Study abroad at Montpellier

Montpellier is one of France's most youthful, sun-drenched, and celebrated university capitals in the Occitanie region along the Mediterranean coast, situated just 10 km from the beaches and 3 hours from Paris by direct TGV high-speed train. Renowned for having the highest student-to-resident ratio in France (over 70,000 university students making up nearly 25% of the population), celebrated for the grand Place de la Comédie, the medieval Écusson historic center, futuristic Antigone district designed by Ricardo Bofill, and Europe's largest free public transit network for local residents. Montpellier is globally famous as the historic cradle of medicine and ecology, home to the University of Montpellier (Université de Montpellier / UM - founded in 1220, boasting the world's oldest continuously operating medical faculty where Nostradamus and Rabelais studied, ranked #1 in the World for Ecology in the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities ARWU with over 50,000 students across its Triolet Science, Richter Economics/Law, and Pharmacy campuses). Montpellier is also home to Montpellier Business School (MBS - Triple Crown accredited: AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS, ranked in the Financial Times European Top 50), Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3 (Arts, Languages, and Social Sciences), Polytech Montpellier, and Institut Agro Montpellier (pioneering agricultural sciences and viticulture). Degrees are taught in French and English with official French State and European ECTS accreditations. International students benefit from heavily subsidized French public university tuition, generous French government housing subsidies (CAF / APL covering 30%–45% of monthly rent), free citywide tramway transit for resident students, and France's 1-year post-study job seeker visa (RECE).

Tuition fees in Montpellier for international students at the public University of Montpellier (UM) and Paul Valéry are heavily subsidized by the French government: national French public university tuition is approximately €175 per year for undergraduate Bachelor's (Licence) and €250 per year for Master's degrees (or standard differentiated non-EU fees of €2,850/year for Licence and €3,879/year for Master's, with extensive partial tuition waivers granted to international students). At Montpellier Business School (MBS), international tuition ranges between €11,000 and €15,000 per academic year. Affordable public CROUS student residences (CROUS Montpellier: Résidence Triolet, Boutonnet, Voie Domitienne, Vert-Bois) cost between €210 and €420 per month (reduced to €130–€260/month after the mandatory French CAF / APL housing allowance subsidy), while private 1-bedroom apartments in Comédie, Richter, and Antigone range from €500 to €800 per month. General monthly living expenses range between €650 and €1,050.

International non-EU students require a French Long-Stay Student Visa (VLS-TS - Visa Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour). The process requires: completing the online Campus France procedure, receiving official university admission, proof of sufficient financial resources (minimum €615 per month or €7,380/year in a personal bank account), and valid accommodation certificate for the first 3 months. Upon arrival in Montpellier, students validate their VLS-TS visa online with the OFII to receive official student residence status, qualifying for free French social security healthcare (Assurance Maladie), monthly CAF housing assistance, up to 60% legal part-time employment (964 hours/year), free citywide tramway transit, and the 1-year RECE post-study job seeker residence permit.