Education

From One Grade to the Next

What is the equivalent of the American 3rd grade in the French education system? (Le CE2.) To make your life easier between the U.S. and France, discover our correspondence table for French and American grades.
© Jonas Cuénin

Pre-School

Nursery: petite section de maternelle (PS), 3-4
Pre-kindergarten: moyenne section de maternelle (MS), 4-5
Kindergarten: grande section de maternelle (GS), 5-6

Elementary School

1st grade: cours préparatoire (CP), 6-7
2nd grade: cours élémentaire 1 (CE1), 7-8
3rd grade: cours élémentaire 2 (CE2), 8-9
4th grade: cours moyen 1 (CM1), 9-10
5th grade: cours moyen 2 (CM2), 10-11

Middle School

6th grade: sixième, 11-12
7th grade : cinquième, 12-13
8th grade : quatrième, 13-14

High School

9th grade: troisième, 14-15
10th grade: seconde, 15-16
11th grade: première, 16-17
12th grade: terminale, 17-18

University

Bachelor: licence
Master: master
PhD: doctorat