University in France
Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
University profile
Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) is a public research university based in the Grenoble area of the French Alps, with its main campus at Saint-Martin-d'Hères and a second major presence in Valence. It is a Grand établissement and an integrated, experimental model that brings together the university, engineering and professional schools, and the national research organisations around a shared strategy. It counts about 57,000 students, 14,000 staff, 30 schools, faculties and institutes and 80 laboratories.
Teaching is organised in seven academic components: the École en sciences sociales et des territoires (ESST, with the Faculté de droit, Faculté d'économie de Grenoble and Institut d'urbanisme et de géographie alpine), the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Grenoble (ENSAG), the École universitaire de technologie (EUT, the former IUTs of Grenoble and Valence), the Faculté Humanités, Santé, Sport, Sociétés (H3S, covering arts, languages, literature, communication, human and social sciences, sport sciences, medicine, pharmacy and the INSPE), the Faculté des sciences, Grenoble INP - UGA and Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA. Grenoble INP - UGA groups eight engineering and management schools: Ense3, Ensimag, Esisar, Génie industriel, Pagora, Phelma, Grenoble IAE and Polytech Grenoble.
Research is organised in six research hubs (pôles) in chemistry-biology-health, mathematics and ICT, physics-engineering-materials, particle physics-astrophysics-geosciences-environment, humanities and social sciences, and social sciences, working with the CNRS, CEA, Inserm, Inria and INRAE. Areas of excellence include artificial intelligence, microelectronics, energy, health and quantum technologies. The Graduate School@UGA and the CBH Graduate School add research-intensive thematic programmes on top of master's and engineering courses.
Student life centres on the Saint-Martin-d'Hères campus, a site of more than 180 hectares with 30,000 trees and about 70 works of art, served by tramway. The university lists nearly 40 student houses and places of student life, 200 student associations (including an orchestra, a dance company, two choirs and a student radio), 39 sports open to all, libraries open 83 hours a week, three cultural venues (Amphidice, the transdisciplinary stage space and the Maison de la création et de l'innovation) and FabLabs.
About 11,000 international students from 150 nationalities study at UGA, one student in five, and 42% of doctoral candidates are international. Thirty per cent of master's programmes are taught in English, 19 languages are taught, and there are some 1,200 partnerships with universities abroad. The International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) in Grenoble and Valence helps with housing, visas, health and insurance, and the Centre universitaire d'études françaises (CUEF) teaches French as a foreign language. In the 2026 Shanghai ranking, as cited by the university, it sits in the world top 200.
Registration fees (droits d'inscription) are set nationally. Licence, BUT, licence professionnelle, DAEU and PASS: 178 EUR (national rate) or 2,902 EUR (differentiated rate). Master: 255 EUR national or 3,950 EUR differentiated. Prépa ingénieur and engineering years 3 to 5: 630 EUR national or 3,950 EUR differentiated. Doctorate and HDR: 398 EUR for all students. A second diploma at UGA is charged at a reduced rate (167 EUR, 1,934 EUR, 255 EUR for national/differentiated licence levels as listed).
National rates apply to French, EU, EEA and Swiss students and to certain non-European students: residents of Quebec, holders of a long-term resident card or those fiscally resident in France for over two years, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, doctoral students, and CPGE students with a parallel licence enrolment. Other non-European students pay the differentiated rate, and may apply for an exemption through the eCandidat form or from their school's registrar after acceptance. A May 2026 decree changed the exemption rules; UGA runs a transition year in 2026-2027 and will introduce a new scheme from 2027-2028. Different exemption rules apply at Ensag - UGA and Grenoble INP - UGA.
The contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC), collected by the Crous, is 105 EUR for 2026-2027 and must be paid (or an exemption certificate obtained) before enrolling at cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr. Students on means-tested grants, refugees, subsidiary-protection beneficiaries and asylum seekers are exempt.
Students holding a Crous or French government (Campus France) scholarship for an eligible programme do not pay registration fees on presenting their grant certificate, and can be reimbursed if they have already paid.
The attractiveness scholarship (bourse d'attractivité) is an excellence award of 14,500 EUR over two years (9,000 EUR in M1 and 5,500 EUR in M2), plus coverage of the M2 laboratory internship gratification (about 3,000 EUR). It is for students admitted to M1 or the fourth year of an engineering cycle at UGA and to a Graduate School@UGA thematic programme, with an excellent academic record and no other government scholarship such as Idex or Eiffel (means-tested grants excepted). Applications are submitted together with the thematic programme application; applications after 15 June 2026 were not eligible for the 2026-2027 round.
The outreach scholarship (bourse de rayonnement) supports a research internship abroad: 2,000 EUR for 2 to 4 months and 3,000 EUR for more than 4 months, once during M1-M2, for students enrolled in a thematic programme for both years who do not hold an attractiveness or Idex scholarship. Contact: [email protected]. Details: Graduate School@UGA scholarships.
Fee details: registration fees; differentiated-fee exemption.
Eiffel Excellence Scholarship, Master's Level 2027-2028 (via Université Grenoble Alpes) →
IdEx Master Scholarships (Université Grenoble Alpes Excellence Scholarship) →
Graduate School@UGA Attractiveness Scholarship →
QuanTEdu Excellence Scholarships (QuantAlps) →
Browse the scholarships listed for Université Grenoble Alpes and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Université Grenoble Alpes →First-year applicants resident in France apply through Parcoursup (up to 10 choices). For the 2026 round the platform opened on 17 December 2025, choices were registered from 19 January to 12 March 2026, applications had to be confirmed by 1 April 2026, and answers were received from 2 June to 10 September 2026. Some programmes use eCandidat instead (up to 4 choices; platform open from 10 February 2026, with calendars set per programme).
Non-EU applicants living in a country of the Campus France network must apply through the Études en France (PEF) platform. For the 2025-2026 campaign applications opened on 1 October 2025; for first-year licence (L1) up to three choices could be made before 15 December 2025, and for L2, L3 or master up to seven choices with a deadline depending on country of residence. Dossiers were reviewed by the Campus France services until 15 March 2026, the university replied by 30 April 2026 and the applicant had to confirm a choice before 31 May 2026; accepting one offer cancels the others. Applicants to the master's programmes MOSIG, SIAM, cybersecurity, ORCO and fundamental mathematics also file a second dossier on the FSA application, quoting their PEF number.
Non-EU applicants living outside France who apply to the first year of a licence in programmes outside PEF use the demande d'admission préalable (DAP) with the white form ("dossier blanc"), deposited at the cultural service of the French embassy by 15 December 2026 for 2027-2028 entry; universities reply by 30 April 2027 and applicants confirm by 31 May 2027. Non-EU applicants already resident in France use the green form ("dossier vert"), opened on 1 October 2026 with a deadline of 15 December 2026, sent by registered post to Université Grenoble Alpes, Direction des études et de la formation initiale, Service Admission (DAP), CS 40700, 38058 Grenoble Cedex 9. Applicants in exile have a dedicated L1 procedure.
A French-knowledge test (TCF, 2 h 25, 75 EUR) is compulsory for DAP applicants unless exempt: nationals or residents with a secondary diploma from a country where French is the only official language, students who followed most of their secondary education in French or at a lycée on the official list of French schools abroad, and holders of DELF/DALF or TEF at the level required by the programme (the required level is given on each programme's page in the course catalogue). The test is organised at UGA on 28 January 2027 for DAP green-form applicants.
Master applications are made through the national Mon Master platform. For 2026 entry, programmes were viewable from 2 February 2026, up to 15 choices (and 15 for work-study masters) could be made from 17 February to 16 March 2026, and answers arrived from 3 to 16 June 2026. Programme pages list the prerequisite knowledge and skills; some masters use eCandidat. Applicants to the Graduate School@UGA thematic programmes apply in parallel with a CV, a motivation letter and proof of admission or application to the master's or engineering pathway.
Admission to Grenoble INP - UGA schools, Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA and the École nationale supérieure d'architecture follows each school's own procedure, shown on the page for the component concerned.
A doctorate rests on a thesis subject, supervision in a laboratory and funding. Candidates join one of 13 doctoral schools; subjects, funding and applications are handled through the collège doctoral, and CIFRE industrial contracts are available.
A range of licences, bachelors, masters and engineering diplomas are taught entirely in English, listed by field on the university's website; the CUEF offers French courses including intensive monthly, evening, summer and mountain-sports formats.
UGA operates on 15 sites across six départements (Isère, Drôme, Ardèche, Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Hautes-Alpes).
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