Universities in Cote D'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is a French-speaking country in West Africa, and its universities are overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS). The ministry lists nine public universities: Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Université Nangui Abrogoua, the Université Alassane Ouattara in Bouaké, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé in Daloa, Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly in Korhogo, the universities of Man, San-Pédro and Bondoukou, and the Université Virtuelle de Côte d'Ivoire, which teaches online. Next to them, a large private sector includes private universities and grandes écoles authorised by the ministry.

The sector is growing. At the national opening of the 2026-27 academic year, held at the Université Alassane Ouattara on 14 September 2026, the ministry announced the forthcoming opening of a university in Odienné and a project for a technological university in Adiaké. A new branch of the École Normale Supérieure, which trains teachers, opened on the UAO campus the same month with 1,500 student teachers.

How universities work

Ivorian universities follow the Licence-Master-Doctorat (LMD) system, for which the ministry runs an action plan: the licence is the first degree, followed by the master and the doctorate, which universities organise through doctoral schools. Teaching is in French. Public universities are organised in faculties called UFR (unités de formation et de recherche).

The Université Alassane Ouattara, the only university in our directory for Côte d'Ivoire, shows how a public university is built. It was created in 1992 as the Centre universitaire de Bouaké and became the autonomous Université de Bouaké by decree in November 1995. After the political and military crisis it was moved to Abidjan in October 2002, and it returned to Bouaké in January 2012 under its current name. Its UFR cover communication and society, languages and literature, law and political science, economics and management, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and science and technology.

For many years the academic calendar was disrupted. According to the UAO, the ministry has now harmonised the start of the university year across the country to put an end to shortened ("truncated") academic years.

Admission

New holders of the baccalauréat apply through the ministry's national orientation platform, which reports more than 600 institutions and more than 200 programmes. Applicants pay a pre-registration fee and make four choices of institution and programme, three compulsory and one optional. Programmes such as medicine, pharmacy and dentistry are reached by competitive exam, and the platform publishes the lists of admitted candidates. There is a separate procedure for baccalauréat holders who live abroad.

Each university adds its own conditions. At the UAO, admission to each programme depends on the type of baccalauréat, minimum marks in key subjects and, in some cases, a maximum age: 22 for medicine and 23 for law. Non-nationals register with a consular card or proof of identity and nationality. Students from outside the ECOWAS region need a visa, and long-stay visas are issued only through the embassies of Côte d'Ivoire; a yellow fever vaccination is compulsory on entry.

Costs and funding

Public universities charge registration fees in CFA francs, set by origin. At the UAO, registration costs 30,000 CFA francs for students assigned through national orientation, 100,000 for baccalauréat holders from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA) and 300,000 for those from outside it. The ministry's list of authorised private institutions shows the registration fee of many of them. The ministry also manages scholarships for study in and outside Côte d'Ivoire, and publishes the criteria for places in university residences.

Recognition and how to choose

The ministry handles the equivalence and recognition of diplomas, and it co-signs the diplomas of private higher-education institutions. Before enrolling, check:

• that a private institution appears on the ministry's list of authorised establishments
• the programme's admission conditions for your type of baccalauréat or foreign qualification
• the registration fee that applies to your nationality
• the academic calendar and whether housing in a university residence is available
• whether you will need the equivalence or recognition of your diploma later, in Côte d'Ivoire or abroad

Frequently asked questions

How many public universities are there in Côte d'Ivoire?

The Ministry of Higher Education lists nine public universities, including the online Université Virtuelle de Côte d'Ivoire. New universities have been announced in Odienné and Adiaké.

How do I apply to a public university?

Through the ministry's national orientation platform, where baccalauréat holders make four choices of institution and programme. Holders of a baccalauréat living abroad follow a separate procedure.

How much does a public university cost for a foreign student?

At the Université Alassane Ouattara, registration costs 100,000 CFA francs for WAEMU nationals and 300,000 CFA francs for students from outside the WAEMU.

In which language are university courses taught?

Côte d'Ivoire is a French-speaking country, and university programmes are taught in French.