University in France
Perpignan, Occitanie, France
University profile
The Université Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD) is a public multidisciplinary university in Perpignan, in the Occitanie region of southern France. Founded in 1350 by King Peter IV of Aragon, it describes itself as one of the oldest universities in Europe. It sits at the centre of the Toulouse-Montpellier-Barcelona triangle, and its location gives it a strong cross-border orientation towards Catalonia and the Pyrénées-Méditerranée Euroregion.
The UPVD has about 9,500 students and 480 teacher-researchers. It is organised into four faculties, three institutes and one engineering school: the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences humaines (LSH), the Faculté des Sciences exactes et expérimentales (SEE), the Faculté de Droit et des Sciences économiques (DSE, also known as SJE), the Faculté des Sciences et Techniques des Activités Physiques et Sportives (STAPS), the Institut universitaire de technologie (IUT), the Institut d'administration des entreprises (IAE), the Institut franco-catalan transfrontalier (IFCT) and the École d'ingénieurs Sup'EnR. LSH has about 1,900 students, SEE more than 1,500 and DSE about 2,100.
The main site is the Moulin-à-Vent campus in Perpignan, home to LSH, SEE, the IUT, the IAE and the IFCT. Law and economics are taught in the city centre at the Mailly campus, in the former university quarter. Other sites include Tecnosud in Perpignan (Sup'EnR and the PROMES laboratory), antennes in Narbonne, Carcassonne and Font-Romeu (STAPS), the HNHP prehistory laboratory in Tautavel, and marine sites at Port-Vendres and Canet-en-Roussillon. The university's stated aim is to make its main campus the first positive-energy campus in France.
Research addresses adaptation to global change, sustainable development, renewable energy, the ecology of natural and human-altered environments, territories and societies. The university has 16 laboratories and two doctoral schools, ED 305 Énergie Environnement and ED 544 Inter Med Espace Temps Culture, with 342 doctoral students.
Student life includes a student health service, an international Welcome Desk, a sports service (SUAPS) with weekly activities and outdoor trips, university libraries, a student incubator (UPVD IN CUBE), a micro-nursery and a solidarity grocery run with partners. The Centre universitaire d'études françaises (CUEF) teaches French as a foreign language and holds the Label Qualité FLE. The UPVD holds the Campus France 'Bienvenue en France' label (awarded for five years following a commission on 3 July 2025) and, since 1 January 2025, belongs to the ACROSS European Cross-Border University alliance. Sup'EnR is accredited by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur (CTI).
Annual registration fees for national and European diplomas: Capacité en droit, Licence and DEUST 178 EUR (non-EU students: 2,902 EUR); Master 255 EUR (non-EU: 3,950 EUR); engineering diploma 630 EUR (non-EU: 2,902 EUR in years 1 to 3 and 3,950 EUR in years 4 and 5); Doctorate 398 EUR for all students. Auditeurs libres pay 178 EUR per year. The university's board decided to apply the differentiated fees for non-EU students for 2026/2027, with partial exemptions under decree no. 2026-385 of 19 May 2026 and a board deliberation of 10 July 2026.
The Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC) is a separate compulsory charge of 105 EUR per year, paid to the Crous before registration (not due for continuing-education, work-study contract or HDR registrations).
More information: student health and social support, study abroad and grants.
Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (EMIC) Scholarship for Incoming Students, UPVD →
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View scholarships for Université de Perpignan Via Domitia →First-year applications to a Licence, DEUST or BUT are made through Parcoursup (future baccalauréat holders, career changers, EEA applicants and holders of the Capacité en droit or DAEU). Applicants outside the EEA without a French higher-education diploma follow the Études en France procedure. Applicants aged over 26 on 1 January 2026 with a baccalauréat apply through Parcoursup and contact the continuing-education service. Entry to the second or third year of a Licence is through the eCandidat platform (candidatures.univ-perp.fr); entry to the second or third year of the BUT is applied for directly with the IUT.
Applicants living in a country with a Campus France 'CEF' procedure submit a DAP file (white or yellow) via Campus France for a first year of Licence, DEUST or BUT; the dossier window stated was 1 October to 15 December 2025. For Licence 2 and 3, Licence professionnelle and Master, applications go via Campus France in the same procedure, with dates set by the local embassy. Applicants in countries without a CEF procedure submit a white DAP file to the cultural service of the French embassy, and use eCandidat for Licence 2 and 3, Licence pro and Master 2. Applicants residing in France with a foreign secondary diploma submit a green DAP file to the central registry and register for the TCF B2 DAP. European nationals apply through Parcoursup for the first year and eCandidat for later years.
Applicants need good French. A DALF C1 or C2, a DELF B2, or a TCF at level 4 (B2) with at least 10/20 in the written test is accepted; applicants who studied in a French-speaking country or a French bilingual section are exempt. Others sit the Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF) run by France Éducation International. The CUEF offers French as a foreign language courses on campus.
First-year Master applications are made on the national Mon Master platform. The 2026 calendar ran from the publication of the offer on 2 February, applications from 17 February to 16 March, the main admission phase from 3 to 16 June, the complementary phase from 19 June to 19 July, and withdrawals management from 20 July to 30 August. Entry to Master 2 and Licence professionnelle is through eCandidat.
Admission to the engineering diploma in renewable energies is through Parcoursup for first-year applicants, the INSA Group application portal (candidat.groupe-insa.fr), and Campus France for applicants in CEF countries; other international candidates apply at sup-enr.univ-perp.fr/candidature.
Candidates contact the doctoral school whose research topics match their project: ED 305 Énergie Environnement (solar energy, computing/electronics/automation, physics and mathematics, life sciences, marine environment) or ED 544 Inter Med Espace Temps Culture (law, management, economics, political science, planning, archaeology, humanities and social sciences). Applicants requiring a visa obtain a positive reply first, then apply for a 'passeport talent - chercheur' visa at the French embassy or consulate.
After admission, students register online at inscriptions.univ-perp.fr and upload supporting documents; first-time international students admitted through Campus France or DAP, and first-year doctoral candidates, download the registration file and submit it in person to the central registry (Bâtiment BASE, 52 avenue Paul Alduy), Monday to Thursday. Students first obtain a CVEC certificate. Students arriving from another French university provide a signed transfer file and a library clearance.
The university libraries offer 1,338 seats, 220,130 printed documents and 97 online databases.
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