University in France
Paris, Île-de-France, France
University profile
Université PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) is a research university in the centre of Paris that brings together member schools and partner institutions under a single university structure. Its motto is Sapere Aude (“Dare to know”), and it is built on the principle that science, the humanities, the social sciences, the arts and engineering should be studied in dialogue with one another. Teaching is led by research from its laboratories, with small classes, individual mentoring and personalised academic pathways.
The member institutions are Chimie ParisTech - PSL, the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique (CNSAD - PSL), Dauphine - PSL, the École nationale des chartes - PSL, the École normale supérieure (ENS - PSL), the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE - PSL), ESPCI Paris - PSL, MINES Paris - PSL, the Observatoire de Paris - PSL, the École nationale supérieure d’architecture Paris-Malaquais - PSL and the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD - PSL). The Collège de France and the Institut Curie are associated institutions, and CNRS, Inserm and Inria are partner research organisations. PSL also runs the Paris School of AI and the Institut d’Action Publique.
Around 17,000 students are enrolled, two thirds of them in master’s or PhD programmes, with 2,900 researchers working in 140 laboratories. Undergraduate education is highly selective and is delivered through the College of Science, Humanities and Society (CPES and Sustainability Sciences), the International Bachelor of Science in AI, the International Bachelor of Environmentally Engaged Engineering (Mines Paris - PSL) and the bachelor’s programmes of Dauphine - PSL, CNSAD, ENSAD and Paris-Malaquais. At graduate level PSL offers more than 50 multidisciplinary master’s programmes, five master’s-level grandes écoles degrees (engineering at ESPCI, MINES Paris and Chimie ParisTech, and the ENS diploma) and the CNSAD acting diploma, organised through 18 Graduate Programs.
PSL PhD Tracks are five-year, fully funded master’s-to-doctorate programmes taught entirely in English. Students can customise their studies with certifying minors, PSL Weeks, the UROP research internships, entrepreneurship courses and the Language Resource Centre, which teaches nearly 13 languages. Student life draws on the schools’ societies, the PSL Orchestra and Choir (about 180 singers and instrumentalists), athletics, a student health service, the Mazet Student Life Center and more than 70 libraries and museums across the member institutions.
About 20% of students are international, 40% of them doctoral candidates. The PSL Welcome Desk helps international students with visas, residence permits and health insurance, the Housing Service advises on the Paris rental market, and the Buddy and Tandem programmes link newcomers with current students. PSL holds the Initiative d’excellence (Idex) label, certified in 2011 under the Investments for the Future programme, and belongs to EELISA, the European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance, and the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.
PSL tuition rates, where aligned with the national university fees set by ministerial decree each year, never exceed a few hundred euros per year. Fees for each programme are listed under the Admissions tab of its page; grandes écoles and Dauphine - PSL programmes with a flexible fee structure set their own rates. The CVEC (contribution vie étudiante et de campus) is a separate charge of €105 that must be paid before enrolment and funds campus life, including the student health service. Student dining costs €3.30 per meal.
PSL PhD Tracks are fully funded for five years. During the two master’s years the grant is €10,000 a year, paid as €1,000 per month for ten months and awarded on admission without a separate application. During the three PhD years students receive a doctoral contract with a minimum gross salary of €2,300 per month. The funding does not cover tuition, housing or transport. Students also receive Welcome Desk support, airport reception for first-time arrivals and three months of free online French classes. PSL PhD Tracks
Several Graduate Programs award excellence grants to M1 and M2 students on the basis of academic merit, motivation and in some cases financial situation: Chemistry, Engineering (ISAI, for international students in Energy, Materials Science and Engineering, BioMedical Engineering and Nuclear Energy), Computer Science, Mathematics and Applications, Finance (Research in Finance track), Earth and Biodiversity Sciences, Life Sciences (IMaGHE curriculum with an internship in a PSL laboratory), Religious Studies, Management (second year of listed master’s programmes) and Physics (ICFP, international students). Details are on each programme page.
Students apply to CROUS through the Dossier social étudiant in March and April for the following academic year. Aid levels run from level 0 (exemption from tuition and student social security contributions) to level 7. Merit-based aid is available for graduates with high honours in the baccalauréat and for bachelor’s graduates continuing to a master’s. Emergency aid from the Fonds National d’Aide d’Urgence (FNAU) supports students under 35 in financial difficulty. International students are advised to ask their home institutions, governments and French embassies, and to consult the Campus France scholarship directory. Scholarships and grants for graduate students | Financial aid
PSL runs a shared student employment service (recrutement.psl.eu). International students may work up to 964 hours per year with a valid visa or residence permit. State-guaranteed student loans of up to €15,000 per year are available to students under 28 through banks.
ENS-PSL International Selection (Sciences and Arts & Humanities) →
Eiffel Excellence Scholarship (Dauphine-PSL) →
PSL Graduate Program in Computer Science Excellence Scholarship →
PSL PhD Tracks (5-year funded master-to-doctorate programme) →
Browse the scholarships listed for Université PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Université PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) →Bachelor’s programmes are highly selective. First-year (L1) applicants who hold or are preparing a French or European baccalaureate apply through Parcoursup, as do applicants from the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra. For 2026 entry the Parcoursup dates were registration from 19 January 2026, program choices by 12 March 2026 and confirmation of choices by 1 April 2026. Programme-specific requirements are given under the Admissions tab of each programme page.
Applicants from outside the EU who live in a country covered by the ‘Études en France’ procedure and are preparing a French or European baccalaureate apply on Parcoursup. Those with another diploma giving access to French higher education apply on Parcoursup for the CPES, and through ‘Études en France’ for Sustainability Sciences (Sciences pour un monde durable), the International Bachelor of Science in AI and the Dauphine - PSL bachelor’s degrees. The I-BE³ has its own application platform. Non-EU applicants living in a country outside the ‘Études en France’ procedure apply to the CPES via Parcoursup and make a prior admission request (DAP) for Sustainability Sciences and the International Bachelor in AI. CNSAD admission is by entrance examination, ENSAD by Parcoursup and competitive examination, and Paris-Malaquais by Parcoursup and interview. Direct entry into the second year is possible only in some programmes.
PhD Track applicants need a very good command of English (level C1 recommended; TOEFL or IELTS results unless English is the first language or the degree was taught in English). Language prerequisites for other programmes are given on each programme page.
PSL offers more than 50 master’s programmes and applications go through one of several platforms depending on the programme. For first-year (M1) entry in 2026: programmes on the national Mon Master platform accepted applications from 17 February to 16 March 2026, programmes on the PSL ‘TALENT’ portal (for example Chemistry, Physics, Cognitive Science, Energy, Materials Science and Engineering, Space Science and Technology and Sustainability Science) from 15 January to 24 February 2026, Dauphine - PSL programmes on the MyCandidature portal from 15 January to 24 February 2026, and the Paris School of Economics programmes from 15 January to 12 March 2026, with some exceptions per programme. Second-year (M2) applications stay on each institution’s own portal.
For most programmes, applicants from countries covered by ‘Études en France’ start the pre-consular procedure only after admission to a master’s programme; Dauphine - PSL programmes require both the Études en France portal and the Dauphine - PSL portal. After admission, other international students request a student visa, and PhD students a ‘passeport talent’ researcher visa. The PSL Welcome Desk helps with these formalities.
The five master’s-level grandes écoles degrees are the engineering programmes of ESPCI - PSL, MINES Paris - PSL and Chimie ParisTech - PSL, the ENS - PSL diploma (including an international selection route) and the CNSAD acting and directing diploma. Each school sets its own competitive-entry and international-admission routes.
PSL PhD Tracks (chemistry, life sciences, astrophysics and computer science for the September 2027 intake) are five-year programmes entered from Master’s year 1, with no direct entry into later years. Applicants need a bachelor’s degree or equivalent of 180 ECTS (or be in their final year), meet the entry requirements of the master’s degree concerned and show academic excellence, a strong research project and, ideally, laboratory experience. The online application, submitted on the PSL portal from 14 October to 14 December 2026, includes an academic CV, transcripts, a one-page statement of purpose, a one-to-two-page research project, proof of English at level C1 and two academic referees. Eligible candidates are interviewed remotely in English between January and March 2027. Other doctoral admission goes through the Collège Doctoral.
PSL is a Paris-based university whose schools and laboratories are spread across the city, with Paris as the campus. Each member institution keeps its own sites, and the common services are shared by all.
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