University in France
Bron, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
University profile
Université Lumière Lyon 2 is a public university in the Lyon metropolitan area, created in 1973 and specialising in the humanities and social sciences. It describes itself as humanist, inclusive, ecological and civic, and is a founding member of the Communauté d'universités et établissements (ComUE) of the Lyon-Saint-Étienne academic site. As of 15 January 2026 it had 27,821 registered students, of whom 24,861 were in initial education, and 71% were women.
Teaching is organised in 13 training entities across four fields: Arts, letters and languages; Law, economics and management; Human and social sciences; and Science, technology and health. They are the Faculté de Droit Julie-Victoire Daubié, the Institut de Psychologie de Lyon (IPsyL), the UFR Anthropologie, Sociologie et Science Politique (ASSP), the Institut des Sciences et Pratiques d'Éducation et de Formation (ISPEF), the UFR Lettres, Sciences du Langage et Arts (LESLA), the UFR de Sciences Économiques et de Gestion (SEG), the UFR Temps et Territoires, the Institut de la Communication (ICOM), the UFR des Langues, the IUT Lumière, the Centre International d'Études Françaises (CIEF) and the Institut d'Études du Travail de Lyon (IETL). The Institut de Formation Syndicale de Lyon is also attached to the university. Programmes run from licence to doctorate, alongside continuing education, apprenticeship routes and teacher-training masters (MEEF).
The university has two main campuses, Berges du Rhône (Lyon 7e) and Porte des Alpes (Bron), and two secondary sites, Rachais (Lyon 3e) and Vinatier (Bron). It runs two libraries, the BU Chevreul in Lyon and the BU of Bron, plus an electronic library of around a hundred resources. The Musée des Moulages (MuMo), a plaster-cast museum founded in 1899 and now housed in Lyon 3e, is open to the public. Student services include the Service de Santé Étudiante with consultations on both main campuses, the sports service SUAPS, an association sports club, student associations, the Maison de l'étudiant on the Porte des Alpes campus and a student grocery run with the association GAELIS.
International students make up a large share of the community: exchange and non-exchange students represent 19% of enrolment according to the university, which holds 560 cooperation agreements with 370 institutions in 60 countries. The Bureau des Étudiants Internationaux on both campuses supports arrival, residence permits and housing, and the CIEF teaches French as a foreign language through university diplomas (DUEF), summer courses, evening classes and intensive pre-term courses. The university holds the Campus France 'Bienvenue en France' label (level 2 of 3, awarded in 2020) and is a member of the Bauhaus4EU alliance.
Research is carried out in 33 laboratories, several research federations and the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Lyon-Saint-Étienne, with about 800 doctoral students enrolled in seven doctoral schools.
Public university fees are set nationally: Licence, Licence Professionnelle, DAEU, BUT and CPGE 178 EUR (reduced rate 118 EUR); Master and CAPES/Agrégation preparation 255 EUR (reduced 167 EUR); Doctorate and HDR 398 EUR (reduced 265 EUR); free auditors 178 EUR. The reduced rate applies under certain conditions (double licence, multiple curricula, gap year). Fees are payable by card online in one or three instalments, by transfer, cheque, or cash up to 300 EUR. Apprentices and professionalisation-contract students are exempt, the employer paying.
Under the arrêté of 19 April 2019, non-EU/EEA students pay differentiated fees: Licence 2,902 EUR (reduced 1,934 EUR) and Master 3,950 EUR (reduced 2,633 EUR) for 2026-2027. From 2026-2027 the university's transitional exemption procedure ends: every non-EU student pays the differentiated fees except in specific exemption cases, even if previously exempted. Partial exemptions (paying the national fees) cover nationals of fragile or conflict-affected countries listed by the World Bank, holders of EU long-term resident cards or long-term residents of ten years or more, those with an embassy-granted partial exemption, and holders of foreign government scholarships with an attestation. Total exemptions include scholarship holders on social criteria (boursiers) and students under an exchange agreement or double-degree convention. A simulator on the university site helps students check their situation.
The Contribution vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC) is paid separately; students on social-criteria scholarships are exempt. CVEC funds support social and financial aid at the university.
The Eiffel programme, funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and run with Campus France, targets foreign students at Master and Doctorate level. The Master strand funds up to 12 months for entry into M2, or up to 24 months for entry into M1; the doctoral strand funds mobility of 12 or 18 months for doctoral students in cotutelle or international co-supervision, and 36 months for first-time arrivals. Fields at Lyon 2 include history and French language and civilisation, law and political science, economics and management, biology and health, ecological transition, mathematics and digital science and engineering. Master candidates apply through the Direction des Relations Internationales ([email protected]), and doctoral candidates through the DRED international research office ([email protected]). For the 2026 campaign, the call opened on 12 October 2026, the deadline for files at Lyon 2 is 20 November 2026 and results are expected the week of 12 April 2027. Eiffel programme page.
CROUS social-criteria scholarships (applied for each year through the Dossier Social Étudiant) and specific annual allowances are described on the university's pages, together with CVEC-funded aid, FSDIE support, a social worker, a digital-precarity aid scheme and the student grocery Agoraé on the Porte des Alpes campus (access on application for renewable periods of one to three months). Fees and amounts and exemption procedures are on the official site.
Eiffel Excellence Scholarship (Master and Doctorate) at Université Lumière Lyon 2 →
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View scholarships for Université Lumière Lyon 2 →First-year Licence applicants who hold or are preparing a baccalauréat or equivalent apply through Parcoursup. A separate pre-registration form exists for applicants outside Parcoursup (children of diplomats, refugees, beneficiaries of subsidiary or temporary protection). Students already enrolled in a first year at Lyon 2 who want another L1 must reapply through Parcoursup.
Non-EU applicants holding a diploma equivalent to the baccalauréat use a Demande d'Admission Préalable (DAP). Applicants residing in France use the green file, sent as a PDF to [email protected]; for the 2027-2028 intake it is available from 1 October 2026 and must be returned before 15 December 2026. Applicants residing in a country covered by the Études en France procedure (the list includes Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya and many others) apply online on the Campus France site of their country from 1 October 2026. Applicants from other countries collect a white file from the French embassy. The response is expected on 30 April 2027, subject to change. Teaching is in French, so applicants must show a French test result (TCF), except holders of the DU Études Françaises (DUEF).
Applications are submitted on eCandidat with supporting documents and assessed by a pedagogical commission. Applicants come from another French or EU institution having validated at least a first year, from within Lyon 2 for reorientation, or from continuing education including validation of professional experience (VAP). Non-EU applicants in countries covered by Études en France apply through that platform; others use eCandidat.
Master 1 applications are made on the Mon Master platform and Master 2 applications on eCandidat, with supporting documents. Applicants hold a first-cycle degree (Licence). Deadlines vary by programme and follow the published campaign calendar for 2026-2027. Prerequisites and language level are set by each programme secretariat. Non-EU applicants from Études en France countries apply through Campus France. Non-EU nationals need a visa, obtained from the consular authorities of their country of residence.
Students in classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles can register in parallel at the university, which lets them move into the university after the first or second year of CPGE or obtain the Licence if they leave the CPGE track, under conditions. Free auditors (auditeurs libres) may follow courses without examination or degree.
Doctoral studies are carried out in one of seven doctoral schools: ED 483 ScSo, ED 484 3LA, ED 485 EPIC, ED 486 SEG, ED 512 InfoMaths, ED 492 Droit and ED 476 NSCo (neurosciences and cognition). Doctoral registration is annual, with a deadline of 15 December 2026 for the 2026-2027 year and a derogatory deadline of 15 May 2027 for first-year doctoral students who obtain funding outside the usual registration periods. International doctoral applicants should contact the international research office of the Direction de la Recherche et des Écoles Doctorales ([email protected]).
After admission through Parcoursup, eCandidat, Mon Master or Études en France, students complete a pre-registration (choice of the MINERVE international programme where offered, transversal language and a level test from A1 to C1) and then an online administrative registration with fee payment. For 2026-2027, web registration for Licence 1 opens on 2 July 2026 and closes on 18 September 2026; Master 1 and Master 2 close on 15 October 2026.
Facilities include two libraries, research platforms attached to the laboratories (for example Synergix, OMEAA and GATE-LAB), the SUAPS sports facilities with an interactive map of venues, and health consultations in general medicine, nursing, gynaecology, preventive medicine, psychology and dietetics.
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