Université de Lorraine

Welcome to Université de Lorraine!

The Lorraine region was already an independent duchy in the Northeast of France when it created its university in 1572. Throughout History, the region was divided several times into a "French" part and a "German" part, before being reunited and definitely included in France at the beginning of the 20th century. Because of this complex and rich history, two large cities developed: Metz in the North and Nancy in the South.

In Nancy, three universities were founded in the 20th century, among which a National Polytechnic Institute that combined several engineering schools. In Metz, the first university appeared in 1970.

On January 1st, 2012, after several years of preparation, these four universities merged into one, forming Université de Lorraine. The university has over 50 000 students, close to 6 800 staff members, among which 3 700 teachers and searchers, and many buildings and campuses distributed in the entire region.

1hour 30 minutes away from Paris by TGV and at the heart of the Greater Region (Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany), the Lorraine region provides a pleasant setting along with a very rich cultural life.

In 2013 according to the French newspaper, Le Figaro-étudiant, Nancy was rated by students to be the best city to study in!

Université de Lorraine is a French public university

It offers to its nearly 52,000 students a full range of studies, in all fields, and in conformity to the Bologna model (bachelor/master/doctorate).

It also proposes specific French diplomas such as DUT in a variety of fields (a 2 years vocational diploma which is often followed by an additional year to obtain a vocational bachelor degree) or diplôme d’ingénieur, a master-level degree in engineering and industrial management.

The studies are connected to high-level research in the different fields and benefit from high-level specialized skills and hi-tech facilities and infrastructures, whenever necessary. Please feel free to explore in more details the organization and working of the French Education System.

International students have the possibility to spend one or more semesters at Université de Lorraine through a number of exchange programs. They are also invited to apply for one of our international curricula, where all or parts of the courses are taught in English. And of course, it is a very good idea to use the opportunity of a stay with us to learn French; for that, we have a full offer of language training in French.

Anastasiya Gepp / Pexels

Dialogue of Knowledge

Université de Lorraine promotes innovation through the dialogue of knowledge, taking advantage of the variety and strength of its scientific fields, and aiming at the promotion of knowledge transfer to irrigate innovation and economic growth as well as the progress of fundamental science.

Being the University of a whole region, Université de Lorraine is a major actor of its economic and social development, building on intercultural and intergeneration links, coordinating a regional research policy, and giving access to higher education to as many inhabitants as possible.

Université de Lorraine offers curricula in all fields of knowledge: sciences, health, technology, engineering sciences, human and social sciences, law, economy, management, arts, literature, and language. A specific focus is given to crossovers between fields and skills, to help students develop their own pathway.

Université de Lorraine proposes a large spectrum of international activities

• Ingoing and outgoing student exchanges (about 1.500 of our students spend at least one semester abroad during their studies, 15% of our students started their studies in one among approximately 100 foreign countries).
• Shared diplomas with other universities: around 60 joint diplomas, including 7 Erasmus Mundus master programmes.
• Research collaborations:
  • Numerous joint PhDs: 11% of our PhDs are shared with a foreign university;
  • Joint groups or labs with foreign universities;
  • Nearly 30% of our publications are co-signed with scientists from other countries.
• Mobility of students, of Ph.D. students and post-docs, of faculty members and administrative staff, to consolidate our international integration. The University has an active policy for encouraging outgoing mobility, and to facilitate and simplify the welcome of incoming persons.

Beyond this general openness, our international strategy builds on 3 gradual levels

• Having border with 3 other countries, it is quite natural that Lorraine is involved in the buildup of cross-border relationships within the Greater Region (Luxembourg, French- and German-speaking parts of Belgium, Lorraine, German Länder of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland). Université de Lorraine is a major player in this construction, through numerous bilateral collaborations with the universities of these regions, but also through its active role in developing the University of the Greater Region, where it is associated with the Universities of Saarland, Trier, Kaiserslautern, Luxembourg, and Liège.
• Université de Lorraine intends to progressively build up ties with a network of European universities sharing its major orientations: interdisciplinarity and dialogue of knowledge fields, within universities covering a broad scientific spectrum, but with a structuring orientation around engineering, taken in a broad sense.
• Whereas we have numerous international partnerships throughout the world, some sites have the potential of focusing several collaborations, in research and in teaching, on a broad set of disciplines. Université de Lorraine wishes to emphasize its partnership with these sites, by structuring its collaborations within recognized and strongly supported entities. This is first and foremost true for the French-German cooperation, for which Université de Lorraine has established a specific French-German Center for Lorraine, (CFALOR). This kind of partnership has also been established in Morocco, in Kazakhstan, and in China (especially in Wuhan), and the aim is to focus on around 10 sites or regions in the world.