What does “LMD” mean?

LMD is a French higher education course comprising three levels, each with their own qualification:

• L: Licence(Bachelor’s) (bac + 3)
• M: Master’s (bac + 5)
• D: Doctorate (bac + 8)

The intermediary DEUG (bac + 2) and Maîtrise (Master’s) (bac + 4) diplomas can also be awarded upon student request.

Our courses are divided into training areas that best correspond with the University’s areas of expertise.

Paris 8 University offers

Five study areas for Licence (Bachelor’s) (bac + 3) students

• Arts
• Law, Economics and Management
• Literature and Languages
• Human and Social Sciences
• Science, Technology and Health

Five study areas for Master’s (bac + 5) students

• Arts
• Law, Economics and Management
• Literature and Languages
• Human and Social Sciences
• Science, Technology and Health

These areas are further broken down into fields that have their own courses and/or specialisations.

For example:

• Licence Arts, mention Arts plastiques, Parcours Arts et Technologies de l’image (L3) (Bachelor’s in the Arts, Field of Study: Visual Arts, Programme: Image Arts & Technologies, Three Years)
• Licence Lettres et langues, mention Langues, Littératures et Civilisations Étrangères et Régionales (LLCER), Parcours Mondes hispaniques (Bachelor’s in Literature and Languages, Field of Study: Languages, Programme: Regional and Foreign Civilisations)
• Master Droit, économie, gestion, mention Droit privé, spécialisation Droit des affaires (Master’s in Law, Economics and Management, Field of Study: Private Law, Specialisation: Business Law)

Our doctoral programmes are run by our doctoral schools.

Courses are divided into semesters each earning 30 European credits or ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), which can be transferred to another university in France or Europe.

Each level earns a number of ECTS:

• Licence (Bachelor’s) (6 semesters) 180 ECTS
• Master(4 semesters) 120 supplementary ECTS (300 in total)
• Doctorate (6 semesters) 180 supplementary ECTS (480 in total)

These courses comprise mandatory, optional and free learning units or “unités d’enseignement” (UE), usually divided into modules or “éléments constitutifs” (EC) taught as weekly courses during the semester.

Each EC and/or UE is worth a number of credits (ECTS) that takes into account the number of class hours, personal study, internships, final papers, and the importance of the UE for the degree as a whole.

ECs are “free” when a student can select it from the list of all the university’s free modules. These courses can be within or outside the student’s field of study.

Courses are organised by programme and correspond to a group of related UEs with an option to personalise course modules.

Students can create their own educational pathways based on their personal and professional aspirations with input from the course’s teaching staff.

Student support must:

• help students plan and navigate their course pathway
• ensure the educational consistency of their course programme
• increase their chances of success and professional integration

As well as national qualifications (Licence, Master’s and Doctorate), Paris 8 University offers Diplômes d’Université (University Diplomas) as initial or continuing education. These qualifications are organised in the same way as the national degrees:

• Diplôme de 1er cycle d’université (Undergraduate University Diploma) DPCU (Bac + 2) ;
• Diplôme d’université (University Diploma) DU (Bac + 3) ;
• Diplôme d’études supérieures d’université (Diploma of Higher University Studies) DESU (bac + 4) ;
• Diplôme de formation supérieure spécialisée d’université (Specialised Higher University Studies Diploma) DFSSU (bac + 5).