Studying in Nantes
Studying at L’École de design Nantes Atlantique
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is situated in Nantes, one of the major French cities. It is located in the heart of the creative district, on the Île de Nantes, in a new building with a unique architecture, a place where students can study and socialize, open to the city and to the world. This new location reinforces the position of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique among the leading international design schools.
Nantes, an attractive metropolis
Nantes is just 50 kilometers from the Atlantic coast (to surf and relax on the beach) and only 2 hours from Paris by train The city also boasts an airport with flights to numerous European and international destinations, making it an excellent starting point for discovering the world.
Nantes regularly ranks among the best cities to live and study in national and international rankings:
- In its annual ranking of the best student cities, l'Étudiant magazine placed Nantes in tenth position.
- Nantes is ranked 10th in the Oxford Economics ranking of quality of life.
- In the World's Best Cities ranking published each year, Nantes is recognized for its bicycle path facilities, as well as its health and cultural facilities.
- In its 2025 ranking of the best cities to live in France, the “Ville de rêve” website puts Nantes in the top 10.
A green city
Nantes offers a very pleasant living environment between the rivers and its many parks and gardens, such as 'Le Jardin des Plantes', 'Le Jardin extraordinaire' and its giant waterfall, or the Japanese Garden. The city encourages soft mobility with its pedestrian areas, tramway lines and numerous bicycle paths.
A hive of cultural activity
The cultural life of Nantes is abundant:
- The Machines de l'Île: a unique space in Nantes featuring giant mechanical machines representing creatures inspired by the world of the famous Nantes writer Jules Vernes. You'll have the chance to pass by the Grand Éléphant sous les nefs, as L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is located right next to this emblematic city space.
- The "Voyage à Nantes" which transforms the city into a vast open-air museum, with giant works of art and events taking place all over the city: an opportunity to visit Nantes in a different, creative way!
- Major events also punctuate the daily life of the people of Nantes, such as with one of Europe's leading festivals dedicated to hip hop culture Hip OPsession, the nautical jazz gathering 'Les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre', the international science fiction festival 'Les Utopiales' or the Scopitone digital art festival... During the summer, festivals such as 'La Nuit de l'Erdre' or 'Les Escales' also bring many Nantes residents together in a festive atmosphere.
- Many museums such as the Museum of Arts, the Museum of Natural History, the Musée Dobrée or the castle 'Château des Ducs de Bretagne'. Nantes also has a museum dedicated to Jules Vernes, where you can discover his life and work!
You'll also have the opportunity to discover local and international gastronomy in Nantes with emblematic markets like the Talensac market, and its many restaurants offering world cuisine or dishes more typical of the region! The Magmaa Food Hall, located right next to the school, is an excellent example of this, with large tables where you can sample a wide variety of dishes offered by a number of restaurants.
A dynamic city
Nantes is a dynamic city, with numerous start-ups, major companies and renowned schools. It is home to over 60,000 students, ensuring a lively, young atmosphere. It's also a city full of professional opportunities, holding the French Tech label and named European Innovation Capital in 2019.
There are lots of startups in Nantes with support structures such as incubators and coworking spaces. Events such as Startup Innovation Day and Nantes Digital Week stimulate innovation and create links between entrepreneurs, experts and investors. Several of the school's students have created their own businesses after their studies, including Germain Allard, Riwan Majidate and alumni Morgan Guyader, Alexia Audrain and Franck Grossel, who presented their projects at Milan Design Week.
Nantes stands out in fields such as design, technology, creative industries, digital innovation and energy transition. It offers excellent job opportunities in growth sectors such as healthcare, agri-food and aeronautics, all of which are looking for new talent.
The Ile de Nantes: a place of culture and innovation
The Ile de Nantes is an effervescent site, where industrial history meets innovation and culture. The 'Hangar à bananes' is one of the island's most emblematic landmarks, home to numerous bars, restaurants, co-working spaces and exhibition halls. It fosters collaboration between artists, designers, researchers, businesses and students. With its many green spaces, the Ile de Nantes is the perfect place to relax by the river after classes.
The school is located at the heart of the 'Quartier de la Création' (creation district), which aims to promote synergies between higher education, research and the entire creative ecosystem. With nearly 5,000 students, this district has become a creative campus of international reference. A true center of culture and innovation, the district is a crossroads for digital arts and technology. Numerous events such as the Scopitone digital arts festival and art galleries enable students to nurture their creativity and curiosity.
A new building, more opportunities for creativity
machine workshops, ceramics, resin/molding, flexible materials, paint booth, publishing/screen printing space, laser cutting and 3D printers
- Media studios (sound, filming, motion capture, digital workshop) for media production and digital experimentation,
- More than 120 computer workstations in Mac and PC environments, and rooms equipped with Cintiq screens,
- A Learning Lab: a space for educational experimentation for students and teaching teams,
- Design Labs to connect research, training and innovation,
- A 180-seat conference room,
- Project studios with 20 to 40 seats,
- Rooms for plastic arts,
- Classrooms for lectures and courses,
- A cafeteria where students can eat and relax
Student life in Nantes
The city of Nantes has an extremely wide range of educational opportunities and has nearly 60,000 students. Within the creative campus on the Ile de Nantes, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique aspires to be open to the world and to welcome more and more European and international students. L'École de design Nantes Atlantique has been awarded the "Bienvenue en France" label, attesting to the quality of its welcome for foreign students..
The school's association activities
The Students' Office (BDE)
The BDE organizes events, sports and cultural activities throughout the year for French and international students. It is particularly active at the beginning of each school year to welcome new students to the school. A group within the BDE specifically deals with international students: it organizes activities and ensures that everyone is included in the school's activities..
A group within the BDE specifically deals with international students: it organizes activities and ensures that everyone is included in the school's activities..
The Alumni Association
Alumni is the association dedicated to the former students of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique. It aims to promote them by highlighting their careers and creating a network of exchange and expertise. It has a community platform called We design.
Practical information
Coming to school
Nantes has a network of buses and tramways throughout the city (La Tan). Several lines serve the creation district:
- tramway line 1 (Chantiers Navals stop),
- busway 5 (Prairie au Duc stop).
Students can buy annual or monthly passes* to access the entire tramway, bus, navibus.
Rates for people under 26:
- Annual subscription: 24.50 euros / month
- Monthly subscription: 37 euros
*These rates were raised on the Naolib site in April 2025.
Naolib public transport is free during the weekend!
For those who prefer soft mobility, the city boasts numerous bicycle paths (800 kilometers in the agglomeration) and a network of self-service bicycles**.
Bicycle parking is available in front of the school.
- Self-service bicycles: over 1,200 bicycles available in Nantes and the surrounding area, 24/7.
- Long-term bike hire: choose from over 2,200 bikes, including 1,500 electric bikes, available for hire over several months.
**Information taken from the Naolib website in April 2025.
Finding accommodation in Nantes
As a student city, Nantes offers a wide range of accommodation (from private owners or real estate agencies) or residences for an average rent of 350 to 700 € per month.
Nantes Métropole is offering an online mapping application (in French) listing all available accommodation (young people's and young workers' housing, student residences, shared housing and other collective accommodation, etc.).
To facilitate your research, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique provides access to an accommodation platform studapart for rent or for sharing. With Studapart, you can access hundreds of exclusive and verified offers for periods of 1 to 24 months near your campus but also throughout France during your search for internship. From the rental file to the reservation of the accommodation, all the steps are done online. If you don't have a guarantor living in France, Studapart can be your guarantor for the whole duration of your rental. To be eligible, all you have to do is submit your ID and proof of admission on the platform. A multilingual team awaits you at booking@studapart.com. Most of the 201 apartments available at Studapart are subsidized and therefore eligible for housing subsidies.
It is also possible to find accommodation via the website of La Nantaise d'Habitations which currently manages over 13,500 homes.
As L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is recognized by the State, our students are eligible for university rooms managed by the CROUS (allocation on social criteria).
In France, housing insurance is a mandatory document to obtain the key to a dwelling. It covers its occupants, as well as the dwelling itself in case of fire, water damage, theft, etc.
Eating on campus
A student catering center managed by the CROUS is situated 100 meters from L’École de design Nantes Atlantique.
It is also possible to eat in one of the many food outlets near the school (snack bars, food trucks, restaurants, salad bars, Food Hall...).
The school cafeteria is equipped with microwave ovens and snack and sandwich machines.
Financing your studies
As L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is recognized by the State, students can benefit from higher education grants based on social criteria for all courses, except for preparatory classes in art, design and media and apprenticeships.
Applications for scholarships are made to the CROUS from March for the start of the 2025 school year. Once your application has been entered and your documents have been sent to CROUS, you will receive a conditional notification of the grant to be sent to L'École de design Nantes Atlantique at the beginning of the school year.
View this PDF (only available in French) document to get L'École de design Nantes Atlantique in the choice of the institution when entering your wishes.
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, as a private institution of higher education of general interest, grants an additional scholarship to students with scholarships.
Most banks offer specific loans for students between the ages of 18 and 25. They benefit from a particularly attractive interest rate.
Many shops, bars and restaurants, tourist and leisure sites in the Nantes area offer student contracts all year round.
CVEC (Student and Campus Life Contribution)
To validate your enrolment or re-registration at the school, you must provide proof of payment of the CVEC (Contribution to Student and Campus Life).
Collected by the CROUS, the CVEC is a financial contribution that helps fund projects aimed at providing students with social, health, sustainable development, cultural and sporting support. It is also used to support prevention and health education initiatives.
Exchange students are not subject to the CVEC. Students with CROUS or Campus France scholarships are exempt from paying CVEC, but must present their CVEC certificate.
Since the launch of the CVEC, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, with the support of the CROUS de Nantes, has been able to finance numerous projects.
Benefit from the Nantes University health service
The school has set up a parnership with the health service of Nantes University in order to give a free of charge access to its students to the same health resources as university students. This partnership has been extended for the 2025-2026 school year.
Students at L'École de design Nantes Atlantique will benefit, among other things, from consultations with :
- general practitioners
- gynecologists
- addictologists
- psychologists and psychiatrists
- school planning and examinations.
This service can be accessed by booking an appointment online. You will first need to create and activate your account on the dedicated platform.
For psychologist and psychiatrist consultations: no online appointments.
You will need first request an appointment with a nurse (e.g. "Health check/prevention" or "Nursing care"). This initial interview will be used to assess your request and determine the best way forward. This includes referral to the Santé psy étudiant scheme if their own psychologists are not readily available, with a referral letter from them so that you don't have to pay in advance (the university pays psychologists under contract directly).
If you have any questions, you can also contact the reception assistants by telephone on +33 2 40 37 10 50 or by e-mail at accueil.sse@univ-nantes.fr
For international students: messages must be written in French to ensure that your request is clearly understood by the reception assistants, whose working language is French.
All consultations take place at 110 boulevard Michelet in Nantes.
Health Insurance
Since September 1, 2019, all new student remain affiliated with their current Social Security organization (usually their parents': Assurance Maladie, MSA...). It is recommended that students over 18 years of age create a personal account on Ameli.
In addition to Social Security, it is strongly recommended to take out a mutual insurance policy with an insurance company.
The cost of living for a year of studies at L’École de design Nantes Atlantique
The table below shows the estimated budget for a year of studies at L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, taking into account the different areas of expenditure*
*For private housing, the monthly rent is currently around €450 to €700.
Procedures for international students
For any stay in France of more than three months, it is mandatory to obtain a long-stay student visa before arriving in France. The application must be made to the French embassy or consulate in the country of residence at least 3 months before departure, or to Campus France.
Since April 7, 2021, international students can apply for their visa online on France-Visas (subject to available online service).
Holders of a long-stay visa validating their residence permit must validate it online within 3 months of their arrival in France on the website of the French Office of Immigration and Integration (www.ofii.fr - website available in French, English and Chinese). Students wishing to extend their stay beyond the dates indicated on their visa must apply for a residence permit at the Nantes Prefecture.
Feel Français is a unique platform that offers a wide range of services to help international students settle into their new life in France, including finding housing, opening a bank account, buying a phone card, applying for a visa, housing allowances, health insurance, transportation and electricity.
More information is available at www.feelfrancais.com.
International students from outside Europe who enroll for the first time in a French higher education institution are required to join the social security system, which is free for all students. It is also strongly recommended that you take out complementary health insurance after your arrival in France. Find more information on this website.
European students must provide proof of a European Health Insurance Card covering the period of their study stay.
It is also strongly recommended to take out complementary health insurance after arrival in France.
International students can benefit from higher education grants based on social criteria under certain conditions:
- being from an European country AND you can justify at least 1 year of living in France and a sufficient level of integration (a full-time/part-time job or you can prove than one of your parents have some income in France).
- being from another country AND have been living in France for at least 2 years AND you or your parents have declared your incomes in France for the last 2 years.
- being refugee or stateless person.
Find more information on the CROUS website
For specific profiles
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique offers special arrangements for students with specific profiles, such as high-level sportsmen and women, artists, entrepreneurs... It reconciles the specific needs of these students with their studies.
For more information, please contact c.chauveau@lecolededesign.com
Find out more about L'École de design Nantes Atlantique's social policy: social assistance for students and apprentices, mobility grants and scholarships...
Un référent handicap est présent au sein de l’établissement qui suit l’ensemble des bénéficiaires dans leurs démarches et s’assure de leur accès à la formation dans les meilleures conditions, notamment par la prise en compte individualisée de leur handicap.
Karine LORIANT
k.loriant@lecolededesign.com / 02 51 13 89 59
In September 2022, 1,750 students and 400 teachers from L'École de design Nantes Atlantique began their new school year in an 11,600 square meter building located on the Île de Nantes.
as an exchange student
Since 1999, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique has been developing an ambitious strategy of international outreach.