Differences in french and american universities?

Question

when attending a French university are there certain required courses like there are in the U.S , regardless of your major or the degree you are pursuing?

Answer 1

I would say that I agree for K-12 the French system is probably better than the American one, but for universities, it's not even close.  You will be better off studying at just about any American university over a French one.

Here are some articles that give a sobering view of French higher education:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/world/...

I have heard pretty much all the same things from French exchange students at my university, just  the difference in economic resources at an American university is astounding.  I was also shocked to see how low the professor's salaries are there.  The highest paid professors only make $75K, that would be an entry level salary for a PhD in one of the sciences at a major research university in the U.S.

Answer 2

universities in France are actually much better, you would get a better education there if you'd lived there you're whole life. They are far more advanced at an early level. You don't take prereqs in college because they take them in their "senoir" year of high school. Their colleges are also more specialized. For instance doctors go to a certain college, lawyers to another. U.S. students can take general course there like history and culture classes. Colleges are also cheaper there because they are federally funded

Answer 3

Yes, this is similar to the U.S.  you need to take courses in history, math, literature etc.  However keep in mind that one big difference is that in France just having a high school degree or "baccalaureate"  guarantees admission to a  university.  Dropout rates are much higher than in American universities, typically 40-50% of students don't make it past the first year.  Since you do not have to "apply" to a university, there is no "weeding out" process that happens when students apply to universities in the U.S.    Resources tend to get wasted on students who are not really university material to begin with.  Just my opinion, you will most likely get  a better education at a university in the United States.