Who can apply

First year (M1). Applicants hold a bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS) in computer science or equivalent, from a French or foreign university, with good grades.

Second year (M2). Applicants hold a first year of master’s (M1) in computer science or equivalent. They are expected to have the skills taught in the DAKAI first year: data engineering and interoperability, software engineering, cloud and edge infrastructures, cybersecurity, foundations of artificial intelligence and machine learning. They also need proven experience of at least one academic project.

English. All teaching is in English, so a good command of the language is recommended. Reference scores: TOEFL iBT 82, IELTS 6.5, or a Cambridge English certificate at level B2 or above. No French is required for admission.

A selection committee made up of the programme coordinators decides on admission, and assesses the equivalence of foreign degrees.

How to apply

First intake in September 2027. The first year (M1) opens in September 2027 and the second year (M2) in September 2028.

DAKAI is run jointly by Mines Saint-Étienne – Institut Mines-Télécom and Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne. Depending on their situation, students apply and register at one or the other:

  • Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne: all students, French and international, except those in the case below.
  • Mines Saint-Étienne: engineering students of Mines Saint-Étienne (ICM or ISMIN), who join DAKAI in the second year, and students whose school has a partnership agreement with Mines Saint-Étienne.

Applying to Université Jean Monnet

Students apply through the online application platform of Université Jean Monnet. Applying takes about ten minutes once the requested documents are ready.

  • Deadline for non-EU applicants: March 31st
  • Deadline for EU applicants: May 20th
  • Final notification: July 1st

Registration and tuition fees. Admitted students register at Université Jean Monnet. Exchange students coming under a bilateral or Erasmus agreement are fully exempted. For the others, fees for 2026-2027 are given below for reference; those for 2027-2028 will be set in spring 2027.

  • M1: tuition fees of €255, plus the CVEC (€105), plus €500
  • M2: tuition fees of €255, plus the CVEC, plus €250

The additional amount covers French classes at CILEC, the university’s centre for French as a foreign language, a dedicated secretariat that helps with housing, residence permits and bank accounts, and a welcome week at the start of the year.

Applying to Mines Saint-Étienne

Engineering students of Mines Saint-Étienne, and students of partner schools, apply through the application form of Mines Saint-Étienne. The call usually opens in February and closes at the end of May.

Registration and tuition fees. Admitted students register at Mines Saint-Étienne. Exchange students coming under a bilateral or Erasmus agreement are fully exempted. Other students pay the tuition fees and the CVEC.

Our secretariat provides support, but does not book accommodation or open bank accounts on behalf of students.

Student visa

Citizens of the European Union or the European Economic Area need no visa: a valid passport or identity card is enough.

Other students apply for a French long-stay student visa. The official visa website gathers everything needed to prepare the application. Depending on the country, the procedure goes through the French embassy or consulate, and through the local Campus France office for an academic interview.

Visa procedures take time, sometimes up to four months. Start as soon as you receive your certificate of admission and your certificate of residence.

Housing in Saint-Étienne

Students of Université Jean Monnet. Housing is booked through the university’s platform: univ-st-etienne.studapart.com. Follow each step carefully and contact Studapart if in doubt. They provide the certificate of residence needed for the visa application. A map of student residences helps to choose.

Choose carefully: changing residence after arrival requires one month’s notice, and cancelling means losing the deposit and a month’s rent. The university is not a party to the contract between the student and the residence. Current international students are a good source of advice.

Students of Mines Saint-Étienne. The Maison des Élèves, the students’ residence a few hundred metres from the school, offers furnished rooms, two-room flats for couples and a shared kitchen on every floor. Temporary rooms can be booked for the first nights.

Getting to Saint-Étienne

Flights and travel arrangements are the student’s responsibility. Book early. A return ticket is often cheaper than a single one, so think ahead if you plan to go home for the winter break, in the last two weeks of December. Paris and Lyon are both convenient airports. Bring some cash in euros, at least €200, for the first expenses.

From the Paris airports (CDG or ORY)

  • Take the train from the station inside Charles de Gaulle airport to Lyon Part-Dieu (about 2 hours), then a regional train to Saint-Étienne.
  • Or reach Paris Gare de Lyon, from where two or three direct high-speed trains a day go to Saint-Étienne (2 h 45).

Train tickets can be bought at the station or online as e-tickets.

From Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport (LYS)

  • The Totoom coach goes directly to Saint-Étienne Châteaucreux station. It is the fastest and cheapest option, and booking is required.
  • Or take the Rhônexpress tram to Lyon Part-Dieu (30 minutes), then a regional train (TER) to Saint-Étienne Châteaucreux. Trains run every 30 minutes and the trip takes 45 minutes.

Once in Saint-Étienne

A tram stop faces Châteaucreux station. Tickets are sold at the stop.

  • To the Carr’Étude residence: take the tram towards Bellevue/Solaure or Hôpital Nord/La Terrasse, get off at Place Fourneyron, then walk along rue Chantegrillet to 33 allée Chantegrillet.
  • To the Le Littré residence: take line T3 towards Bellevue/Solaure, get off at Anatole France, then walk via rue Gambetta, rue du Onze Novembre and rue Barthélemy Ramier to rue Émile Littré.
  • To the La Cotonne residence: take the tram to Place Fourneyron, then bus line 3 towards Cotonne.

Where courses take place

  • Université Jean Monnet, Manufacture campus, tram stop Cité du Design: courses in building CSI, and the Data Intelligence team of the Hubert Curien Laboratory in building F.
  • Mines Saint-Étienne, main building, 158 cours Fauriel (bus M6, stop École des Mines): administrative matters.
  • Mines Saint-Étienne, Espace Fauriel, 29 rue Pierre et Dominique Ponchardier (bus M6, stop Espace Fauriel): courses, and the Computer Science and Intelligent Systems department on the 4th floor.

Health insurance

International students register free of charge with the French national health insurance, online, once their administrative registration is complete. Civil liability insurance is mandatory (about €15 a year), and repatriation insurance is recommended.

Living expenses

Count about €800 a month for housing, local transport and food. EU students, and non-EU students holding a long-stay visa, can apply for a housing allowance.

Housing allowance (CAF)

For non-European students who need a residence permit, the housing allowance is paid only once the permit is issued and the CAF has received a copy of it. Apply anyway during the welcome week: rights are calculated from the date of the application. Bring the originals or certified copies of your documents, and a French translation of your birth certificate, which the CAF requires.

Residence permit

European students need no residence permit. Students from outside Europe who hold a long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) must validate it online within three months of arrival, on the official website of the French administration for foreign nationals. A fee applies. The residence permit is valid for one year, and must be renewed for the second year, including when you come back to France after the summer break or for the internship of the last semester. Algerian nationals follow a specific procedure and apply to the prefecture within two months of arrival.