University in France
Cergy, Île-de-France, France
University profile
CY Cergy Paris University (CY Cergy Paris Université) is a multidisciplinary public university in the Cergy-Pontoise conurbation, in the Val-d'Oise department north-west of Paris. Founded in 1991 as the University of Cergy-Pontoise, it educates more than 26,000 students from post-secondary level to doctorate, and in 2025 it was granted the status of Grand Établissement. Its stated vision rests on academic excellence, an international outlook and a strong presence in its region.
Cergy-Pontoise is the administrative capital of Val-d'Oise, a conurbation of 216,000 inhabitants about 25 kilometres from Paris. The university is spread over eleven towns, with Cergy-Pontoise as the main campus and further sites at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Gennevilliers, Sarcelles, Antony, Argenteuil, Versailles, Suresnes, Évry and Pau.
Teaching is organised in faculties, schools and institutes: the CY faculté de droit (more than 3,100 students), the faculté des études internationales et interculturelles (FE2I), CY lettres et sciences humaines (departments of literature, geography and history), CY Tech (the graduate school for engineering, economics-management, and science and technology, with an Institut économie-gestion and an Institut sciences et techniques), the IUT de Cergy-Pontoise (nine teaching departments), CY EPSS (social work), CY ILEPS (sport and education), CY INSEI (inclusive education), the INSPÉ de l'académie de Versailles (teacher training) and Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which recruits by national competitive examination in the first and fourth years.
CY Cergy Paris University leads CY Alliance, a network of 12 institutions with about 41,000 students, which includes ESSEC Business School, ENSEA, ECAM-EPMI, EBI, ENSAPC, ENSA Versailles, ENSP, ESIEE-IT, ISAE-Supméca, ISIPCA and SUP de V. In 2020 it became an experimental public institution (EPE), supported by the I-Site CY Initiative in partnership with ESSEC and the CNRS, a status confirmed by an international panel in 2022. It belongs to the EUTOPIA European university alliance.
Student life includes more than 90 student associations, a 38-member student parliament, student jobs on campus, a student health service, a disability support service (SAEH) and a university sports service (SUAPS) offering more than 40 activities.
International students number 4,764, and the university has more than 550 partners in 86 countries, including over 260 Erasmus+ partners. It has held the Bienvenue en France label since 2019 (two stars, renewed in 2024 and valid until 2029) and the HRS4R human resources label for researchers. The French Language Centre, founded in 2002 and holding the French as a Foreign Language quality label, offers courses at all CEFR levels.
National registration fees are €178 for a Licence, €255 for a Master and €398 for a doctorate or HDR. Non-EU international students covered by the ministerial decree of 19 April 2019 pay differentiated fees of €2,902 for a Licence year or an integrated preparatory cycle for an engineering degree, and €3,950 for a Master year or an engineering cycle year. A partial exemption (payment of national fees instead of differentiated fees) can be requested through [email protected], is decided by an exemption committee, and may be refused. Full exemption from registration fees is granted to holders of the Crous annual specific aid, wards of the nation (pupilles de la nation) and apprentices, and students on a national diploma in initial training with social and financial difficulties may apply for an exemption through [email protected].
The CVEC (contribution vie étudiante et de campus) is a separate payment made to the Crous before registration. It finances student services such as the sports service, whose activities are free of charge for students. Continuing-education students do not pay it.
Individual educational aid commissions ([email protected]) support students who struggle to pay for equipment, books, compulsory placements, international mobility, transport or accommodation. The Bourses Tremplin provide financial aid of up to €4,000 to students selected on social and academic criteria and by motivation interview, with possible support from sponsoring companies or local authorities. The Trajets d'avenir programme, a strand of Tremplin, supports students from modest backgrounds mainly in Master 1 and Master 2 courses linked to RATP professions. Students on the cursus master en ingénierie (CMI), where international mobility is compulsory, can receive mobility grants. Students apply for national bursaries to the Crous of the Versailles academy, whose social workers hold sessions on the Chênes site. Student jobs are offered on campus each year, and the CY Fondation accepts donations from students at registration to support student solidarity.
More information: Finance your training and Droits universitaires.
Bourses Tremplin (CY Fondation) →
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View scholarships for CY Cergy Paris University →First-year Licence applications are made on Parcoursup. Entry to the second or third year of a Licence, or to a professional Licence, is by application on the e-Candidat platform. Applicants holding a non-EU nationality who have never been enrolled in French or European higher education should contact the international office through the personal mobility service.
Applicants residing in one of the 73 countries covered by Campus France and the Études en France procedure apply through that procedure: first-year Licence (L1) through pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr, and L2, L3, M1, M2 or BUT through the Études en France platform. For the 2027-2028 academic year, applications open on 1 October 2026. Applicants residing in countries outside the Campus France procedure use the white DAP (preliminary admission application) form for L1, or the individual mobility file for L2, L3, M1 and M2. Residence permit procedures (first application, renewal, VLS-TS validation) are carried out on the ANEF platform; the first application is filed no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before the permit expires, and a VLS-TS is validated within three months of arrival.
Students on Erasmus+ or bilateral exchanges must be nominated by their home university and then complete the application form sent by email. For 2026-2027, applications were due in May 2026 for the first semester or full year and in October 2026 for the second semester. Students from outside Europe receive an invitation letter for the visa, must register with the primary health insurance fund (CPAM), and must bring a birth certificate translated into French by a sworn translator.
First-year Master (M1) applications are made on the Mon Master platform; for 2026 the application phase opened on 2 February and the admission phase on 4 June. Second-year Master (M2) applications are made on e-Candidat. CY Tech engineering programmes, the INSPÉ and the other schools listed on the admissions pages run their own application and registration processes.
The doctorate lasts three years full time and is open to holders of a Master or equivalent, on a project validated by a supervisor in a research unit. Registration is in the doctoral school to which the research unit belongs, and the Collège doctoral et post-doctoral follows each doctoral student from first registration to the award of the degree.
Payment of the CVEC (contribution vie étudiante et de campus) to the Crous is required before registering. Admitted students register online using their Parcoursup, e-Candidat or Mon Master file number. For 2026-2027, registration for Master 1, new entrants and re-registrations runs from 29 June to 16 October 2026, and for new baccalauréat holders from 7 July to 16 October 2026, with online registration closed from 24 July to 17 August.
The French Language Centre prepares students for the DELF and DALF; the 2026 exam session is held at the Chênes site from 1 to 4 December, with fees of €100 (A2), €150 (B1 and B2) and €200 (C1 and C2). A DUFLE university diploma in French as a foreign language is also offered.
Main campus, Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d'Oise):
Facilities include the Bibliothèque universitaire des Cerclades, a strength training room at the Chênes sports centre (renovated in 2024), student health points at Chênes, Saint-Martin and Neuville, and Crous restaurants at Cergy, Pontoise, Neuville and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The university has a €117 million building and renovation budget under the 2021-2027 State-Region Contractual Plan.
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