University in France
Paris, Île-de-France, France
University profile
The Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco, also known as Langues O') is a French public institution of higher education and research in Paris, created in 1795 and holding the status of grand établissement since 1984. It teaches around a hundred languages and civilisations, from central and eastern Europe and the Middle East to Asia, Africa, Oceania and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, together with the geography, history, institutions and political, economic and social life of the regions concerned.
Study runs from the Licence to the Master and the doctorate, alongside institution-specific diplomas (diplômes d'établissement) such as the diplôme d'initiation, diplôme de langue, diplôme de civilisation and diplôme de langue et civilisation. Teaching is organised through departments, sections and professional tracks (filières). The eleven departments are Afrique et océan Indien, Asie du Sud-Est et Pacifique, Études arabes, Études chinoises, Études coréennes, Études hébraïques et juives, Études indiennes, sud-asiatiques et tibétaines, Études japonaises, Études russes, Eurasie and Europe. There are two sections (Français langue étrangère and Langues et cultures des Amériques) and five professional tracks: Commerce international, Communication interculturelle et internationale, Didactique des langues, Relations internationales, and Textes, informatique, multilinguisme (natural language processing).
Inalco has more than 9,000 students, around 3,000 courses and more than 120 nationalities among its teachers and students.
Research is carried out in 14 research teams, half of them jointly supervised with CNRS and IRD, and the doctoral school n°265 (Langues, littératures et sociétés du monde). Inalco belongs to Sorbonne Alliance (since 1 June 2024) with Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Sorbonne Nouvelle and ESCP Business School, and to the European university alliance EUniWell (since 7 April 2023).
Student life is organised by the Service de la Réussite Étudiante et de la Vie Étudiante (REVE). Support includes tutoring, mentoring, the Orientation L2 and Objectif Master schemes, and the L1+ and Tempo first-year pathways. Student associations include the Bureau des étudiants (BDE) with its sports (BDS) and dance and arts (BDA) branches, and students can use the sports facilities of Université Paris Cité through a partnership. Health services are provided by university health centres, including the Grands Moulins campus. Inalco has no housing service of its own; students are directed to CROUS de Paris residences, which are reserved for specific groups such as scholarship holders, French-government scholars and exchange students. International students come through Études en France, Parcoursup, Mon Master, direct applications and exchange agreements; French is the language of most courses, and Inal'FLE offers French as a foreign language.
Annual fees for EU/EEA students and other students not subject to differentiated fees: Licence 178 euros, Master 255 euros, Doctorate 398 euros (reduced rates 118, 167 and 265 euros in specific cases). The fees include 34 euros of library charges and 23 euros of administrative file charges. Students from outside the EU/EEA who are subject to differentiated fees pay 2,902 euros in Licence and 3,950 euros in Master (reduced rates 1,934 and 2,633 euros); doctoral and HDR fees are the same as for other students (398 euros). Many categories are exempt from differentiated fees, including EU/EEA, Swiss, Monégasque, Andorran and Québec nationals, long-term residents, people resident in France for two years, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, and doctoral students. Holders of French state higher-education scholarships (including French-government scholarships) are fully exempt. Exemption requests are made during online enrolment in PEGASE.
Diplôme de langue: 329 euros; diplôme de langue et civilisation: 439 euros; diplôme intensif (Arabic, Russian): 1,214 euros; fully remote or bimodal diplomas carry an additional 370 euros distance-learning fee. Apprenticeship Masters: 7,500 euros per year (Management et commerce international) and 9,600 euros in Master 2 Relations internationales, paid by the employer. Inal'FLE: 870 euros per semester.
The Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC) is compulsory before enrolment and is 105 euros for 2026-2027; scholarship holders, refugees and others are exempt.
Inalco's social worker can provide 50-euro Carrefour e-cards for essential purchases. The Aide au voyage, financed by the CVEC (FSDIE), supports a summer language immersion of 14 to 75 days for students in diplôme d'initiation, diplôme intensif, DLC1 to DLC3, Licence years 1 to 3 and Master 1; scholarship holders receive a 10 per cent increase. National scholarships on social criteria (bourses sur critères sociaux), the aide au mérite and CROUS emergency aid are applied for through the Dossier Social Étudiant. Doctoral funding includes the three-year doctoral contract, CIFRE contracts and mobility grants from the doctoral school. Details: Bourses et aides sociales, Aide au voyage, Financement des thèses, Droits de scolarité.
Bourse France Excellence Eiffel (candidatures portées par l'Inalco) →
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View scholarships for INALCO →Candidates holding a French or European baccalauréat, and EU/EEA applicants, apply through Parcoursup in the same way as French applicants (principal phase 19 January to 12 March 2026; complementary phase 11 June to 8 September 2026). Non-European applicants with an international baccalauréat or a non-EU secondary diploma who live in France follow the Demande d'Admission Préalable (DAP) green file, returned before 15 December 2025. Those living abroad in a country covered by Études en France apply online on the Études en France platform before 15 December 2025; applicants from other countries follow the white DAP through the Campus France office of the French embassy. Licence 1 courses in literary Arabic, Chinese and Russian are open at LV1 and LV2 level, with an online placement test recommended, and the diplôme d'initiation may suit beginners.
Direct entry into Licence 2 or 3 requires current enrolment in, or validation of, the previous year and adequate competence in the language concerned. Applicants studying in France or Europe follow the French procedure (eCandidat 2, 11 May to 14 June 2026). Non-European applicants abroad use Études en France (applications opened 1 October 2025) or, if outside that scheme, the Inalco online form (9 February to 9 March 2026). Documents: identity document, photograph, typed motivation letter, CV, secondary diploma and higher-education transcripts and diplomas (originals with translation), and a French certificate. Professional Licence pathways from Licence 2 use eCandidat (4 to 31 May 2026). First-time applicants to diplômes d'établissement (DLC, DC, DL, CLC, CL) apply via eCandidat 2 between 1 July and 6 September 2026.
Teaching is in French. Licence applicants need B1 minimum (some departments require B2; professional tracks at Licence level require C1 French and B2 English). Master applicants need C1 minimum in French, with some professional programmes requiring C2 French and/or C1 English. Diplôme d'établissement applicants need B1 minimum. Accepted proofs are the DELF or DALF, or a complete TCF with all five tests. Exemptions apply to nationals of, or secondary-school graduates from, countries where French is the sole official language, and to those who completed most secondary study in French. Applicants admitted with insufficient French may be required to follow Inal'FLE courses.
Master entry requires a Licence (or enrolment in the final year) and sufficient level in one of the languages taught. Masters in LLCER, Didactique des langues, Langues et sociétés, Management et commerce international, Relations internationales, Sciences du langage, Traitement automatique des langues, Traduction littéraire, Traduction spécialisée and Médiation et interprétation en service public apply through Mon Master (17 February to 16 March 2026; complementary phase 19 to 25 June 2026). The IMAS Master uses eCandidat (same dates). Direct entry into Master 2 for outside candidates uses eCandidat (17 February to 16 March 2026). Non-European applicants resident in Études en France countries apply via that platform.
Admission requires the agreement of a thesis supervisor, a research project and the doctoral school file, submitted on the ADUM platform. For 2026-2027 there are two sessions: 26 May 2026 (also the deadline for the doctoral contract) and 27 September 2026. Doctoral contract applicants are assessed on the quality and originality of the project, its fit with the candidate and supervision, rigour, use of primary and secondary sources in the relevant languages, feasibility within three years, and an interview of 10 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of discussion.
Applicants admitted through Études en France confirm on the platform, obtain the visa, and then complete administrative enrolment after paying the CVEC. Others receive an admission letter for the visa application and an enrolment file in early July. Exchange students are nominated by a partner university and require French B1 for language and civilisation courses and C1 for the professional tracks.
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