Studying engineering, science & maths in France: what you’ll learn

Most science and maths studies at a public university follow the European LMD ladder - Licence (3 years), Master (2 years), Doctorat (3 years) - with progress measured in ECTS credits (a full year is worth 60 ECTS; a Licence ≈ 180, a Master ≈ 120 on top). This is the same credit system used across the European Higher Education Area, which is what makes a year studied in France transferable elsewhere.

What you'll study. A French Licence/Master in maths or a science is typically more mathematical and theory-driven than many Anglo programmes, building from foundations toward specialisation and, in a Master, a research mémoire and lab or company internship. The Doctorat is a 3-year research degree run by a doctoral school.

What it costs (public university). The national registration fees ("droits d'inscription") for 2025–2026 national diplomas are Licence 178 €, Master 254 €, Doctorat 397 € (reduced rate for scholarship cases: 118 € / 166 € / 264 €), plus the CVEC (105 € for 2025–2026). Non-EU students can be subject to higher "differentiated" fees - but a large majority of universities choose to exempt them (see the rankings & system guides for detail).

What you'll study. A French engineering education is a 5-year cycle after the baccalauréat that mixes strong fundamentals (maths, physics, computer science) with an engineering specialisation, project work, and long company internships. The qualification it leads to - the diplôme d'ingénieur - is the defining credential of French engineering.

It is a protected, accredited title. Engineering programmes are accredited by the CTI (Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur), an independent quality-assurance agency founded by French law in 1934. The title is legally protected: "no French institution may award an engineering title without prior accreditation", and misuse is a criminal offence (Art. 433-17 of the Penal Code). So when a school advertises a titre d'ingénieur, that accreditation is a real, checkable guarantee.

It carries the grade de Master. The CTI states that "le grade de master est attaché au diplôme d'ingénieur" - the master's grade is attached to the engineering diploma. In practice that means it sits at Bac+5, gives access to a PhD, and is recognised across the European Higher Education Area. (Accredited schools are published annually by ministerial order in the Journal Officiel.)

Many engineering schools are grandes écoles. A large share of engineering schools belong to the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE), an association created in 1973 grouping ~245 member schools, all State-recognised and awarding a master's-grade diploma.

References: the load-bearing reference here is the system itself - the CTI accreditation, not a single textbook. The required reading list is set by each school's syllabus, so for your specific curriculum, ask your programme.

There are two main routes into a French engineering school, and they shape your first two years very differently.

1. CPGE → concours. The Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles are selective, demanding post-bac courses - normally 2 years - taught inside lycées, in three main streams (scientifique, économique, littéraire). They prepare you for the competitive national entrance exams ("concours") of the grandes écoles and engineering schools. This is the classic, intense academic route: two years of fundamentals, then you compete for a place.

2. Direct admission. Many schools admit students straight after the bac into a "prépa intégrée" - an integrated 5-year cycle internal to the school, with no external concours. A third path is "admission sur titre" / "admissions parallèles" (lateral entry with an existing diploma such as a Licence or BUT), which lets you join later in the cycle.

None is "better" in the abstract: CPGE keeps options open across many schools via the concours; a prépa intégrée gives you a guaranteed school and a smoother path. Per-school rules vary - confirm the exact route on each school's admissions page.

What you'll study. Economics studies how individuals, firms and governments make choices under scarcity, and how those choices aggregate into prices, markets and whole economies. You learn microeconomics (consumer and firm behaviour, supply and demand, competition and market failure) and macroeconomics (growth, unemployment, inflation, money, fiscal and monetary policy), supported by mathematics, statistics and econometrics. A French Licence/Master en sciences économiques is notably more mathematical and theory-driven than many Anglo programmes, and often pairs economics with management (économie-gestion) or with quantitative methods.

Canonical reference. N. Gregory Mankiw - Principles of Economics (Cengage) is the most widely used introductory economics textbook worldwide, known for its "Ten Principles" framing (current editions are the 10th/11th). It is a paid textbook.

Free authoritative resource. CORE Econ - The Economy (FREE, open access). A complete, modern, free introductory economics curriculum built around real-world problems and data, produced by CORE Econ ("a cooperative of knowledge producers committed to free digital access"). The Economy 1.0 remains available; The Economy 2.0 is a two-volume revision (Microeconomics available now; Macroeconomics releasing early 2026). You can read it free online - an excellent self-study companion before or during a French economics degree.

• CORE Econ - The Economy (FREE): core-econ.org · books.core-econ.org/the-economy
• Mankiw, Principles of Economics (paid, publisher page): cengage.com

For economics there is a clear free reference (CORE Econ). For engineering and pure maths, the verified research did not surface a single canonical free textbook - and we will not invent one. In these fields the "canon" is set by your school's syllabus, which is why the load-bearing reference is the system (CTI-accredited diploma, LMD ladder) rather than a book. The honest advice: lean on CORE Econ for economics, and for your engineering or maths reading list, ask your programme for its official bibliography.