The French academic system
The French higher education system relies on the LMD system: the Licence (Bachelor/Undergraduate), Master (Master/Postgraduate), and Doctorat (Doctorate). Sorbonne Abu Dhabi offers various undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
The Bachelor is a three year programme (L1, L2, L3). Non-French speaking students have to add an additional year of intensive French classes to obtain a University Diploma (DU), which is mandatory to enrol on a bachelor programme.
The Master is a two year programme comprising Master 1 (M1) and Master 2 (M2). Direct access to Master 2 is provided for the Master in Marketing, Management, Communication, Media (18 month programme).
All courses and optional materials are referred to as UE or Unités d’Enseignement (or Modules – Teaching Units). These divisions are similar for postgraduate studies as well. UEs are assigned a predefined number of European credits (ECTS). Total amount of UE for a year is 60 ECTS. To obtain a bachelor degree, a student needs 180 ECTS and 120 ECTS to obtain a Master degree.
In all undergraduate programmes, the various UEs correspond in each semester to minor or major courses as well as elective courses.