🇫🇷 How to apply to university in France

Applications go through Parcoursup. Programmes usually start: September.

Checked on 20 October 2026 against the official sources listed below.

The essentials

Application system: ParcoursupThe national platform for first-year undergraduate places. Non-EU applicants with a foreign school-leaving certificate apply for a first-year licence through the prior-admission request (DAP) instead — online via 'Études en France' where their country uses it, otherwise to the French embassy.
When programmes start: September.
International applicants: Non-EU students with a foreign school-leaving certificate apply for a first-year licence through the DAP, via Campus France's 'Études en France' platform in the countries that use it or through the French embassy elsewhere; Parcoursup is for EU applicants and baccalaureate holders.
Language: French at B2 (DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF) for a first-year licence via the DAP; English-taught programmes set their own English requirements.

Key dates

Add all these dates to my calendar (.ics)

Parcoursup's official 2027 calendar wasn't published when we checked. Campus France gives the months: the platform opens in December 2026, registration runs January–March 2027, choices are finalised in April and the main admission phase runs June–July 2027.

Date	What	Who	Intake	Source
1 October 2026 –15 December 2026	Prior-admission request (DAP) for a first-year licence closes	Non-EU/EEA/Swiss applicants with a foreign school-leaving certificate, living abroad	2027–28 academic year	Campus France — Applying through the 'Études en France' procedure
30 April 2027	Universities reply to DAP applicants	DAP applicants	2027–28 academic year	Campus France — Applying through the 'Études en France' procedure
31 May 2027	Applicants must answer the university's offer (no answer counts as a refusal)	DAP applicants	2027–28 academic year	Campus France — Applying through the 'Études en France' procedure

A window shows its opening date above its closing date. Individual universities and programmes can set earlier dates of their own — always confirm on the official page before you rely on a date. The calendar file adds each date as an all-day event with a reminder a week before.

Your checklist

The usual steps for an international student applying to a bachelor's in France, in order. Tick them off as you go — your ticks stay in this browser, with no account.

1.Find your route: Parcoursup (EU/EEA/Swiss applicants and holders of a French or European baccalaureate), the DAP for a first-year licence, or a direct application for other programmes.
2.Choose programmes in the Campus France catalogue — a DAP covers up to three universities.
3.Prove French at B2 (DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF) for a DAP, unless exempt; English-taught programmes may test your English instead.
4.Submit the DAP between 1 October and 15 December 2026 — on 'Études en France' if your country uses it (a service fee applies), otherwise to the French embassy's cultural service.
5.Universities reply by 30 April 2027; answer by 31 May 2027.
6.Apply for a long-stay student visa (VLS-TS); 'Études en France' applicants' files go to the consulate automatically.
7.Arrange housing and health insurance, and validate your visa online within 3 months of arriving.

0 of 7 done · ticks are saved in this browser only

Next steps

Sources

Written by CollegeMatcher in our own words from these official pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Dates change every year.

Campus France — Applying through the 'Études en France' procedure