together a set of distinct
• research teams that oversee the academic work of
  doctoral candidates with
• an eye to their future career in research.
• In the department, candidates enjoy collegial
  support for their scientific work, as well as
  help in planning and preparing for postdoctoral
  work.
• The faculty of the doctoral departments supervise
  candidates in the preparation of their
  dissertation.
• Most departments are quite international, thanks
  to inter-institutional agreements that allow
  candidates to carry out their research work in
  more than one institution, often earning a joint
  degree.
• The departments are assessed every 4 years by the
  Agence dÉvaluation de lEnseignement supérieur
  et de la Recherche, which publishes its
  evaluations at www.aeres-evaluation.fr.

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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Scientific research

• Scientific research in France is organized as
  follows
• Research is conducted by universities and other
  higher education institutions, and by national
  research bodies (CNRS, INSERM, INRA, etc.).
• Most research units are mixed-that is, they
  represent the combined efforts and resources of
  universities and research bodies.
• Research units are assessed every 4 years by the
  Agence d Évaluation de lEnseignement supérieur
  et de la Recherche, which publishes its
  assessments online at www.aeres-evaluation.fr.
• Corporate research development departments also
  carry out significant research.

French research by the numbers Research and
development accounted for 2.16 of GDP in 2005-an
expense of 37 billion. 96,000 research
personnel, including research faculty, are active
in publicly funded research. 360,000 people are
engaged in research-related activity (44 in the
public sector 56 in firms) 70,000 doctoral
candidates are enrolled in the nations doctoral
departments 10,000 doctorates are awarded each
year. Source MESR
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Recent developments

• The nations higher education and research
  efforts have undergone
• important changes in recent years. Public support
  for education and
• research is expected to rise by 10 to 15
  billion between
• 2010 and 2015.
• New legislation on academic freedom and
  responsibility is increasing the autonomy of
  universities.
• Under Operation Campus, proposals have been
  solicited to improve university facilities and
  thereby increase the dynamism of campus life. Of
  the 10 projects approved to date, 7 are
  categorized as promising models and 4 as
  innovative approaches.
• Higher education and research efforts have been
  realigned through the creation of PRES (research
  and higher education clusters), RTRAs (thematic
  networks for advanced research), RTRS (thematic
  networks for medical research), and
  competitiveness clusters.

CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
New legislation affecting the universities

• A new law setting forth the freedoms and
• responsibilities of the nations universities was
• passed in August 2007.
• The law has two main goals
• To make the universities more autonomous
• To endow them with resources equal to those of
  equivalent institutions in other OECD countries.

Map of the 20 autonomous universities
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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
The first 20 autonomous universities (as of
January 1, 2009)
Source MESR, July 2008
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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Research and higher education clusters (PRES)

• A new system of research and education clusters
  was adopted by law
• in April 2006 to end the splintering of
  university activity, especially
• research.
• What are the PRES, and what do they do?
• They are tools for the sharing of research
  resources, assets, and tasks among public and
  private institutions of higher education in a
  given region.
• A given PRES may coordinate the doctoral
  departments within its purview, harmonize related
  activities within new structures, reinforce
  academic and research partnerships, and
  commercialize research findings in cooperation
  with industry.
• PRES enable institutions of higher education and
  research to operate at a scale that heightens
  their international visibility and reputation.

Map of the PRES
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
The PRES as of June 2008
Source MESR (diagram by MESR-SG-DEPP)
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Operation Campus

• Launched in February 2008, Operation Campus is a
  national program
• for the renovation of university facilities.
  Through a massive investment,
• it will elevate Frances university campuses to
  the highest
• international standards.
• 10 projects have been selected based on the
  following 4 criteria
• scientific and educational scope and reach
• degree of urgency in the need for renovation of
  facilities
• the potential to provide student housing
• the likely impact of the project for the region,
  considered in light of its potential to
  complement competitiveness clusters, research
  networks, and the efforts of local governments.

A map of Operation Campus
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
10 projects chosen for Operation Campus
Source MESR, July 2008
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Competitiveness clusters

• The policy of organizing competitiveness
  clusters, introduced
• in September 2004, was designed to strengthen
  Frances
• industrial competitiveness through investment in
  sites where
• industrial and research activities are
  concentrated.
• The specific goals of the competitiveness
  clusters are
• to reinforce linkages between industry and
  research and between industry and education
• to stimulate the cooperative pursuit of
  innovation
• to encourage and sustain initiatives conceived by
  the economic and academic actors of a given
  region.
• 71 competitiveness clusters have been formed in
  France.
• Of these, 7 are global clusters, 10 aspire to
  global status,
• and 54 are national.

A map of the clusters
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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
17 competitiveness clusters of global scope and
reach
Angers, Végépolys (specialized plants) Brest, Mer
Bretagne (ocean-related activities) Grenoble,
Minalogic (nanotechnologies) Lannion, Images and
networks (new imaging and networking
technologies) Laon, Industries and agro-resources
(commercialization of nonfood applications of
plants) Lille, I-Trans (transport
innovation) Lyon, Lyonbiopôle (health) Lyon,
Axelera (chemistry and environment) Paris,
Financial innovation (industrial applications and
research in the financial sector) Paris, Cap
Digital Paris Région (digital technologies) Paris,
System_at_tic Paris Région (design, building, and
mastery of complex systems) Paris, Medicen Paris
Région (advanced technologies for health and new
therapies) Rouen, Moveo (individual and
collective transportation) Sophia
Antipolis-Rousset, Secure Communication Solutions
(new technologies for data security and
reliability) Strasbourg, Therapeutic Innovations
(robotics, new medicines) Toulon, Mer PACA
(sustainable development and security) Toulouse,
Aerospace Valley (aeronautics, space, and
embedded systems)
CampusFranceA national agency for the
promotionof French higher education abroad
Source DGE/DIACT, May 2008
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
Thematic networks for advanced research (RTRAs)

• Frances thematic networks for advanced research,
  established under
• research-support legislation in 2006, are
  designed to promote the
• emergence and growth in France of science sites
  that will be recognized
• as world leaders in their fields.
• The RTRAs assemble highly qualified researchers
  in a small core of geographically proximate
  research units to pursue a shared strategy and
  common goals.
• The RTRAs provide research training while also
  performing scientific research.
• 13 RTRAs have been in operation since 2007.

Map of the 13 networks
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promotionof French higher education abroad
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CampusFrance - Higher education in France
The 13 thematic networks for advanced research
(RTRAs)
Source MESR, 2007
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promotionof French higher education abroad
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