An Easy Guide to Réinscription for Foreign Students in France
Degree-seeking students studying at the university level in France will likely need to complete the réinscription, or re-enrollment, process at least once during their academic careers. After concluding our first academic year as American master’s degree students in France, Maria and I had to re-enroll for our second year of study. Keep reading to learn about our réinscription experience for our Master 2 at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne.
When does réinscription take place?
In general, réinscription happens during the summer between academic years. This year at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, there were two periods during which students had the possibility to re-enroll. The first period spanned from July 6th, 2021 to July 20th 2021, and the second from August 18th to September 8th.
In general, French universities make their réinscription dates available on their websites in advance. As soon as you know when your university’s réinscription opens, mark the dates on your personal calendar to ensure that you don’t miss your chance to re-enroll.
Where do students complete réinscription?
At the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, students re-enroll using the university’s online platform. The entire process took place on the bureau virtuel, or the online, password-protected website for students.
Though online processes are becoming more and more popular in France, universities don’t always follow the same procedures. Therefore, you should keep in mind that some or all of your re-enrollment tasks could be in person.
What is the réinscription process?
Réinscription at our university was a three-step process.
First, we had to fill out a re-enrollment form. The online form asked for information like our address, contact details, and specifics about our master’s programs. Next, we had to pay our tuition online. We entered our bank details into the secure payment platform and paid 243 € each. Finally, we had to upload two documents to be validated by our university. The first was a receipt showing that we had paid the 92 € Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus (CVEC) and the second was proof of our civil liability insurance policy that cost us 18 € each.
How long is the réinscription process?
Take a look at this timeline to understand how long the re-enrollment process lasted for us.
- First Week of June 2021: Master 1 Results Published
- July 6th, 2021: Réinscription Opens (Phase One)
- July 17th, 2021: Re-Enrollment Forms Completed, Tuition Paid, and Documents Uploaded
- July 20th, 2021: Réinscription Closes (Phase One)
- August 18th, 2021: Réinscription Opens (Phase Two)
- August 23rd, 2021: Enrollment Confirmed by University
- September 8th, 2021: Réinscription Closes (Phase Two)
Our Advice for International Students
Like many other administrative processes in France, patience is key. Unfortunately, réinscription often coincides with universities’ annual vacances, where French school employees are unavailable for weeks at a time in July and August. For this reason, students who complete the steps required for réinscription may not receive confirmation of their enrollment for a long while. This can be especially stressful for foreign students, as proof of validated enrollment is necessary to renew residence permits and apply for scholarships. It is therefore important to keep yourself organized and to complete your obligations in the re-enrollment process in a timely manner to ensure that there are no avoidable delays.
If you are a student in France, let us know how your school handles réinscription in a comment!
Check out our video all about the first year of our master’s degrees in France!
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