Sorbonne University (Sorbonne Université)

What Sorbonne University is today

The name goes back to the medieval college of Robert de Sorbon, but the current Sorbonne University was created in 2018 by merging Paris-Sorbonne University (humanities) and Pierre and Marie Curie University (sciences and medicine). It is a public university organized in three faculties: Arts and Humanities, Health, and Science and Engineering. Humanities teaching uses the historic Sorbonne building in the Latin Quarter and several nearby sites, while the sciences are based on the Pierre and Marie Curie campus at Jussieu.

French universities are open-access institutions in principle, but places in popular licences are limited and allocated by a review of applications. Do not expect a campus-style admissions office like in North America; procedures depend on your nationality and the diploma you hold.

Language

Licence programs at Sorbonne University are taught in French. The science faculty lists some courses taught in English, but these are individual courses rather than a full English-taught bachelor degree. To follow lectures and write exams, you need solid academic French, and first-year applicants are asked to show their French level. Check the language proof required for your situation on the Études en France platform and the university page.

How a North American student applies

Campus France confirms that both Canada and the United States are among the 75 countries and territories covered by the Études en France procedure. If you are a national resident of one of those countries and hold a diploma other than a French or European baccalauréat, you apply for the first year of a licence through a demande d’admission préalable (DAP) on the Études en France platform. Your file is reviewed by up to three universities at once.

1. Create your Études en France account. For the 2027/28 intake, registration opened on 1 October 2026; the closing date is in mid-December, so confirm the exact date on Campus France.
2. Choose up to three licences and upload transcripts, diplomas and any French language proof requested.
3. Wait for responses, which arrive before 30 April 2027.
4. Accept an offer before 31 May 2027. No reply counts as a refusal.

Students who hold a French baccalauréat, including those from French lycées in Canada or the US, apply through Parcoursup instead, as do EU nationals.

Fees for 2026/27

The enrolment fee for a licence in 2026/27 is 178 euros, set nationally, plus the CVEC student life contribution paid to the CROUS. Students from outside the EU and EEA may be charged higher differentiated fees under a national decree. Sorbonne University lists Quebec nationals among the students who are not subject to the differentiated fees. On 7 July 2026 the university board voted unanimously that new non-EU students can request a partial or full exemption, and stated it can exempt every eligible applicant who meets its criteria.

Practical tips

• Students from Quebec and francophone parts of Canada can usually meet the language bar more easily; others should plan for a B2 to C1 level.
• A US student with a strong AP or IB record is still assessed as a whole file, so write a clear motivation letter in French.
• You will need a French student visa after admission. Campus France and the French consulate explain the steps.

Brush up with our French A2 deck and the academic writing course, and read the France guide for how Parcoursup and the DAP fit together.