FRENCH HIGHER EDUCATION: TRAINING AND ESTABLISHMENTS

The short vocational training
University higher education
Grandes écoles and specialized schools
Higher education without the Baccalaureat

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The short vocational training

The two-year vocational courses (or sometimes three for some certificates like BTS) help the students find a job quickly. One of the main advantages of these program is a training appropriate to the economic realities. Those programs have been in part worked out by professionals and actors of the economic life. They cover almost all special fields in the three branches of industry.

The most well-known and recognized among those two-year vocational courses are the DUT (scientific and technical subjects) prepared in technical Institutes (IUT) and BTS (vocational training certificate) prepared in High Standard Technicians' Departments (STS). Whereas the BTS propose more technical and specialized training, the DUT propose a more general training which allows to keep on studying after in a Grande Ecole (engineering or management) or at the university (Degree level).

The 80s have seen the birth of another two-year vocational training course prepared at the university and called Deust (Science and technique Diploma taken after two years).

Finally, a lot of one, two or three-year vocational training can be prepared in a great deal of schools, public or private ones, in various fields (tourism, paramedical, data processing…).

Let's have a look at these courses in detail.

High Standard Technicians' Departments (STS) : The high standard technicians' departments are higher classes in state schools (polytechnics). Some of these courses can also be followed in public schools. More than 1500 schools accommodate each year about 100 000 pupils. The studies last two years (sometimes three for some specialties) and are sanctioned by the vocational training certificate (BTS) delivered in extremely diversified fields.

The BTS is a national diploma, as the baccalauréat. It means that the schools, either state or public schools, prepare their students for the national examination, but are not entitled to deliver the diploma. You should so be extremely careful when choosing your school. As a general rule, state schools get better results than public schools which often practise high registration fees (1 500 to 4 000 euros per year on average). But the admission in state STS is much more selective : theoretically, the baccalauréat (or an equivalent diploma) is not necessary to prepare for a BTS but some STS will not admit students who will not show strong school reports and good baccalauréat results (with B or A grade). The students directly register in the establishment they have chosen, generally from January to April or May, sometimes up to July or even September in some public schools. Be careful, for the subjects the more required, the registration procedures stop very early in the year.

To obtain the list of the schools with STS, you may consult the following organizations.
In your country :
the EduFrance spot : details on the site www.edufrance.fr ;
the Culture Department of the French Embassy.
In France :
the SCUIO (university service of information and careers advice) in any university. You will find the addresses of those services in the Address Book at the end of the guide ;
the department for students' career and integration on the Education Ministry
(61-65, rue Dutot, 75732 Paris cedex 15. Tel. : 01 40 65 65 40) ;
the French office of information on jobs and careers (Onisep, BP 86 Lognes, 77423 Marne-la-Vallée cedex 2. Tel. : 01 64 80 35 00. Internet : www.onisep.fr) ;
the student website : www.studyrama.com, www.edufrance.fr, www.etudier-en-france.com
You can also procure the special issues of the student papers which publish every year surveys on various STS, the quality of their courses and their success rates in the BTS.

Technical Institutes (IUT) : The Technical Institutes (about 100) are state establishments which depend on a university. They prepare the students for the DUT (a two-year diploma). The general and technological training is directed toward industry and services and brings a choice some 23 specialties, with or without option).

This training is highly prized and the admission is very selective : examination of the school report by a jury, for holders of the baccalauréat or equivalent diploma only. The applicants may also be asked a covering letter that you will take great care in writing. Some IUT departments among the most successful add an oral exam or an interview at the end of the school year. Some of them, nevertheless, are well aware of the difficulties met by the foreign students in the selection procedure and do not ask them to travel to France especially for the oral examination. As a result, the selection can only be based on the application file and the covering letter.

Admission without baccalauréat or equivalent diploma is almost impossible (examination and a very solid school report !), given the limited number of places and the fierce competition (even between French students).
It is also possible to prepare for a DUT in one year (called " special year ") for students with a university Degree, or even a Master degree. The selection is based on an application file and an interview.
The dead line to register is usually mid-June but you are strongly advised to withdraw your application file as soon as possible as the departments the most successful reach very quickly their quota of students. Besides, you can (and you are strongly advised to do so) register in several IUT or several IUT departments.

You will find the list of the IUT different departments or courses at :
the SCUIO (University services of information and careers advice) in each university. For more details on these services see the Address Book at the end of the guide ;
the department for students' career and integration on the Education Ministry
(61-65, rue Dutot, 75732 Paris cedex 15. Tel. : 01 40 65 65 40) ;
the French office of information on jobs and careers (Onisep, BP 86 Lognes, 77423 Marne-la-Vallée cedex 2. Tel. : 01 64 80 35 00. Internet : www.onisep.fr ;
the National federation of IUT graduates (FNDUT) : 1, rue Terre-Neuve, BP 355, 91959 Les Ulis cedex. Tel. : 01 69 28 26 47. Fax : 01 69 28 25 50 ;
les sites étudiants : www.studyrama.com, www.edufrance.fr, www.etudier-en-france.com

Science and technique Diploma taken after two years (Deust) : The Deust stems from the will of the universities in the 80s to propose vocational diplomas to students who did not want to start long and general studies. This is the only two-year vocational diploma delivered by the University. It is inspired by BTS and DUT, accessible after examination, on file or after competitive examination and prepares, in two years, high-level technicians immediately operational on the job market.

The Deust have often been created in correlation with an economic sector or a firm so as to develop technical training meeting specific or local needs. They may not always be adapted to the specificity or the job market in your own country. You will have to consider the pros and cons and ask a maximum of information before starting this type of studies.

The very existence of this training is questioned : the Education Ministry is not in favor of this kind of ultra-specific diplomas. They remain in the range of available courses but no new Deust will be created in the years to come and they may progressively disappear.