13 foreign students in higher education

In higher education in France, 295,100 students are foreign nationals, or one student in eight. Over the last ten years, foreign students account for almost a third (29%) of growth in student numbers. Three quarters of foreign students study at university. Proportionally there are more foreign students in the Master's (18%) and PhD (41%) programmes than in the Bachelor's degree (11%).

From 2003 to 2013, the number of foreign students in higher education in France increased from 244,300 to 295,100, a rise of 21%. This growth accounts for 29% of the total increase (+8%) in student numbers in higher education for this period: without it, total student numbers would have increased by only 6%. The number of foreign students in 2013 was an increase of 2.2% over the 2012 figure, a slightly higher rise than for total student numbers (1.8%).

Over this ten-year period, the proportion of foreign nationals in the student population rose from 11% to 12% (chart 13.01). This increase does not concern the advanced technician's section (Section de technicien supérieur - STS) or classes preparing students for admission to Grandes Écoles (Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles – CPGE), where the proportion of foreign students remained very low (3%). The increase was highest in business schools and engineering schools (between 3 and 5 percentage points). In universities, change was at a more moderate pace (+1 point). In 2013, numbers of foreign students on these courses were above the average, with a maximum of 16% in business schools and 15% in universities (11% studying for Bachelor's degrees, 18% for Master's and 41% for PhDs).

Three-quarters of foreign students were enrolled at universities, compared with 60% of French students. In the universities, the proportion of foreign students who do not hold a French baccalauréat but who have an equivalent diploma has risen by more than 20 points in the last 15 years. Today it stands at almost 80%, which gives a good indication of the attractiveness of French universities abroad (table 13.02).

Almost half of foreign students were Africans (43% in 2013), although this percentage has fallen back over the last ten years (chart 13.03). This drop was due mainly to the downturn in the number of students from Morocco: they remained the largest contingent of foreigners, but the percentage of Moroccan students dropped from 14.3% in 2003 to 11.5% in 2013. The proportion of Asian students increased rapidly with the Chinese now the second most numerous nationality, accounting for 10.2% of foreign students, against 4.5% in 2003. A quarter of foreign students came from a country within the Bologna process.

In universities, foreign students tended to enrol mainly in PhD programmes (12% of them against 3% of French students) and Master's programmes (44% against 34%). However there were differences according to geographic origin (chart 13.04). For example, more than 16% of Asian and American students were enrolled in PhD programmes, compared with fewer than 8% of African students (excluding the Maghreb).

Choices of study area differed between French and foreign students and also by nationality among the foreign students (chart 13.05). Like university students in general, almost a third of foreign students chose the Arts and Humanities study track. It was in the Economics, Economic and social administration and University technology institute (Institut universitaire de technologie - IUT) subject areas that there were greater differences: in 2013, 20% of foreign students chose the Economics, Economic and social administration study track compared with 11% of French students. Students from the Maghreb chose healthcare studies in almost the same proportion as French students (11% and 16% respectively), whereas few of the other foreign students chose this study track. They also preferred sciences: more than a third of Maghreb students enrolled in sciences compared with a quarter of foreign students overall. Lastly, more than half of American students enrolled in Arts, Humanities and Social sciences compared with less than a third of foreign students overall.

Laurence Dauphin