University in France
Le Mans, Pays de la Loire, France
University profile
Le Mans Université is a multidisciplinary public institution of higher education and research with campuses in Le Mans (Sarthe) and Laval (Mayenne), in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It brings together nearly 13,000 students. Its strategy combines a mission of social advancement and student success, as a university close to its territory, with research and training of excellence in a small number of clearly identified, economically significant fields.
Teaching is organised through three faculties, two university institutes of technology and one engineering school:
Acoustics is the best-known specialism: the Institut d'Acoustique Graduate School is an École Universitaire de Recherche run with the CNRS around the LAUM laboratory, ENSIM and the Faculty of Sciences. Other institutes cover risk and insurance (IRA) and computer science and artificial intelligence (IC2, Institut Claude Chappe).
Student life centres on the two campuses, each with a university library, a health service and Crous restaurants. Crous residences provide more than 900 rooms at Le Mans and 150 at Laval, with priority for scholarship holders. Sport (two gymnasiums, 40 disciplines), twelve artistic workshops, the EVE university performance venue and a large association sector are open to students. Le Mans is 54 minutes from Paris by TGV; Laval is 1h10 from Paris and 25 minutes from Rennes.
International students are supported by the Bureau d'Accueil International, French-language courses and the TCF at the Maison des Langues, and a university diploma in French studies (DUEF). The university holds the Campus France 'Bienvenue en France' label at two stars, is a member of the COLOURS European university alliance, and holds the European Commission's HR Excellence in Research label (obtained 2021).
National fees set by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research: Licence €178, IUT cursus €178, Master €255, Doctorate €398, engineering cursus (ENSIM) €630. Distance-learning and continuing-education students pay additional specific fees.
From 2026-2027 the university applies decree no. 2026-385 of 19 May 2026. Non-EU students enrolling are subject to differentiated fees of €2,902 for Licence and BUT and €3,950 for Master, payable at enrolment before the start of the academic year. Students already enrolled and exempted in 2025-2026 who continue in the same cycle are not affected. Exemption requests must be sent before 28 September 2026 with name, nationality, programme, whether already enrolled, a reasoned request and proof of income.
The CVEC is a separate mandatory contribution of €105 per year for 2026-2027, paid before administrative enrolment and collected by the Crous. It funds student reception, sport, culture, preventive health and student associations (including through the FSDIE fund).
Outgoing exchange students (Erasmus+, United States, Quebec) may apply for financial aid, subject to a complete file and the funds allocated by each programme; aid is never paid before departure. Contact: [email protected]. The Crous restaurants charge €3.30 for a full meal and €1 for scholarship holders and students in need; university social workers help with scholarship and housing-aid applications (CAF housing aid, Visale guarantee).
Bourses d'excellence de l'Institut d'Acoustique - Graduate School (IA-GS) →
Browse the scholarships listed for Le Mans Université and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Le Mans Université →First-year Licence, BUT and engineering preparatory (prépa ingénieurs) applicants apply through Parcoursup. Second- or third-year Licence, Licence professionnelle, second-year Master and diplôme d'université applicants apply through eCandidat Le Mans Université; BUT applications for the Pays de la Loire IUTs go through the IUT Pays de la Loire site. The Admission tab of each programme in the catalogue gives programme-specific procedures.
International students (outside the EEA) who do not hold a French baccalauréat must obtain prior admission. Applicants living in a country covered by the 'Études en France' procedure (the list includes Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya and many others) request the preliminary admission file (DAP) and the long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) at the same time on the Études en France website, in their country's space. Applicants from other countries use the 'white' file, available from the French embassy's cooperation and cultural action service. Applicants living in France use the 'green' file submitted to the university.
Applicants living in an Études en France country apply entirely online on the Études en France site. Applicants elsewhere apply on eCandidat and attach a certificate of French at B2 level (TCF, TEF, DALF or DELF), unless they studied in a French-speaking institution or country. First-year Master applications are made on MonMaster.
A French-level evaluation with the TCF is required for non-EU international students from non-francophone countries (except exchange students). The minimum score is 400, equivalent to level B2. The Maison des Langues coordinates the TCF and offers French as a foreign language courses and the DUEF university diploma.
Master MEEF first-degree and second-degree applications are made through the INSPÉ of Nantes.
Doctoral candidates must hold a national Master's degree or another degree conferring the Master's grade, obtain the agreement of a thesis supervisor by contacting the laboratory of their discipline, and have funding or salaried employment. Registration procedures are specific to each doctoral school of the Pays de la Loire college. Contact: Pôle Doctoral, [email protected].
Non-EU/EEA students must apply for the relevant visa at least two months before arrival. Holders of a VLS-TS 'étudiant' must validate it on the ANEF website within three months of arrival; residence permit renewals are requested between four and two months before expiry. The International Reception Office (BAI, [email protected]) assists with these steps. The university cannot issue a housing certificate to an individual international student applying for a visa. Contact for the Études en France unit: [email protected].
After admission, students complete administrative enrolment online, after paying the CVEC. Enrolment for 2026-2027 opens on 7 July for Licence, BUT, LP, Master, engineering, Doctorate and DU programmes; payment is by bank card.
Sport facilities include two gymnasiums and partnerships for outdoor facilities such as a swimming pool and golf; the Maison des Langues provides language courses and certifications.
Study programmes offered at Le Mans Université.
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