University in France
Rennes, Bretagne, France
University profile
The Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rennes (INSA Rennes) is a public engineering school founded in 1966. It is a public establishment of a scientific, cultural and professional nature (EPSCP), run by a director appointed for five years by the Minister of Higher Education and Research, assisted by a management committee and administered by three councils: the Conseil d'Administration, the Conseil des Etudes and the Conseil Scientifique. It belongs to the Groupe INSA, the French network of seven INSA schools and five partner schools.
The school trains engineers over five years after the baccalauréat, open at every level from bac to bac+4 and organised in ECTS credits. The first two years form the common department STPI (Sciences et Techniques Pour l'Ingénieur), with a classic stream, an international stream called GLOBALINSA, and a stream run in partnership with Sciences Po Rennes. Years three to five lead to one of eight engineering specialities: Électronique et Informatique Industrielle, Mathématiques Appliquées, Informatique, Électronique et Télécommunications, Électronique - Systèmes Embarqués et Télécommunications (apprenticeship), Génie Civil et Urbain, Génie Mécanique et Automatique (also in apprenticeship form) and Génie Physique et Matériaux. The engineering degree is accredited by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (CTI, 2021-2026), confers the grade of master and carries the EUR-ACE label.
INSA Rennes sits on the Beaulieu scientific campus, a 17-hectare wooded park in the Rennes-Atalante technopole, beside a metro station and about ten minutes from the city centre. The campus has 820 furnished rooms, a university restaurant, a library, a recording studio, a multimedia centre, a language laboratory, a multi-sport hall and a health, prevention and disability service. Accommodation is guaranteed to all new entrants whose enrolment file is complete.
In 2025 the school had 1,858 engineering students (1,705 in initial training and 118 apprentices), 135 doctoral students and 475.6 full-time-equivalent staff. Sixteen per cent of students come from abroad. Student life is organised around more than 60 clubs and associations, including the Amicale des Élèves (AEIR, founded 1967), the sports association with over thirty sports, the junior enterprise Ouest INSA and the Rock'n Solex music festival.
Mobility abroad is built into the course: every student completes an international period, with 150 cooperation agreements in 45 countries, 65 Erasmus+ agreements with universities in 22 European countries, and double degrees with partners in 12 countries. International students can join through exchange programmes, the GLOBALINSA stream in years one and two, direct entry from year three, or a double degree. Research masters (M2) are offered in co-accreditation with Brittany institutions, and doctoral students are enrolled through three doctoral schools.
French and EU students (non-grant-holders): engineering 630 euros per year (reduced rate for a gap period 420 euros); research Master M2 255 euros; doctoral students 398 euros. Extra-EU students (outside the GLOBALINSA stream) pay differentiated fees: engineering years 1 and 2, 2,902 euros; years 3 to 5, 3,950 euros; research Master M2, 3,950 euros. Partial exemptions bringing fees to the French and EU rate are possible, notably for those tax-resident in France for at least two years. Non-French-speaking extra-EU students in GLOBALINSA are partially exempted from differentiated fees in years 1 and 2.
CVEC (Contribution Vie Étudiante et de Campus), a mandatory separate contribution: 105 euros for 2026/2027.
The total teaching cost for the two years is 3,000 euros (2025-2026 rate), which may vary with language level. It includes two weeks of intensive French and science classes before year one, small-group teaching, French as a foreign language classes, and administrative and internship support.
CROUS grants on social criteria are open to students under 28 on 1 October of the academic year, enrolled in a ministry-approved course and meeting the national income scale; applications are made through the dossier social étudiant. Merit aid is paid over nine months on top of the CROUS grant to future grant-holders who obtained the baccalauréat with the mention Très bien. In 2025, 24.27% of engineering students received grants.
Aid for study or internship periods abroad comes from Erasmus+, the CROUS international mobility aid (AMI), the FITEC programmes, the Franco-German University and INSA Rennes' own funds. Priority goes to grant-holders on social criteria and to students with disabilities or long-term illness, and a commission awards partial lump sums.
Details: Cost of studies and grants.
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View scholarships for INSA Rennes →Admission from year one to year three is common to the seven schools of the Groupe INSA and five partner schools. First-year applicants apply through Parcoursup; second- and third-year applicants not coming from a CPGE apply through the Groupe INSA admissions portal (admissions.groupe-insa.fr); third-year applicants from a classe préparatoire apply through scei.concours.fr. Applicants may also enter directly into the third year after a bac+2 or a CPGE.
Applicants preparing the French scientific baccalauréat apply through Parcoursup, then submit the GLOBALINSA application form with their final-year transcript and a motivation letter stating languages spoken and level. Applicants preparing an international baccalauréat apply through the Groupe INSA admissions site; files are assessed on geographic origin, level of French and level of English, and a very good scientific level is required. Depending on their French, the jury may require a preparatory semester (SPIR, February to June) or a summer school. Applicants resident outside the European Union must first go through the Campus France procedure of their country (Études en France).
Applicants holding a French or international higher-education qualification with at least four full years in scientific or technical fields, or a validated or in-progress first year of Master (M1) in those fields, may apply by file through eCandidat (centre 'Admissions 4e année'). Applications for 2026 opened on 2 March and closed on 7 May 2026. Applicants choose two of the seven specialities offered under student status; the apprenticeship routes are not open to this entry. Only complete files submitted on time are examined, and non-EU applicants resident outside the EU must register on Études en France.
Exchange students can join the third, fourth or fifth year of the engineering course for one or two semesters while remaining enrolled at their home institution. Students from partner institutions with a double-degree agreement can follow part of their course at INSA Rennes. International students who have validated a first year of Master can apply to a research Master (M2); the Masters are co-accredited with Brittany institutions, and non-French speakers can follow French as a foreign language. The Master contact is [email protected].
The two apprenticeship specialities (E-SET and GMA) are open after a scientific bac+2 or bac+3 (BUT, CPGE, L2-L3, BTS with ATS preparation). For 2026 applications opened on 30 January and closed on 1 March 2026, with interviews on 25 to 27 March 2026.
Doctoral students are enrolled through the doctoral schools S3M, MATISSE or SPI.bzh, hosted by the school's research laboratories.
Once admitted, students enrol online and need an ID photo, birth certificate, civil liability insurance certificate, CVEC certificate, and grant certificate where applicable. For 2026/2027, online payment ran from 1 to 23 July 2026. Non-EEA students need a passport with a long-stay student visa or a residence permit; students from outside Europe, or Europeans without a European health card, register with French social security after enrolment. Contact for applications: [email protected].
Beaulieu campus, Rennes: the single site of INSA Rennes, on a 17-hectare wooded park in the Rennes-Atalante technopole, at 20 avenue des Buttes de Coësmes. It hosts all engineering specialities, the STPI first-cycle department, research laboratories and technology platforms.
The campus is served by metro line B (Beaulieu-Université) and several bus lines, 15 minutes from the city centre and 16 to 18 minutes from the railway station.
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