Studying abroad after the baccalaureate: learning beyond borders to discover yourself
Do you dream of mastering a foreign language while living a genuine study-abroad experience after the baccalaureate? It's possible from the very first cycle, without leaving a French school: a semester or a year of full immersion, which shapes your personality, broadens your horizons and strengthens your employability, a concrete opportunity to grow, guided from choosing your destination through to your return.
In brief
You can study abroad from the first cycle without enrolling in a foreign university: a post-baccalaureate programme with an international dimension, such as Excelia Business School's BBA International, includes stays at partner universities that count towards the degree.
You continue to pay only your tuition fees to the school, and a team supports you in choosing your destination and handling the arrangements.
How do you study abroad after the baccalaureate?
Studying abroad after the baccalaureate doesn't mean giving up on a French qualification: many post-baccalaureate programmes build international mobility into the very heart of the degree, such as the BBA International, one of the most international programmes at Excelia Business School, which sends students to spend a large part of their studies at partner institutions abroad.
Studying abroad after the baccalaureate is mainly a matter of choosing the right formula: an exchange semester at a partner university, a full year of academic and cultural immersion, or a double degree, which extends the stay to a full year at the same institution. Some pathways even allow you to leave as early as your first year: going abroad after the baccalaureate then becomes an immersion experienced from the very start of higher education.
Studying abroad: an experience that transforms you
This stay has a precise name, academic expatriation, which is part of the BBA International curriculum: you join a partner university as a full member and take courses in your specialisation there, rather than observing a different education system from the outside.
Beyond the extra line on your CV, the experience develops skills that show from the very first job interview: adaptability, command of a foreign language gained through immersion, a keen understanding of intercultural issues, independence gained far from your usual surroundings. It is precisely these qualities that strengthen your employability, a word that takes on its full meaning once you have had to organise yourself alone, far from home.
Getting ready for the big departure
Going abroad is prepared in advance, not improvised in the final weeks before the start of term: information sessions, testimonials from former participants and practical advice support you before your arrival at the host institution.
Excelia Business School's international relations team guides your choice of destination and administrative formalities, while also preparing accommodation and integration on the ground, support that turns a potentially daunting adventure into a well-mapped-out project.
Budget and financial support
Does studying abroad after the baccalaureate cost more than a year in France? Not necessarily on the item most feared: you pay no enrolment fees to the partner university, and continue to pay only your tuition fees to Excelia Business School.
Additional costs remain to be planned for, and they vary by destination: accommodation, insurance, equipment or books, cost of living on the ground. To help offset them, several forms of support exist:
- the Erasmus+ grant for a stay at a European university
- regional or local grants
- CROUS grants, retained during the stay under the usual criteria
To estimate what a year of studying abroad represents, including accommodation and living costs, our study cost estimator gives you a personalised budget in a few minutes.
Administrative arrangements: a key step
Going to study abroad involves a visa or residence permit depending on the destination, and the procedure varies considerably from one country to another. Excelia Business School supports every application, from putting together the file through to obtaining it.
The same support applies to health insurance, compulsory abroad, and to administrative arrangements on the ground: an international officer follows you through these steps, so that formalities never delay your departure.
Choosing the right partner university
You submit your preferences among Excelia Business School's partner universities: at Excelia group level, a network of 233 academic partners in 57 countries. Your placement then depends on your language level (some universities require a minimum score in a recognised certification), on the places available, on the specialisation sought and on the cost of living.
To weigh up these destinations, the school provides expatriation reports written by former students, as well as testimonials from students who went abroad, available before you submit your preferences. Personalised support from the international officer completes this choice, to check that it remains consistent with your language level and your academic project.
An enriching experience for students, a reassuring one for parents
If you go abroad, the experience results in new-found confidence, genuine ease in a multicultural environment, and employability strengthened by everything you will have learned far from your usual surroundings. The Excelia group, of which the school is part, is present in 150 countries and brings together 80 nationalities: a sign of this international outlook.
For parents, it's a different form of reassurance: a dedicated team supports every step (destination, administrative arrangements, logistical preparation), so that the adventure remains well-mapped-out right through to the return. It is this concrete support, more than an abstract promise, that sets a successful academic expatriation apart.
Discover the BBA International
Frequently asked questions
- Do you have to enrol in a foreign university to study abroad after the baccalaureate?
No, not directly: the BBA International builds mobility into the curriculum itself, through an exchange semester, an immersion year or a double degree. You remain enrolled at Excelia and continue to pay your tuition fees there during your stay at a partner university.
- Does your language level matter for going abroad to study?
Yes: your placement depends in particular on your language level, with some universities requiring a minimum score in a recognised certification, but also on the places available, the specialisation sought and the cost of living.
- Do you need a visa to study abroad?
It depends on the destination: a visa or residence permit may be necessary, and the procedure varies from one country to another. Excelia Business School supports every application, from the file through to obtaining it.
- What financial support is available for studying abroad?
Several forms of support exist: the Erasmus+ grant for a European partner university, regional or local grants, and CROUS grants, retained under the usual criteria. These come on top of the absence of enrolment fees at the partner university: you only pay your tuition fees to Excelia.
- Does studying abroad after the baccalaureate help you find a job?
Yes, indirectly but genuinely: the experience develops adaptability, command of a foreign language and an intercultural understanding that count in recruitment. It also builds an international network, an asset that carries weight at interview as much as on a CV.
