With over 100,000 students, varied high-quality training opportunities and welcoming campuses, students, apprentices, interns, whether from the region or elsewhere in the world, Normandy is the perfect place to pursue your higher-education training! Boasting prestigious engineering grandes écoles (private universities) that specialise in fields as varied as construction and agronomy, business management schools with ever-growing reputations, institutes for political studies and three universities in Caen, Rouen and Le Havre, there are so many options to choose from here to ensure you get the right training.
Varied training opportunities
As well as its well-reputed university courses and scientific community, Normandy is home to some higher-education establishments specialising in its sectors of excellence. Officers in the merchant navy do their training at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Maritime in Le Havre. Animal osteopaths of the future spend five years studying in Caen. At Graignes, near Saint-Lô, the Ecole des Courses Hippiques trains future horse-riding champions. Students from around the world also come Normandy to master the techniques of plastics manufacturing at the Institut Supérieur de Plasturgie d’Alençon, while future professionals in graphic animation can opt from training from recognised professionals at LANIMEA in Rouen.
Lower cost of student living
In case you’re still not convinced, there’s more. Among France’s major university towns, Rouen, Caen and Le Havre count among the cities with the lowest cost of student living, costing students between €815 and €788 per month on average, including rent (taken from the UNEF annual study in 2018). Other Normandy towns like Cherbourg, which is home to an ESAM (Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Médias) campus, and Evreux and Alençon, with their IUTs (university institutes of technology), are even less expensive for students.
A cultural hub (with some lively Thursday evenings!)
In Normandy, you can make the most of your student days, living life to the full and taking advantage of the exceptional wealth of heritage and nature sites on offer, easily experienced during hikes and outdoor pursuits. Normandy is a region whose history has truly had an impact on the world, from William the Conqueror to the Second World War; a region where innovative ecosystems are being developed in the fields of both medicine and digital technology; and above all, a region where student life is thriving. Our art-house cinemas, which also show all the latest releases, offer student tickets at unbeatable prices, from €4 to €5 – what’s not to love?
In Rouen and Caen, well-watered Thursday evenings have become a tradition on certain streets. Rouen even counts among the top three French cities based on the number of bars per inhabitant! The cherry on the cake has to be the Caen student carnival, which is officially recognised as the largest student carnival in Europe!
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Testimonial
Aishwarya Rao Katakam, a student from Hyderabad (India), who is studying for a semester at the Ecole de Management de Normandie, Le Havre campus
Aishwarya Rao Katakam
At present, I’m studying for a degree in management, in English, at the Ecole de Management de Normandie in Le Havre, as part of a university exchange. My core studies are in human resources, statistics, human sciences, marketing and strategy. At the same time, I’m studying French at intermediate level and Spanish as a beginner.
I chose Normandy because of its historical importance. I really wanted to experience French life and a town like Le Havre, which isn’t a huge metropolis, but which is very closely linked to world history, seemed like an ideal place. For me, it represents all that defines France.