Living in the Languedoc:      Education:      Higher Education

As at primary and secondary level, higher education studies are organised in cycles.

The first lasts two years and leads to a DEUG, which is comparable to a Diploma in Higher Education in the UK; the second, also two years, leads first, after one year, to the equivalent of a bachelor's degree and then, after a further year, to the equivalent of a higher or master's degree.

The third, open to selected postgraduate students, leads to higher qualifications and can pave the way for obtaining a PhD. A person's future in French society is to a large extent dependent on his/her academic achievements.

Five years after the end of their studies, people with degrees are five times more likely to hold an executive or middle-ranking managerial position than those who started work immediately after the baccalauréat. Most people in top jobs in both the engineering field and the professions hold diplomas from a grande école [prestigious higher education establishment with a competitive examination] or have successfully completed a third university cycle.