L'Ecole de design Nantes Atlantique : Rankings, Fees & Courses Details | Top Universities
Ranking

# 201-240QS WUR Ranking By Subject

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3Undergraduate programs

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4Postgraduate programs

Tuitionfee

9,900 EURTuition Fee/year

About L'Ecole de design Nantes Atlantique

LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique stands out as one of the best design schools in the world. Accredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education, this esteemed institution offers a diverse range of programs from undergraduate (bachelor's degree) to postgraduate studies (master's degree), available in both English and French. With a pioneering vision, the school perceives design as a discipline at the intersection of design, management, and strategy, driving social, technological, and environmental innovation. In many of their programmes, the school also places a large focus on sustainability and how design can be made more sustainable as well as how it can be used to create a more sustainable world. Their goal is to develop professional skills. Notably, within a year of graduating, their students boast an impressive 87% employability rate. The university’s core values include:

  • Recognising creative workers as consummate professionals
  • Advocating for design as a robust economic driver
  • Elevating design as an engine for innovation
  • Embracing design as a means to address socio-economic and environmental concerns responsibly. 

Situated in Nantes, one of France's top ten biggest cities, the school is positioned in a hub renowned for its economic dynamism and rich cultural & artistic life. Nantes has rightfully earned its reputation as a sought-after destination for international students. Nantes is also a city of art and history with a large variety of museums for students to enjoy and learn local history and artistic installations such as the Machines de L’Île, a collection of machines and installations which inspire artistic imagination.

Find out more about life at LÉCOLE DE DESIGN NANTES ATLANTIQUE via its social media channels, including Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

About L'Ecole de design Nantes Atlantique

LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique stands out as one of the best design schools in the world. Accredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education, this esteemed institution offers a diverse range of programs from undergraduate (bachelor's degree) to postgraduate studies (master's degree), available in both English and French. With a pioneering vision, the school perceives design as a discipline at the intersection of design, management, and strategy, driving social, technological, and environmental innovation. In many of their programmes, the school also places a large focus on sustainability and how design can be made more sustainable as well as how it can be used to create a more sustainable world. Their goal is to develop professional skills. Notably, within a year of graduating, their students boast an impressive 87% employability rate. The university’s core values include:

  • Recognising creative workers as consummate professionals
  • Advocating for design as a robust economic driver
  • Elevating design as an engine for innovation
  • Embracing design as a means to address socio-economic and environmental concerns responsibly. 

Situated in Nantes, one of France's top ten biggest cities, the school is positioned in a hub renowned for its economic dynamism and rich cultural & artistic life. Nantes has rightfully earned its reputation as a sought-after destination for international students. Nantes is also a city of art and history with a large variety of museums for students to enjoy and learn local history and artistic installations such as the Machines de L’Île, a collection of machines and installations which inspire artistic imagination.

Find out more about life at LÉCOLE DE DESIGN NANTES ATLANTIQUE via its social media channels, including Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Available programs

LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique offers their DN MADE programme (‘Diplôme National des Metiers d’Art et de Design’ or National Diploma in the Subject of Art and Design) for undergraduate study instead of the usual bachelor's degree. The full course takes three years to complete and is taught in French for the first two. English-speaking international students who have already studied two years of a degree in a related subject may choose to finish their studies at the school which offers the final year of teaching in English. The subject specialisations available for the DN MADE course taught in French are:

The subject specialisations available for the DN MADE course taught in English are:
For more details on the curriculum, tuition fees and course apprenticeships, see the university website for the most up to date information.

Instead of industry-standard master’s degrees, LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique offers Diplôme de Design Bac+5 which is certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education. It includes a three-year undergraduate course as well as two years of postgraduate study, making the duration of the course five years in total. In the first three-year undergraduate cycle, students will be able to specialise in topics such as:

For the last two-year postgraduate cycle, students will be able to specialise in topics such as:

For more details on the curriculum, tuition fees and course apprenticeships, see the university website for the most up to date information.

University information

Students can apply for both the English-taught and French-taught programmes on the university’s website. They will be asked to create a profile on the school’s application portal and submit their personal details as well as information about their education background as part of the application.

Scholarships

LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique does not offer any scholarships as a school. However, depending on your country of residence, the French government offers grants and loans to prospective international students which may provide some financial help. The school highlights that Campus France also has a scholarship search engine so that students can explore what kind of financial aid is available to them.

As a part of their application, students will need to submit proof of their English and French proficiency skills if these are not their first language. All classes and workshops are conducted in English and so a good understanding of the language is essential. Students must submit proof of scoring at least 600 in the TOEIC test or the equivalent. Even if the student will be taught in English, a good command of the French language is recommended to be able to integrate in Nantes successfully. The CEFR test is the national standard to determine French proficiency.


The university’s main campus is located in the heart of Le Quartier de Creation in Nantes: a European hub of innovation in the creative industries. It has helped students cultivate their skills in communication, art, design, and architecture while also putting them in close proximity to the city’s business world so that they are able to see how their work can be applied in the corporate world. The 2024 intake will welcome the opening of a new campus in Laval which will offer students four new design courses as well as postgraduate education. It is designed to be a world leader in the continued innovation of virtual reality: hosting conferences and trade shows and becoming the official home of "Arts et Metiers”, a training organisation specialising in VR technologies. 

The campuses feature facilities such as:

  • 60 classrooms
  • 120 computer stations
  • Mock-up workshops where students can create prototypes in a variety of materials such as:

o Wood

o Foam

o Plastic

o Fabric

o Plaster

o Concrete

o Resin

o Silicone

o Metal

  • Learning labs with facilities such as:

o An experimentation space with plenty of tables and touch-screen technology

o A relaxation space

o Two consultation rooms

o A distance learning room

o Two workshops

  • A green room
  • A photo studio
  • A sound studio
  • A VR studio
  • A co-working space
  • Multi-purpose work booths

Despite having two campuses in France, LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique emphasises the importance of the international experience for creative professionals and has studios all over the world in cities such as Shanghai in China, Pune in India, Sao Paulo in Brazil, Montreal in Canada, and Cotonou in Benin which are backed by local partner institutions. Each of these sites specialise in a different type of design and allow students the opportunity, not only to travel abroad during their studies, but also to work with experts from around the world, develop and open-mindedness and understanding to how design is used in different parts of the world and open doors to an international career.

Student life

While studying at LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique, students can expect to receive a high-quality education on the processes of design, be given the chance to experiment with different mediums and build their own body of work and understand how design influences and can be used in the world of business. 
To ensure the wellbeing of each student at the school, LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique have a student's office with a student run council who organise events, sports, and cultural activities for both French and international students. The council is particularly active at the start of the school year to welcome the new cohort of students and to ensure that everyone, particularly international students who may be living far away from their friends and family, feels included in school activities and is able to get involved in the community. International students are also assigned a ‘buddy’ in their first year to help them adapt to life in the new environment. 
LÉcole de Design Nantes has a private housing platform which allows students to consider accommodation option such as:
  • Renting close to campus
  • Finding a room in student residences
  • Finding French or international roommates and renting privately
  • Subletting
  • Renting alone
  • Finding a room in a French family home
Several options are available close to the school as a result of the school’s partnership with CROUS which manages university halls of residence. A number of rooms at various halls of residence are reserved by LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique for international students to ensure comfortable accommodation for all.
Graduates of LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique frequently go on to have a successful career in many different fields of design. The school maintains a very close relationship with their graduates and publishes the Impact brochure annually which outlines alumni success stories. The work that alumni have produced since graduating includes creating an online platforms and applications, building a clothing brand, sustainable urban landscape design and architecture, the design of mobile mini homes, building non-profit organisations, designing educational items and children’s games, designing commercial interiors, movie and television set design, product design in a range of fields and much more.

Tuition fee and scholarships

Domestic Students

8,900 EUR
-

International Students

9,900 EUR
-

One of the important factors when considering a master's degree is the cost of study. Luckily, there are many options available to help students fund their master's programme. Download your copy of the Scholarship Guide to find out which scholarships from around the world could be available to you, and how to apply for them.

In this guide you will find:
opportunities

Where to look for scholarship opportunities

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How to apply to scholarships relevant to you

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A list of available scholarships around the world

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A scholarship application checklist

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Rankings & ratings

L'Ecole de design Nantes Atlantique is one of the top universities in Nantes, France. It is ranked #201-240 in QS WUR Ranking By Subject 2023.

QS WUR Ranking By Subject

  • 2022
    #201-230
  • 2023
    #201-240

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FAQs

When applying to study at LÉcole de Design the application process will involve students submitting:


  • Their personal details
  • A full academic record (with grades and attendance)
  • A cover letter
  • Proof of hobbies and interests (any extracurricular activities that may enhance their application)
  • A 10-page personal notebook in PDF format displaying their work

If French or English is not the student’s first language, they will need proof of proficiency up to a B2 (upper intermediate) level from an official language test such as TOEIC, IELTS or CEFR.

Admissions requirements may differ slightly depending on the specific course. It is important to check the website for information.


L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique offers the DN MADE course, which has a duration of three years and is the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, and the Diplôme National Bac+5 course, which has a duration of five years and is the equivalent of a bachelor’s and master’s degree together. There are plenty of design-related topics that students can specialise in during their course.

The tuition fees at LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique vary every year. They are also different for European and non-European students. 


In the 2023 intake, the tuition fees for European students were €8,900 per year. This means that the courses cost:


  • Final year of DN MADE (taught in English): €26,700
  • Full 3-year DN MADE (taught in French): €8,900
  • 5-year Diplôme National Bac+5: €44,500

The tuition fees for non-European students was €9,900 per year. This means that the courses cost:


  • Final year of DN MADE (taught in English): €29,700
  • Full 3-year DN MADE (taught in French): €9,900
  • 5-year Diplôme National Bac+5: €49,500

See the university’s website for the most recent information about tuition fees.

Internships are common at LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique and are often a part of the course. Opportunities for internships are abundant because of the school’s ideal location next to the business district of Nantes and the school’s partner companies. Often, the opportunities are also paid.
Every year LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique publish their Impact brochure which highlights a group of alumni and the projects that they have been working on this year. It highlights the abundance of industries that graduates of the school can find work within. These include:
  • Product design
  • Digital design
  • Clothing design
  • Architecture
  • Non-profit startups

And much more.

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