France’s Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne opens shared campus in Morocco, giving African students access to French programmes without moving to Paris

France’s Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University has opened a shared international campus in Morocco, expanding opportunities for African students to pursue jointly developed French and Moroccan programmes without relocating to Paris.

• Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez inaugurated a shared campus on 15 October.
• It builds on existing double-degree programmes in political science and business law.
• The partners plan additional teaching, research and academic exchanges.
• Admissions requirements and fees remain essential considerations for prospective students.

The campus was inaugurated on 15 October at the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, known as UEMF, by the presidents of both institutions.

For prospective students, its significance lies in access to international qualifications closer to home. Studying in Morocco could avoid the living expenses associated with a move to France, although tuition fees and admission conditions still apply.

The opening formalises a partnership that began in 2016 with a political science programme leading to a double bachelor’s degree. A Franco-Moroccan business law master’s programme followed in 2022.

Paris 1 describes the venture as its first shared international campus. It is intended to support joint teaching, research and exchanges between students and academic staff.

According to Morocco World News, which attended the inauguration⁠, both university presidents presented the campus as an opportunity to make their academic programmes more accessible to students across Africa and Europe.

French programmes, an African location

Paris 1 President Christine Neau-Leduc said the partnership already enables students to follow programmes offered in Paris, with equivalent academic standards, without necessarily moving to France.

“This marks the culmination of ten years of cooperation,” she told the publication.

UEMF President Mostapha Bousmina highlighted the opportunity for students from Morocco and elsewhere in Africa to study the jointly developed programmes in Fez. UEMF says its wider campus accommodates students from 52 nationalities.

The institutions also plan a second double-degree master’s programme focused on Mediterranean and African policies, including migration and transitions.

Their proposed areas of further cooperation include management, history, law, political science and the relationship between artificial intelligence and society, according to Paris 1’s official announcement⁠.

What applicants still need to check

The opening does not mean every Paris 1 programme is available in Morocco, or that admission to UEMF automatically grants access to a French degree.

Applicants will need to establish which programmes are recruiting, their academic and language requirements, the qualifications awarded and the total cost of study.

Nor does studying at the shared campus automatically provide French residency rights. Its immediate offer is an expanded academic partnership within Africa, with international mobility forming one part of the arrangement.