France has given the world some of its top universities, including Paris-Sud University, which is particularly renowned for excellence in maths and science.
While the university’s legacy stretches back hundreds of years, its current incarnation as Paris-Sud University only took place in 1971. It was originally part of the historic University of Paris.
The south of Paris became a centre of scientific research following World War Two, as large facilities on the outskirts of the city were needed to accommodate equipment for physics and chemistry experiments.
When the ancient University of Paris split into 13 autonomous parts, Paris-Sud became its own university, and its wealth of state of the art equipment naturally led to its specialism in the sciences.
Now, Paris-Sud graduates benefit from one of the top employment rates for any French university.
Some of France’s top laboratories are part of the university. They include specialist research facilities in the fields of particle physics, nuclear physics, electronics and nanoscience.
Paris-Sud University has the largest campus in France. More than 40 different sports are accommodated at the campus facilities. It’s also one of the only universities in the world to have its own horse riding centre.
International students are encouraged to make friends through the universities two schemes: Tandem, which buddies up international and French students, and Friends of the Campus, which enables meetings with locals from Orsay.
Orsay itself is a tranquil and historic town on the banks of the Yvette River. The many attractions of central Paris are just 40 minutes away by train.
The Université Paris-Sud is a public institution that was founded in 1970. The university has five campuses located in the southern suburbs of Paris. The main campus is in Orsay, some 20 miles from the Paris city center. In a recent year, around 30,000 students attended the university, and roughly 45 percent of them studied at the undergraduate level. Approximately 16 percent of the student body was international during that period, with students hailing from around 125 different countries. Students pay admission fees that vary by degree level but do not pay tuition, with a small handful of exceptions. This is also the case at other public universities in France. Students can apply for housing through CROUS, a public organization that manages accommodations and other services for university students in the region.
The university has academic divisions focused on law, economics and management; medicine; pharmacy; science; and sport sciences. The institution also has three university institutes of technology – Cachan IUT, Sceaux IUT and Orsay IUT – and a school of engineering. The academic calendar at the Université Paris-Sud is semester-based, and the primary language of instruction is French, although some degree programs are taught in English. Among the English-taught offerings are master's programs in biology, physics and computer science. Research at the Université Paris-Sud takes place in more than 70 laboratories, and undergraduates can work as student assistants in university labs. Food and agriculture, pharmacy and nanosciences are among the institution's key research areas.
