Guide

French tuition: tiny for some, differentiated for others, exempt for more than you'd think

By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026

Campus France's 2026-27 figures: public-institution tuition for EU/EEA/Swiss students is €178 a year for a bachelor's, €255 for a master's, €630 for ministry-supervised engineering programmes — with the state funding the €10,000-15,000 real annual cost. Non-EU students face differentiated fees at institutions under the higher-education ministry — but doctoral programmes are outside the differentiated regime, and the exemption list includes long-term residents and two-year French tax residents.

The published tiers

Campus France — the state's own agency — publishes the 2026-27 registration fees for public institutions: €178 per year for a bachelor's programme, €255 for a master's, €630 for an engineering programme under the higher-education ministry (with the Écoles Centrales family carved out), while noting that the real cost of a seat — typically €10,000 to more than €15,000 a year — is carried by the French state. Non-EU/EEA/Swiss students enrolling in bachelor's, master's or engineering programmes at ministry-supervised institutions pay differentiated tuition fees instead; doctoral programmes sit outside the differentiated regime entirely.

Source: Campus France, tuition fees in France 2026-27, read 5 September 2026.

The exemption list our readers should read twice

The differentiated regime has exits, and Campus France lists them: Québec residents; holders of a long-term resident permit; students who have had France as their tax residence — or been attached to a French tax household — for more than two years; refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and their children; and doctoral candidates by programme design. For families already settled in France, that two-year tax-residence line quietly converts a child's fee bill from differentiated back to €178.

Universities can also exempt within quotas — institution pages carry the local practice. The structural picture: France prices its public higher education politically, and residency status is the price lever.

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The student file around the fees

Fees are the smallest line in a French student year — our student insurance guide covers the enrolment-based health side (free via etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr), and the visa-stage guide the fork before it. What differentiated-fee planning really buys is time to check status options against the exemption list:

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Common questions

How much is university tuition in France?

For EU/EEA/Swiss students at public institutions, 2026-27: €178 (bachelor), €255 (master), €630 (engineering) per year, per Campus France — with the state funding the €10,000-15,000 real cost. Non-EU students pay differentiated fees at ministry-supervised institutions.

Who is exempt from France's differentiated fees?

Campus France's list includes long-term resident permit holders, students with French tax residence (or attachment to a French tax household) for more than two years, Québec residents, refugees and subsidiary-protection beneficiaries — and doctoral programmes sit outside the regime.

Do PhD students pay differentiated fees?

No — doctoral programmes are not subject to differentiated tuition fees, per Campus France.