edurank

Best Universities in France 2026

A consensus ranking of 46 universities in France, aggregating QS, THE, ARWU (Shanghai) and U.S. News into one transparent table. Part of our <a href="/rankings/country/">global rankings by country</a> coverage (Europe).

Data verified: June 2026 · Latest published edition of each ranking
How these rankings work: each university's position in QS, THE, ARWU and U.S. News is converted to a percentile, averaged with equal weight, and re-ordered by that average. Only universities appearing in at least one major ranking are shown. Full details on the methodology page.
#University QS 2026THE 2026ARWU 2025U.S. News 2026 Consensus score
1 Paris-Saclay University · Paris 70 · 13 78 97.1
2 PSL University 28 · 34 105 96.6
3 Sorbonne University 72 · 43 · 96.1
4 Université Paris Cité 300 · 60 47 92.2
5 Institut polytechnique de Paris 41 · 201-300 323 85.6
6 Université Grenoble Alpes 321 375 151-200 256 83.7
7 University of Strasbourg 420 · 101-150 333 83.3
8 Montpellier University 430 450 151-200 233 81.7
9 Aix Marseille University 428 · 151-200 · 80.5
10 University of Bordeaux 494 450 201-300 292 78.3
11 Ecole Normale Superieure - Lyon 205 325 301-400 645 76.5
12 Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse 3) 587 · 301-400 310 73.4
13 Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 587 700 201-300 340 73.4
14 Institut Agro · 450 · 625 73.1
15 University of Lorraine 751-760 · 201-300 455 71.5
16 Nantes Université · 700 · 445 71.4
17 Panthéon-Sorbonne University – Paris 1 257 900 · · 71.1
18 Université Côte d'Azur 688 700 · 360 70.9
19 University of Lille 654 700 401-500 349 67.5
20 University of Côte d'Azur 688 · 401-500 360 67.5
21 University of Rennes · · 401-500 504 64.9
22 University of Rennes 1 711-720 700 · · 64.6
23 IMT Atlantique · 450 · 1072 62
24 University of Nantes 851-900 · 501-600 · 50.6
25 Université de Bretagne Occidentale 1001-1200 900 · · 50
26 Toulouse Capitole University 1001-1200 · 401-500 1736 37.7
27 University Savoie Mont Blanc · 1100 801-900 951 37.5
28 University of Toulouse 1201-1400 550 · 2062 35.8
29 University of Clermont Auvergne · 1100 701-800 · 35
30 University of Poitiers 1201-1400 1350 801-900 1009 33
31 École Centrale de Lyon · 900 · 1924 29.4
32 Arts et Métiers · 900 · 1967 28.3
33 University of Picardie Jules Verne · · 901-1000 1134 24.1

About France higher education

Universities in France are included in major global rankings including QS, THE, ARWU and U.S. News. The consensus scores above provide a balanced view by averaging across these four systems.

Data sources

QS World University Rankings 2026QS Quacquarelli Symonds · Jun 2025 · official release
THE World University Rankings 2026Times Higher Education · Oct 2025 · official release
ARWU 2025ShanghaiRanking Consultancy · Aug 2025 · official release
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026U.S. News & World Report · official release
Cite this page:
EduRank (2026). Best Universities in France 2026. Retrieved June 2026, from https://edurank.co/rankings/country/fr/
Independence statement: EduRank accepts no payment, sponsorship or commission from any university or ranking publisher.