Université Grenoble Alpes: Tuition, English Master's & How to Apply

Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) charges new non-EU students the national differentiated fees in 2026/27, €2,902 a year for a licence and €3,950 for a master's, but you can file a request to be exempted. Doctoral students pay just €398.

Why is it on a best-value list? Because UGA pairs a broad English-taught master's catalogue in maths, engineering, materials, earth sciences and management with excellence scholarships from its graduate schools, in a large student city in the Alps. If you win a scholarship or exemption, the value is excellent; if not, it is still cheaper than most private options.

Why Grenoble Alpes is good value

• Exemption route: non-EU students can request exemption from differentiated fees; the request form is part of the eCandidat file or available from the faculty after admission.
• Excellence scholarships: graduate schools offer scholarships alongside master's admission.
• Big research university: around 57,000 students, about 11,000 of them international, with Grenoble INP-UGA engineering schools, Sciences Po Grenoble and Grenoble IAE inside the group.
• Strong STEM range in English: applied maths, cybersecurity, materials, smart grids, signal processing and geophysics.

Tuition and fees (2026/27)

The national EU-level rates for 2026/27 are €178 (licence), €255 (master's) and €630 (engineering), plus the €105 CVEC. Grenoble INP schools and the architecture school have their own procedures and fee rules.

English-taught programs

From UGA's list of English-taught programs:

• Mathematics: MSc in Industrial and Applied Mathematics (MSIAM); Operations Research, Combinatorics and Optimization (ORCO); Cybersecurity
• Engineering and materials: Electrical Engineering for Smart Grids and Buildings; Materials for Nuclear Energy; Biorefinery and Bio-based Materials (M2); Sustainable Industrial Engineering; Sustainable Printed and Integrated Electronics (M2)
• Signal, image and robotics: Signal and Image Processing Methods and Applications (M2); Mobile, Autonomous and Robotic Systems (M2)
• Sciences: Chemistry (M2 tracks in life sciences, organic synthesis and polymers); Planta International (plant biology); Geophysics and Earth Imaging
• Management (Grenoble IAE): Le Quanti (marketing data, M2); Advances in Finance and Accounting (M2); Advanced Research in MIS (M2); Applied Corporate Management (M2)
• Bachelor's level: Bachelor in International Business and Management (L3 level, English track, needs 120 prior credits)

First-year licence programs are taught in French. Compare options in English-taught programs in France.

Admission requirements

• Degree: a bachelor's in the relevant field (MSIAM, for example, wants mathematics or applied mathematics). Selection is on file; there is no fixed minimum grade. M2-only tracks require 60 ECTS of a relevant M1.
• English: typically B2. MSIAM accepts IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 78, TOEIC 700 or Cambridge FCE; a degree from an English-speaking country is accepted as proof.
• Documents: bachelor's diploma and transcripts, CV, motivation letter, English certificate, passport.
• Bachelor in International Business and Management: 120 prior credits in business or economics plus an interview; English B2 for the English track.

Deadlines

Campus France says Mon Master runs from February to 16 March 2027 for the 2027/28 intake. You can make up to 15 applications on Mon Master and up to 4 on eCandidat.

Scholarships

• Graduate school excellence scholarships, awarded alongside master's admission.
• Differentiated-fee exemption on request.
• France Excellence Eiffel: €1,200 a month for master's students, nominated by the university; submission deadline 6 January 2027.
• France Excellence for Afghan students (2027 call): deadline 31 May 2027.

See our France scholarships guide.

Living in Grenoble

Grenoble is a regional city, so rents are lower than in Paris: Campus France gives an average CROUS residence rent of about €350 a month in the regions (Service-Public). You still need to show at least €877.50 a month for the visa. Our cost of studying in France guide has a sample budget.

With a student permit you may work up to 964 hours a year, and required internships do not count toward that limit (Campus France). Apply for CROUS housing as soon as you have your admission, because places in residences are limited.

Applying from Afghanistan

Honest pros and cons

How to apply step by step

1. 1

   Shortlist programs

   Use the English-taught programs list and note the platform for each.

2. 2

   Prepare documents and tests

   Diploma, transcripts, CV, motivation letter and an English test such as IELTS 6.0.

3. 3

   Apply on Mon Master or eCandidat

   M1 on Mon Master in February–March; M2 on eCandidat in each program's window.

4. 4

   Include the exemption form

   Fill in the differentiated-fee exemption request with your eCandidat file or after admission.

5. 5

   Apply for the visa

   See our France student visa guide.

6. 6

   Enrol in Grenoble

   Pay the CVEC, enrol and validate your VLS-TS online within 3 months.

For the full process, read how to apply to universities in France, visit the France hub and track deadlines for free on FindUniPath.