When deciding where to pursue higher education, students should compare academic programs, university resources, location, and student life. France is a major destination for international students: Campus France reported that 443,500 foreign students were enrolled in French higher education institutions in the 2024–2025 academic year. Students exploring higher education in France can choose from a broad range of institutions and programs.
France offers a wide range of programs across its higher education institutions. For prospective biology students comparing French universities, the institution matters because program structure, research environment, language of instruction, and available specializations can vary.
This article introduces several top universities in France that offer biology-related study and research opportunities.
Top Schools Offering Biology in France
1. Sorbonne University
Situated in Paris, Sorbonne University is a multidisciplinary research university created on January 1, 2018, through the merger of Paris-Sorbonne University and Pierre and Marie Curie University. Its Faculty of Science and Engineering combines disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, including work related to data and artificial intelligence, the environment, climate change, and healthcare.
Within Sorbonne University, the Institute of Biology Paris-Seine (IBPS) brings together biological research on the Pierre and Marie Curie campus. Established in 2014, the institute addresses major challenges in environmental science, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and behavioral disorders while advancing fundamental knowledge. It also develops quantitative approaches at the intersections of biology and computer science, mathematics, and physics.
What Current Students / Alumni of Sorbonne University Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Blanka Kelecsenyi
International Master’s in Cell Biology and Cancer
Started September 2025 | Studies cancer therapeutic strategies in English and reports gaining experience with research techniques and critical analysis of experimental data. She found the intensive teaching blocks and uninterrupted two-hour lectures tiring. | Theoretical and practical training helped her identify the laboratory work she would like to pursue before choosing a PhD project. She describes professors as open to discussion and her programme coordinator as helpful with course questions. |
Ioanna
Master’s in From Fundamental Molecular Biosciences to Biotherapies
Joint programme with DKFZ Heidelberg and Heidelberg University | Reports developing technical research skills through her molecular biosciences master’s, which she completed in English. This joint postgraduate experience helped shape her decision to pursue doctoral research in disease modelling. | — |
2. Paris-Saclay University
Paris-Saclay University covers science and engineering, life sciences and health, and humanities and social sciences. Its science policy closely links research and innovation, including both basic and applied science.
For biology-related study, the university’s Graduate School Life Sciences and Health brings together training and research in biology, bioinformatics, and medicine. Its graduate programs connect master’s and doctoral programs with research teams and use an integrative approach that ranges from molecular mechanisms to cells, organisms, and populations.
What Current Students / Alumni of Paris-Saclay University Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Hamadoun Bamia
Master’s in Biology and Health | Reports that the research-oriented curriculum deepened his understanding of biological mechanisms and connected them with his previous bioinformatics training. His classes were in French, with required English credits that strengthened his scientific English. | Describes access to well-equipped laboratories and opportunities to interact with researchers during his biology master’s. He credits the combination of theoretical and practical training with strengthening his scientific reasoning and independent research skills. |
3. University of Montpellier
- Study Program
- Degrees Offered: Licence (Bachelor’s-level), Master’s, Doctorate (Ph.D.)
Located in southern France, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities still in operation in Europe. Its official history notes that it was formally established in 1289 by a papal bull, building on an earlier tradition of medical teaching in the city.
Biology-related study includes a generalist Life Sciences bachelor’s-level degree and master’s programs such as Biology and Health and Biology-Agrosciences. The university groups relevant research units into fields including Biology, Agrosciences; Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Environmental, Earth and Water Sciences; and Biology-Health.
4. Paris Cité University
- Study Program
- Degrees Offered: Licence (Bachelor’s-level), Master’s, Doctorate (Ph.D.)
Paris Cité University is a multidisciplinary university created in 2019 through the merger of Paris Descartes University and Paris Diderot University and the integration of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. It adopted its current name in 2022.
Biology-related programs are offered through components including the UFR Sciences du Vivant and the UFR Sciences Fondamentales et Biomédicales. The UFR Sciences du Vivant offers multidisciplinary bachelor’s- and master’s-level programs across areas such as cellular and molecular biology, physiology, genetics, neuroscience, immunology, microbiology, and ecology. The UFR Sciences Fondamentales et Biomédicales also offers biomedical science programs with multidisciplinary training.
5. Aix-Marseille University
- Study Program
- Degrees Offered: Licence (Bachelor’s-level), Professional Licence, Master’s, Doctorate (Ph.D.)
Aix-Marseille University is a public university in Provence, southern France. Its historical roots lie in the University of Aix, founded in 1409 by Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence. Today, Aix-Marseille University operates across five main campuses.
The university’s Biology Department brings together disciplines in the life sciences and reports about 2,000 students in general bachelor’s-level, professional bachelor’s-level, and master’s programs across four Aix-Marseille University campuses. The department aims to provide research-based and professionally oriented training, and its page also lists doctoral study through the School of Life and Health Sciences.
6. Université Grenoble Alpes
Université Grenoble Alpes offers biology in Grenoble, France, through its Faculty of Chemistry and Biology and Department of Undergraduate Science and Technology. Its programs connect broad biological education with graduate study in molecular, cellular, and biomedical fields. The university also provides doctoral training through its Chemistry and Life Sciences Doctoral School.
The Life Sciences licence includes a Biology pathway in the second and third years, following first-year scientific preparation. Taught in French, it covers physiology, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, and ecology. Experimental teaching forms a substantial part of the curriculum. Later electives include immunology, ecotoxicology, biodiversity and evolution, and the biology of normal and cancerous cells.
The two-year Master’s in Biology begins with Molecular and Cellular Biology before students select a second-year specialization. Research pathways include Physiology, Epigenetics, Differentiation and Cancer; Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology; Neurosciences and Neurobiology; and Biochemistry and Structure. These research pathways are taught in English. Doctoral options encompass cellular and molecular biology and structural biology through the Chemistry and Life Sciences Doctoral School.
What Current Students / Alumni of Université Grenoble Alpes Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Zeinab Hoteit
Master’s in BioHealth Engineering
Specialization: Cell and Gene Therapy and Tissue Engineering | Combined biological, pharmaceutical, and engineering perspectives in her biotherapies training. Her master’s included a drug-discovery internship and culminated in an external research internship at INSERM INMED in Marseille focused on neurodevelopmental disorders. | Participated in interdisciplinary ageing education and a summer school featuring team projects and presentations of internship research. Her master’s classes were primarily in English, but the additional Living Well, Ageing Well programme required French and was taught exclusively in French. |
7. AgroParisTech
AgroParisTech provides education in life, food, and environmental sciences, with its Agro Paris-Saclay campus in Palaiseau, France. Its Department of Life and Health Sciences contributes to biological teaching and research. Biology education emphasizes the functioning of animals, plants, and microorganisms and their applications in agriculture, food systems, health, and environmental management.
A standalone Biology bachelor’s degree was not verified. AgroParisTech instead offers an engineering curriculum entered after preparatory or other qualifying higher education. Its catalog describes routes lasting two or three years, depending on entry level. Biological science forms part of the engineering foundation, and later study can include biology and biotechnology for health and microbial or plant production.
Graduate biology options include the Master’s in Integrative Biology and Physiology, offered within the Paris-Saclay academic framework. It covers physiology, genetics, cell and molecular biology, systems biology, and synthetic biology, with animal and plant pathways. Doctoral training includes life and health sciences through the ABIES Doctoral School, which is co-accredited by AgroParisTech and partner institutions. Its biological fields include plant and animal sciences.
What Current Students / Alumni of AgroParisTech Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Sachin Timilsina
MSc in Global Forestry
Study at AgroParisTech in Kourou and Montpellier | Studied forest ecology during his AgroParisTech component of the joint forestry master’s. He reports that instruction throughout the programme was in English. | Conducted field research in the Amazonian rainforest during the AgroParisTech component, gaining experience in tropical forest environments. |
8. Université Côte d’Azur
Université Côte d’Azur provides biology education in Nice, France, through its Life Sciences undergraduate portal and LIFE Graduate School. The graduate school connects teaching with research institutes in Nice and Sophia Antipolis. Its academic environment covers fundamental biology, genetics, neuroscience, and the biological mechanisms underlying health and disease.
The three-year Licence in Life Sciences requires 180 ECTS credits and is taught in French at the Valrose campus. Students receive broad preparation before choosing specialized pathways such as Molecular Biology and Genetics, Organismal and Ecosystem Biology, Bioinformatics, or Biochemistry, Physiology and Neurobiology. Chemistry and mathematics support the biological curriculum, while practical classes and projects develop experimental methods and scientific reasoning.
The Master’s in Life Sciences offers tracks including Genetics and Development, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Cancerology and Translational Research, and Physiopathology and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches. Long-term internships provide research experience in affiliated laboratories, with additional opportunities in biotechnology companies. Doctoral students undertake research through the Life and Health Sciences Doctoral School, ED 85, within its associated institutes and laboratories.
What Current Students / Alumni of Université Côte d’Azur Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Eamon Mcandrew
PhD research at Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire
Research focus: long-read single-cell and spatial transcriptomics | Develops computational pipelines to investigate isoform diversity and how alternative splicing contributes to cellular function. Completed research visits at Oxford Nanopore Technologies and a genomics group in Valencia, studying sequencing technology and data analysis. | Reports that nearby biology, genomics, and computing groups at IPMC made interdisciplinary collaboration routine. All mandatory PhD requirements were available in English in some form, although French proficiency would have opened access to more classes and academic conversations. |
9. University of Lille
The University of Lille offers biology-related study at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Its Biology and Health master’s program is based on local health research units and partnerships with Lille University Medical Center, the Pasteur Institute of Lille, INSERM, and CNRS. Its Graduate School of Biology and Health supports multidisciplinary doctoral training in basic biological and biomedical research, applied clinical research, medically related technological innovation, and public health.
The international profile and research intensity of Lille’s biology programs are also reflected in the journeys of its doctoral researchers. In a Global Scholarships profile, Eden Haseeb described doctoral work on necroptosis, a regulated form of cell death, and the search for potential modulators. This kind of project illustrates how fundamental cell biology can connect with possible clinical applications.
What Current Students / Alumni of University of Lille Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Eden Haseeb
PhD in Cellular and Molecular Aspects of Biology
Research focus: necroptosis | Investigated necroptosis, a regulated form of cell death associated with neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, and searched for potential modulators. Used a FRET-based biosensor to study modulation of kinase activity at the single-cell level. | — |
Gouripriya Sreekumar Menon
Joint Master’s in Paleobiology, PANGEA
First semester at Lille; remaining three semesters at Uppsala University | Completed her Lille semester as part of an English-taught paleobiology degree. Across the joint programme, she describes hands-on learning about the origins of life and vertebrate paleontology, without separating those topics by university. | — |
10. Nantes University
Nantes University, officially Nantes Université, offers biology in Nantes, France, through its Faculty of Science and Technology and health-related academic units. Undergraduate teaching covers several biological disciplines, while graduate education includes the Biology–Health master’s and doctoral training. These programs connect scientific study with research into biological mechanisms and human health.
The three-year Licence in Life Sciences comprises six semesters and 180 ECTS credits. Its five pathways include Advanced Biology Training, Cell and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Animal Physiology, Biology/Veterinary/Agronomy, and Plant and Food Sciences. Coursework covers biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, and animal and plant physiology. The Cell and Molecular Biology pathway introduces techniques such as protein production, purification, and gene manipulation.
The two-year Master’s in Biology–Health includes mandatory internships and specialized pathways in immunology, cancer biology, microbiota, and cardiovascular, metabolic, and respiratory diseases. Its themed master’s–doctoral curricula connect graduate teaching with research. The Biology–Health doctorate includes specializations in cell and developmental biology, molecular and structural biology, genetics and genomics, immunology, and microbiology, allowing students to pursue original laboratory-based investigations.
What Current Students / Alumni of Nantes University Say
| Student/Alumnus and Program | Biology Academic Experience | University Experience |
|---|
Jay Tering
Joint Master’s in Aquaculture, Environment, and Society
Third-semester study in France | During his French semester, professors taught and demonstrated bivalve farming, diatom culture, and extraction of metals and metabolites from marine organisms. He reports that classes were conducted in English. | — |
France offers a broad range of higher education programs and an international student community. Students considering biology should compare program content, language of instruction, admissions requirements, and funding options before applying.
We hope this article on biology universities in France was insightful and helpful. If you are interested, explore Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees for International Students!
