University

A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education. University is derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation (since the first medieval European universities were simply groups of scholars).

France

:See Education in France.

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In France, students can also attend grandes écoles, which are very prestigious and elite schools, with small student bodies—usually a couple hundred students—and very selective and competitive entrance exams. There are grandes écoles for literature, business, and engineering. Formation provided in these schools is usually of a better level than the corresponding one in French universities. The system of the grandes écoles is particular to the French education system.

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