Grenoble Alpes University (UGA) has its roots in 1339, when a university was established there that included four areas of study: medicine, liberal arts (sciences and literature), canon law and civil law.
Following several periods of closure and reopening, the university disappeared in 1793. This was during the French Revolution, at a time when many universities in France were being suppressed.
In 1805 Napoleon resurrected the faculties of law, letters and sciences, formally inaugurated as the University of Grenoble in 1879, before splitting apart into smaller subject departments with localised administration powers. These would eventually be reunited, to form UGA in 2016, a merger of the three universities in Grenoble: Joseph Fourier University, Pierre-Mendès-France University, and the Stendhal University. The Grenoble Institute of Technology remains separate, but actively participates in research projects, shares labs and offers mutual courses for students and researchers.
The university has tried, since its inception, to imitate the Sorbonne and compete with the Université de Lyon. Today it is one of the biggest scientific centres of Europe, and the largest in France after Paris, hosting facilities of every public research institution in the country. It is organised around two close campuses in the city: 175 hectares in Saint-Martin-d’Hères and 250 hectares in Grenoble, as well as facilities around the country.
Notable alumni include former first lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy, former president of South Korea Park Geun-hye, and former president of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker.
The Universite Grenoble Alpes (UGA) is a public institution that was founded in 2016 when several universities in the region merged. The main university campus is located in Saint-Martin d’Hères, which is a suburb of Grenoble, a city in southeastern France. Grenoble is about three hours from Paris via train. The university also has smaller campuses and research facilities located in other parts of Grenoble as well as in nearby Valence and Vienne, France. Around 160 nationalities are represented among the UGA student body, and international students account for approximately 13 percent of enrollment. Tuition is low – as is the case at other public universities in France – and is the same for French and international students. Student housing is available through an outside organization called CROUS, and international students may be eligible to receive a housing allowance from the government.
UGA students can study a variety of disciplines, including science, technology and health; human and social sciences; arts and letters; languages; engineering; political sciences; and architecture. The university follows a semester-based academic calendar, and French is the primary language of instruction. Some programs, most of which are graduate-level, are taught in English. The English-taught master's options at UGA include programs in advances in finance and marketing, applied corporate management and science in informatics. A sampling of the university's research resources includes the Laboratory of Psychology and NeuroCognition, the Laboratory of Subatomic Physics & Cosmology and the French National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) is a comprehensive university offering high-quality training in all academic disciplines and at all levels: undergraduate, master’s, doctorate, as well as certificate programs and student exchanges. The UGA is located in Grenoble, an international city and a wonderful place to live, work, and study. Nestled in the Alps, Grenoble enjoys an incomparable natural setting, with opportunities for sports lovers and nature enthusiasts alike. Grenoble also participates in France’s good life, offering a wide variety of cultural events, a lively nightlife, and hundreds of restaurants for those wishing to sample France’s world-famous cuisine. French and international students are engaged and aware: students will have no trouble finding organizations and activities that matter to them.
A public university, the UGA embraces France’s values for higher education.
The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) is proud to work with our more than 650 partners from over 80 countries to provide high-quality international teaching, learning, and research, and to reaffirm our commitment to global engagement and local community. The UGA is a world-class research university, with top level programs in the health sciences and bio-medical technologies, nano-sciences, astrophysics and cosmology, law, business, economics, and innovative pedagogy, particularly in language teaching. In building and maintaining its international projects and partnerships, the UGA seeks excellence. We are most proud of those projects which foster our close relationships with partners bringing expertise in our key activities – research, academics, service, and leadership. We value long-term collaboration: projects which allow us to refine and improve over time.
