Address: Bâtiment Breguet, 3 rue Joliot Curie, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, Île-de-France, France
Physics, Mathematics, Engineering & ICT
Université Paris-Saclay is a public research university established in 2014, federating several Grandes Écoles and research labs. It aims to be a leading global center for science and technology. It became a university in 2020, integrating some former Paris-Sud University components.
Université Paris-Saclay is the largest research-oriented university cluster in France, with about 48,000 students and 9,000 staff, and roughly one student in five from abroad. It opened in 2020 on the Saclay plateau south of Paris and combines faculties, grandes écoles and national research organisations. Its sites include Orsay, Gif-sur-Yvette, Palaiseau, Versailles, Evry and Chatenay-Malabry. Since its first year in the Shanghai ranking, it has been the highest-placed French university there.
The plateau is where a large share of French physics research has been concentrated since the 1950s. The synchrotron SOLEIL, the CEA Paris-Saclay centre, the particle physics laboratory IJCLab in Orsay and several CNRS institutes are on or near the campuses. Albert Fert, who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance, worked at the Orsay site, and the mathematics department there is regarded as one of the strongest in the world.
Physics, mathematics, engineering and information technology are the leading disciplines, but the university also covers life sciences, pharmacy, medicine, law and sport sciences. Component schools such as CentraleSupélec, AgroParisTech and the Institut d’Optique Graduate School keep their own identity, which means that engineering students may be enrolled in the university while following a grande école curriculum. Master’s programmes are often taught in English.
Annual registration fees at French public universities are low and set nationally, at under three hundred euros for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Students from outside the EU may be asked to pay higher differentiated fees, which each institution can reduce through scholarships. Bachelor applicants use the national Parcoursup platform, while master’s applicants apply through the national master portal, and international candidates also use Campus France.
Housing on the plateau is mostly in student residences, and public transport to Paris is improving with the new metro line, so many students prefer to live in the capital. About a third of the people working at Saclay are researchers, which gives students unusual access to laboratories during their studies.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Automation, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Food Science, Geotechnics, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Robotics, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics, Transportations
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Includes institutions like CentraleSupélec (associate), ENS Paris-Saclay. Member of EURIAS, LERU (via some members). Strong links with research organizations (CNRS, CEA, INRAE, INRIA).
Research:
Fundamental physics, Nanosciences, AI and data science, Biotechnology, Climate science, Aerospace.
Famous Alumnis:
Albert Fert (Paris-Sud legacy), Wendelin Werner (Paris-Sud legacy)
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
9000
Current students***:
48000
Foreign students***:
20%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Globally recognized for research, particularly in physics and mathematics. Access to numerous high-profile labs and Grandes Écoles.
Cons
Very large and geographically dispersed campus, complex governance structure, still developing its unified identity.
Best For
Major research-intensive university in science and engineering, federating top institutions.
Both schools build their programmes around astroscience, aerospace and food science, and Université Grenoble Alpes is the one to compare first within the country, since it covers sound engineering and marine science as well, and is slightly larger, at about 59,000 students against roughly 48,000 here.
Sorbonne Université follows much the same lines as this institution, with astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics as common ground, and it covers sound engineering and marine science as well, and is slightly larger, at about 55,000 students against roughly 48,000 here.
Université de Lille shares the core fields of this university, namely astroscience, aerospace and food science; it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
Université de Strasbourg shares the core fields of this university, namely astroscience, food science and bioinformatics; it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and is slightly larger, at about 57,000 students against roughly 48,000 here.
Université de Bordeaux shares the core fields of this university, namely astroscience, aerospace and food science; it is slightly larger, at about 56,000 students against roughly 48,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Universität Hamburg (Germany) works on the same fields as this institution, chiefly astroscience, aerospace and food science; it covers sound engineering and marine science as well, and has almost the same size, at about 43,000 students.
Seen from abroad, University of Warsaw (Poland) is a close relative on subject matter, since astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics are central to both, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Students considering a move abroad can look at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn in Germany, where astroscience, food science and bioinformatics also form the core, and it covers agriculture as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 38,000 students against roughly 48,000 here.
In China, Wuhan University teaches much the same core subjects, astroscience, transportations and bioinformatics, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers marine science as well.
Peking University brings a China setting to the same core fields, astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics, and it has almost the same size, at about 45,000 students, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is Université Paris-Saclay?
It is south of Paris on the Saclay plateau, with its administrative address in Gif-sur-Yvette. Further sites are in Orsay, Palaiseau, Versailles and other towns.
How large is it?
About 48,000 students and 9,000 staff.
When was it created?
It opened in 2020 as a university combining faculties, grandes écoles and research organisations.
What is it known for?
Physics, mathematics, engineering, information technology, life sciences and pharmacy.
Which research facilities are nearby?
The SOLEIL synchrotron, the CEA Paris-Saclay centre and the IJCLab laboratory in Orsay are among them.
What does it cost to study there?
Annual registration fees at French public universities are under three hundred euros for bachelor's and master's degrees. Students from outside the EU may pay higher differentiated fees.
In which language are courses taught?
Mostly in French at bachelor level, with many master's programmes in English.
How do you apply?
Bachelor applicants use the national Parcoursup platform, master's applicants use the national master portal, and international candidates often use Campus France.
Which Nobel laureate is linked to Paris-Saclay?
Albert Fert, who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics, worked at the Orsay site.
Where do students live?
Many live in student residences on the plateau, and others choose Paris and commute by public transport.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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