Higher Education and Graduate Employment in

Compared to other European higher education systems, the French one seems more complex. Indeed, it juxtaposes a huge, mainly open, university sector and a myriad of schools and institutes with generally limited access. The university sector is itself rather complex, since it is not organised around a clearly defined first degree. There exist different layers of diplomas which follow each other without any explicit exit level. The university sector also has an official role in preparing students for the competitive exams for civil service occupations. In the university sector, there are five levels of diplomas: 1. the DEUG (Diplbme d'Etude Universitaire Generale) and the DUT (Diplbme Universitaire Technologique), awarded after two years of study; 2. the Licence (three years of study); 3. the Maitrise (four years of study); 4. the DEA (Diplbme d'Etudes Approfondies) and the DESS (Diplbme d'Etudes Superieures Specialisees) which are respectively applied and specialised diplomas, awarded after five years of study; 5. the Doctorat, the highest level of study in the university sector, is awarded after a minimum of eight years of study. Most of the courses at the universities are open access courses, but there are some university institutes that are selective. These are the IUTs (Instituts Universitaires Technologiques), which award the DUT (Diplbme Universitaire Technologique) and the IUPs (Instituts Universitaires Professionnalises) that award Maitrises. In addition, other various maitrises are selective: