Last updated on 07 juil. 2022
With more than 360,000 foreign students, France is the 7th most popular host country for international students behind the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Russia and Canada. 76% of international students in France are enrolled in an exchange program, while the remaining 24% are direct enrollment students. (2022 Campus France Key figures). Funded by the national government and located across the nation, public universities award national diplomas and university diplomas at every level.
 


The Université Lumière Lyon 2 is one of the three universities that comprise the current University of Lyon, located in Lyon Metropolis. Having splintered from an older university of the same name, the Université Lumière Lyon 2 has a total of 30,000 students studying for three to eight-year degrees in the arts, humanities, law, economics and social sciences.
 
Degrees

The Université Lumière Lyon 2 is a public university that offers courses based on three levels:

  • Licence (Bachelor's degree) – 180 ECTS (3 years of study)
  • Master (Master's degree) – 120 ECTS (2 years of study)
  • Doctorat (PhD)

All of the degrees at our university are standardised with the LMD system (Licence/Master/Doctorat), a three-level organisation of higher education that organises recognition of the degrees in the different countries, and especially in the European Union.

Our university offers different degrees on : 

  • Arts, Letters, Languages
  • Law, Economics, Management
  • Human and Social Sciences
  • Science, Technology, Health

For more information about higher education in France, please visit: https://www.campusfrance.org/en/
Academic year

In France, the academic year begins in September and consists of two semesters: the Autumn Semester (September-January) and the Spring Semester (January-June).
Each semester is numbered as follows: (S = semester).

Each academic year consists of two semesters numbered as follows: (S = semester)

Autumn semester Spring semester
Bachelor’s (fr.Licence) 1st year (L1) S1 = 30 ECTS credits S2 = 30 ECTS credits
Bachelor’s 2nd year (L2) S3 = 30 ECTS credits S4 = 30 ECTS credits
Bachelor’s 3rd year (L3) S5 = 30 ECTS credits S6 = 30 ECTS credits
Master’s 1st year (M1) S1 = 30 ECTS credits S2 = 30 ECTS credits
Master’s 2nd year (M2) S3 = 30 ECTS credits S4 = 30 ECTS credits

However, the rule for the allocation of ECTS credits for exchange students is different from that of students regularly enrolled in a degree-seeking program of study.

Classes

There are two types of classes at the University :

  • “Cours Magistral” or CM, lectures in amphitheatres;
  • "Travaux Dirigés” or TD, small-group discussion sessions in classrooms.

Depending on the Faculty and the courses, a CM and a TD may be inseparable. It is then compulsory to enrol in both the TD and the CM.

The Université Lumière Lyon 2 is a French-speaking University: therefore, the language used for teaching is French for the majority of courses.

With rare exceptions, the B2 level of proficiency in French is the accepted minimum level allowing non-native speakers to be able to follow a course at our university. The University does not require exchange students to have a language level certificate (neither in French nor in English) to enrol.