IB Diploma and University Admission in France: Parcoursup, the DAP and the BFI

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

France gives the IB Diploma no automatic equivalence with the French baccalauréat. The ministry of higher education put it plainly in a written answer to Parliament in February 2024: the IB is a private diploma, France has no legal principle of equivalence for it, and it receives the same recognition as any other foreign school-leaving certificate issued by a state. That does not shut IB students out: each institution checks your diploma before admitting you, and your application door depends on your nationality and where you live.

Which door: Parcoursup or the DAP

The general rules are set out in how to get into a university in France. For IB students they work out like this:

Citizens of France, the EU, the EEA, Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra apply on Parcoursup for the first year of a licence, like French students. For selective programmes, the ministry's answer states that any candidate holding or preparing the IB can apply directly on Parcoursup and is assessed on the same criteria as everyone else.
Non-EU citizens living abroad who apply for the first year of a licence at a university usually file a preliminary admission request, the DAP, through Études en France or the French embassy. At Université Paris Cité, for example, the window for entry in 2027 runs from 1 October to 15 December 2026, with answers by 30 April 2027.
Programmes with their own international procedure, such as some selective schools, ask IB candidates to apply through that procedure rather than Parcoursup.

If unsure, ask Campus France in your country early: the DAP closes months before Parcoursup.

How universities assess the IB

For a non-selective licence, the regulations require the university to examine your foreign diploma first. According to the ministry, it checks whether the subjects you took at school are compatible with the first-year programme, and it can accept or refuse on that basis. This applies to every foreign diploma, not only the IB. In practice your choice of Higher Level subjects matters: a mathematics or science licence will look for mathematics and sciences in your six subjects.

The ministry's answer also states that an IB holder needs a certificate from the French ENIC-NARIC centre recognising the level of study in order to register. Ask the university when it wants it, and order it early: see document recognition for France.

Selective programmes on Parcoursup, such as BUT, preparatory classes and many schools, judge your file as a whole: grades, the motivation section and the programme's own criteria. France publishes no IB score thresholds and no conversion table to the French 20-point scale.

Timing and predicted results

Parcoursup and the DAP both decide before IB results are out in early July. Your file is built on your school reports from the last two years and, where you have them, predicted grades. An offer is confirmed when you register with your final diploma. The official Parcoursup calendar for 2027 had not been published in October 2026; in recent years, wishes were entered from January to mid-March and answers began in early June.

An example with its own route: Sciences Po

Sciences Po runs a separate international procedure on its own website for candidates preparing a non-French diploma, and it names the IB Diploma Programme among them. What decides the route is the diploma, not your nationality. For the 2027 intake:

applications are rolling until 1 March 2027, with results in mid-January, early April or early May depending on when you apply;
the application fee is €150;
there are no required IB subjects, and the page says that IB candidates without science subjects are not at a disadvantage;
the file counts for 50 points and a 25-minute online interview for the other 50.

Medicine and other health studies

Entry into medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and midwifery goes through a first year called PASS or a licence with a health option (L.AS). Both are selective and listed on Parcoursup; non-EU applicants living abroad should check with Campus France whether the DAP applies to the programme they want. The number of places that lead on to the second year is limited, so a strong record in biology and chemistry matters as much as for any other IB student aiming at medicine.

OIB and BFI are not the IB

Do not confuse the IB with the French international options. The OIB, an option of the French baccalauréat, was replaced by the Baccalauréat français international (BFI) from the 2024 session. The BFI is a French baccalauréat, so its holders apply on Parcoursup like any other bachelier, with no foreign-diploma check.

Language

Almost all licences are taught in French, and non-francophone applicants usually need B2. See DELF, DALF or TCF for the certificates.

Where to look next

Official sources

National Assembly, written question 12006: ministry's answer on recognition of the IB, 13 February 2024 (in French)
Université Paris Cité: preliminary admission request (DAP) (in French)
Sciences Po: applicants from foreign secondary schools
Eduscol: the Baccalauréat français international (in French)

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.