<P> It is not uncommon for graduate teaching programmes (master's degrees, the course part of PhD programmes etc .) to be operated in common by several institutions, allowing the institutions to present a larger variety of courses . </P> <P> In engineering schools and the professional degrees of universities, a large share of the teaching staff is often made up of non-permanent professors; instead, part - time professors are hired to teach one only specific subject . The part - time professors are generally hired from neighbouring universities, research institutes or industries . </P> <P> Another original feature of the French higher education system is that a large share of the scientific research is carried out by research establishments such as CNRS or INSERM, which are not formally part of the universities . However, in most cases, the research units of those establishments are located inside universities (or other higher education establishments) and jointly operated by the research establishment and the university . </P> <P> Since higher education is funded by the state, the fees are very low; the tuition varies from € 150 to € 700 depending on the university and the different levels of education . (licence, master, doctorate). One can therefore get a master's degree (in 5 years) for about € 750 - 3,500 . Additionally, students from low - income families can apply for scholarships, paying nominal sums for tuition or textbooks, and can receive a monthly stipend of up to € 450 per month . </P>

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