Top Universities in France

175 universities in France with a measured position, 19 of them ranked worldwide.

#UniversityCityWorld rankIn-countryCitations
1 PSL University #28 (2026) #1 5,068,689
2 Institut Polytechnique de Paris #38 #2 233,125
3 Sorbonne University #63 (2025) #3 33,990,197
4 Sorbonne Université - Faculté des Sciences (Paris VI) #63 (2025) #4 33,990,197
5 Université Paris-Saclay #71 (2024) #5 18,401,156
6 Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon #187 (2025) #6 2,816,556
7 Sciences Po #319 #7 —
8 Université Grenoble Alpes #334 (2025) #8 13,924,939
9 Université de Montpellier #448 (2025) #9 10,698,350
10 Université de Strasbourg #456 (2025) #10 7,578,277
11 Université d'Aix-Marseille #481 (2025) #11 11,793,449
12 Université Bordeaux I #535 (2025) #15 8,689,184
13 Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux #535 (2025) #13 8,689,184
14 Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electronique et de Radioelectricite de Bordeaux #535 (2025) #12 8,689,184
15 Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Bordeaux #535 (2025) #14 8,689,184
16 Université Michel de Montaigne (Bordeaux III ) #535 (2025) #16 8,689,184
17 Université Montesquieu (Bordeaux IV) #535 (2025) #17 8,689,184
18 Université Claude Bernard (Lyon I) #562 (2025) #18 18,789,820
19 Université de Toulouse-le-Mirail (Toulouse III) #580 (2025) #19 9,719,175
20 Université Clermont Auvergne not ranked #23 5,157,155
21 Université de Lorraine not ranked #24 5,149,433
22 Université Bourgogne - Franche-Comté not ranked #26 3,943,664
23 Institut polytechnique de Grenoble not ranked #32 2,349,117
24 Université de Caen Basse Normandie not ranked #33 2,135,143
25 AgroParisTech not ranked #36 1,987,689
26 Université de Poitiers not ranked #37 1,900,323
27 Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon not ranked #45 1,421,964
28 Université de Limoges not ranked #46 1,245,079
29 Université de Franche Comté not ranked #50 1,028,874
30 Université de Technologie de Compiègne not ranked #52 747,197
31 Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse not ranked #55 666,207
32 Université du Maine not ranked #64 523,728
33 INSEAD not ranked #66 511,744
34 Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille not ranked #65 507,545
35 Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Physique Electronique de Lyon not ranked #70 489,279
36 Université d'Avignon not ranked #67 469,834
37 Ecole Centrale de Marseille not ranked #74 438,270
38 IMT Atlantique not ranked #76 391,728
39 Université Vincennes Saint-Denis (Paris VIII) not ranked #78 382,909
40 Université Paris Ouest Paris X Nanterre not ranked #80 356,031
41 Ecole Centrale de Nantes not ranked #82 343,485
42 Université de Technologie de Troyes not ranked #85 288,159
43 Université du Havre not ranked #92 182,971
44 Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'Etat not ranked #94 163,460
45 Institut Supérieure d'Electronique du Nord not ranked #98 129,070
46 Ecole Nationale Supérieure en Electrotechnique, Electronique, Informatique et Hydraulique de Toulous not ranked #102 113,957
47 SKEMA Business School not ranked #106 104,839
48 Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de Lille not ranked #107 98,929
49 Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles not ranked #113 93,746
50 Audencia not ranked #114 87,220
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What the two columns mean

In-country is the position the ranking record gives the university among those in its own country, and it is often the more useful number: a university ranked 480th in the world may still be third at home. It is carried over as published, so it does not always follow the order of the other two columns. World rank is the university's QS World University Rankings position. Citations are the number of times work published by the university has been cited, as recorded in OpenAlex; it is the measure used to order universities that QS does not rank at all.

The two do not always agree. A large research university can out-cite a smaller one that sits above it in QS, because QS weighs reputation surveys and staff ratios as well as research.

Rankings in other countries

USA 138 ranked UK 55 ranked Germany 40 ranked China 37 ranked Australia 31 ranked Canada 26 ranked Italy 18 ranked South Korea 17 ranked Japan 16 ranked Spain 15 ranked Switzerland 13 ranked Malaysia 11 ranked