University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

The University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) is a leading multidisciplinary higher education and research institution. The quality of UVSQ’s undergraduate and graduate programs is backed by the compelling research programs conducted in UVSQ research centers and laboratories.
UVSQ is a French medium size university (20 000 students) located in the Southwestern suburb of Paris, where internationally known businesses are established (such as Renault, PSA, Dassault…) as well as renowned French research institutes (CNRS, INRA, CEA…).

Spread over 5 sites with 20,000 students, UVSQ offers more than 200 disciplinary programs which allow it to welcome international students interested in studying in France for a semester, an academic year, or the full duration of a degree program. UVSQ has developed strong international cooperations with 120 universities worldwide.

Ranked 8th in the French section of the 2019 World University ranking THE and 2nd in the 2018 and 2019 Shanghai ranking in Atmospheric Sciences as well as top 500 in 2019 in the general Shanghai ranking, UVSQ places pedagogical innovation, professionalization and internationalization of its programs at the heart of its strategy. 

UVSQ has strong links with the Department of Justice and university hospital centers (CHU), prestigious French research organizations such as CNRS, CEA, INSERM, INRA, INRIA, ONERA and with other French universities through its Joint Research Units (UMR in French).

UVSQ is a founding and associate member of the world-class academic research cluster Université Paris-Saclay, a consortium of outstanding higher education and research institutions, constituting the largest research hub in France. SInce 2015, many of UVSQ's master programs and all PhD programs are affiliated with Paris-Saclay.

Arctic Studies at UVSQ include the international interdisciplinary Masters Program "Arctic Studies", affiliated with the University Paris-Saclay since 2015 and the workshop series for masters and PhD students "Gatway to the Arctic" organised annually in cooperation with the German Polar Institute AWI since 2011. Academic disciplines represented by our Arctic Studies team include anthropology, climatology and environment studies, literature and cultural studies as well as law. The principal research centres focusing on the Arctic are CEARC (Culture, Environment, Arctic, Representation, Climate), LATMOS (Laboratory of Atmosphere and Milieux Studies as well as Spatial Observation) and LSCE (Laboratory of climatology and environment science), all three part of UVSQ's Environment and Sustainability Studies Faculty OVSQ (Observatoire de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.