Paris and its region have one of the highest concentrations of universities in France, with a student population of over 730,000 (not counting foreign universities with Paris branches).[1] Paris has 15 universities and is home to a large number of Grandes Écoles (which may be similar to a higher education college), a specialized top level educational institution.[2]
Some of these Grandes Écoles, which are often over a hundred years old, have been grouped together within new major universities, such as PSL University and the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The Saclay University, for its part, has integrated a number of Grandes Écoles. For example, the highly specialised Dauphine University, along with a dozen other Grandes Écoles, forms the collegiate PSL University.
Key (lower numbers are better):
| Short name | Name | Students | QS FR | ARWU FR | OS LW | OS EC | ARWU | THE | Subjects | Academy | |
| Paris Cité | Paris Cité University | 63,000 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 114 | Multidisciplinary | Paris | |
| Sorbonne [5] | Sorbonne University | 56,821 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 90 | Multidisciplinary (except Law and Economics) | Paris | |
| Saclay | Paris-Saclay University | 48,000 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 93 | Science, Engineering, Medicine, Law, Economics | Versailles | |
| Paris-1 | University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne | 45,200 | 9 | — | 1 | 4 | — | — | Arts and Humanities, Social sciences, Economics, Law | Paris | |
| Créteil | Paris-East Créteil University | 32,156 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Medicine, Science | Créteil | |
| Paris-10 | Paris Nanterre University | 32,000 | 32 | — | 7 | 11 | — | — | Social sciences, Law | Versailles | |
| Cergy | CY Cergy Paris University | 26,477 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | Science, Social sciences, Humanities | Versailles | |
| Paris-13 | Sorbonne Paris North University | 25,000 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | Science, Social sciences, Medicine | Créteil | |
| Assas [6] | Panthéon-Assas University Paris | 23,000 | 17 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | Law, Economics, Political science, Media studies | Paris | |
| Sorbonne Nouvelle | University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 | 19,360 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Arts and Humanities | Paris | |
| Paris-8, or Saint-Denis | Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis | 22,023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Social sciences, Arts and Humanities | Créteil | |
| Versailles | University of Versailles | 19,000 | — | 20-22 | — | — | 601-700 | — | Science, Medicine, Law, Social sciences | Versailles | |
| PSL, or Dauphine | PSL University | 17,000 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 40 | 47 | Multidisciplinary | Paris | |
| Gustave-Eiffel | Gustave-Eiffel University | 17,000 | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | Science, Engineering | Créteil | |
| Polytechnique | Polytechnic Institute of Paris | 8,500 | 2 | 13-16 | — | — | 301-400 | 95 | Science, Engineering | Versailles | |
| Évry | University of Évry | 6,458 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Multidisciplinary | Versailles |
In France, the CGE has been labelling and listing the Grandes Écoles since 1973, and now has 238 major institutions specialising in: engineering, management, architecture, political science, creation & design, journalism, military schools, veterinary and health schools, etc.Key (lower numbers are better):
| Sciences Po | Institut d'études politiques de Paris | 15,000 | Public-Private | — | — | — | 3 | 259 | — | Multidisciplinary | Paris | |
| ESCP | École supérieure de commerce de Paris, Sorbonne Alliance | 15,000 | Private, on public funds | 3 | 27 | — | — | — | — | Economics | Paris | |
| HEC | École des hautes études commerciales de Paris | 13,500 | Private, on public funds[10] | 1 | 17 | — | — | — | — | Economics | Versailles | |
| Emlyon | Emlyon Business School | 9,000 | Private | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | Economics | Lyon | |
| Arts et Métiers | École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers de Paris | 6,200 | Public | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | Engineering | Paris | |
| ESSEC | École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales, CY Cergy Paris University | 5,000 | Private | 9 | 70 | — | — | — | — | Economics | Versailles | |
| INSP, or ENA | Institut national du service public, PSL University | 5,000 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | — | Administration | Paris | |
| Centrale Paris | CentraleSupélec, Paris-Saclay University | 4,300 | Public | — | — | 2 | — | 69(Saclay) | 16 (Saclay) | Engineering | Versailles | |
| X | École Polytechnique, Polytechnic Institute of Paris | 3,370 | Public | — | — | 1 | — | 48(IP) | 301-400(IP) | Engineering | Versailles | |
| EHESS | École des hautes études en sciences sociales | 3,000 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | 701-800 | Social sciences | Paris | |
| ENS-PSL | École normale supérieure, PSL University | 2,500 | Public | — | — | — | — | 26(PSL) | 40 (PSL) | Science and Human science | Paris | |
| AgroParisTech | AgroParisTech, Paris-Saclay University | 2,500 | Public | — | — | 11 | — | 69(Saclay) | 16 (Saclay) | Engineering | Versailles | |
| ENS Lyon | École normale supérieure de Lyon, Lyon University Group | 2,500 | Public | — | — | — | — | 187 | 201-300 | Science and Human science | Lyon | |
| ENPC | École nationale des ponts et chaussées, Polytechnic Institute of Paris | 2,000 | Public | — | — | 4 | — | 174 | — | Engineering | Créteil | |
| Télécom Paris | École nationale supérieure des télécommunications, Polytechnic Institute of Paris | 1,700 | Public | — | — | 5 | — | 48(IP) | 301-400(IP) | Engineering | Versailles | |
| ENS Paris-Saclay | École normale supérieure, Paris-Saclay University | 1,500 | Public | — | — | — | — | 69(Saclay) | 16 (Saclay) | Science and Human science | Versailles | |
| ENSA Paris | École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Val de Seine, Paris-Cité University | 1,116 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | — | Architecture | Paris | |
| CELSA | École des hautes études en sciences de l'information et de la communication - CELSA, Sorbonne University | 1,000 | Public | — | — | — | — | 43(SU) | 90(SU) | Communication and journalism | Paris | |
| INSEAD | Institut européen d'administration des affaires, Sorbonne Alliance | 1,000 | Private | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | Economics | Versailles | |
| Mines-PSL | École nationale supérieure des mines, PSL University | 1,000 | Public | — | — | 3 | — | 26(PSL) | 40 (PSL) | Engineering | Paris | |
| IFM | Institut français de la mode | 1,000 | Private | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fashion, luxury goods and design | Paris | |
| Sciences Po Saint-Germain | Institut d'études politiques de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, University of Versailles | 900 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | 601-700(UVSQ) | Multidisciplinary | Versailles | |
| Arts Déco | École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris, PSL University | 700 | Public | — | — | — | — | 26(PSL) | 40 (PSL) | Art and design | Paris | |
| SupOptique | Institut d'optique Graduate School, Paris-Saclay University | 600 | Private | — | — | 11 | — | 69(Saclay) | 16 (Saclay) | Engineering | Versailles | |
| ENSAE Paris | École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique, Polytechnic Institute of Paris | 580 | Public | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | Engineering | Versailles | |
| ENM | École nationale de la magistrature | 500 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | — | Law | Bordeaux | |
| CFJ | Centre de formation des journalistes, Assas University | 400 | Private | — | — | — | — | — | — | Journalism | Paris | |
| Chimie Paris-PSL | École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris, PSL University | 300 | Public | — | — | 8 | — | 26(PSL) | 40 (PSL) | Engineering | Paris | |
| La Fémis | École nationale supérieure des métiers de l'image et du son, PSL University | 200 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | — | Art | Paris | |
| Saint-Cyr | École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr | 170 | Public | — | — | — | — | — | — | Military | Coëtquidan | |
| ENC | École nationale des chartes, PSL University | 100 | Public | — | — | — | — | 26(PSL) | 40 (PSL) | Historical science | Paris |
The universités in Paris are the direct or indirect successors of the University of Paris, divided in 1970.
There are five collegiate universities (Établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel expérimental, or EPSCPE) in the Paris region:
| University | Colleges, schools and Grandes écoles | Associate schools and universities |
|---|---|---|
| PSL University |
| |
| Assas University |
| |
| Paris-Saclay University |
| |
| Polytechnic Institute of Paris | ||
| Paris Cité University | ||
There are five groups of universities and higher education institutions in the Paris region - three of them are COMUEs and two of them are alliances:
| Grouping | Universities | Grandes écoles (Colleges and graduate schools) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorbonne University Alliance | University of Technology of Compiègne | ||
| Sorbonne Paris Cité Alliance | |||
| Université Paris Lumières | |||
| Paris-Est Sup | |||
| HESAM University |
|
Some groups have been terminated, such as Paris Universitas, Paris Centre Universités or UniverSud Paris, and some other are still in discussion.