Preparing your arrival at the ENSAT

Asking for a visa and administrative procedures: "Campus France" and "Studies Centres in France".
In order to prepare your coming in France, we advise you to collect information on the Campus France website, the National agency for promoting French higher education abroad. There you’ll find all the information concerning the necessary things to do according to the country of origin, especially to obtain a visa for long-staying students.

For the students who come from countries that don’t belong to the European Union, a specific procedure has been set up online: Studies Centre in France depending on the French Embassy. It is imperative for the procedure to be respected in order to obtain a “long-staying student” visa.

Prepare the documents to obtain a “titre de séjour” when arriving in France.The students who come in France for more than 3 months have to ask for a “carte de séjour-titre de séjour”, renewable every year.
Students from the European Economic Area don’t need one: only , a valid passport or identity papers are requiered. 
You have to bring with you the following documents in order to get the “titre de séjour”:

• long-staying student visa
• valid passport
• scolarity certificate or justification of your inscription at ENSAT
• copy of your birth certificate less than 3 months old
• ressources justification: grants, salaries (bulletins of pay), ressources from the country of origin (430 euros per month minimum)
• 3 ID photographs  

To get more information in order to prepare you stay, you can consult the ARIANE guide, which is the student and international researcher in Midi-Pyrénées guide published by the University of Toulouse. Read the ARIANE guide.

When arriving at the ENSAT

Meet the International Relation Services (RI) at the ENSAT

The secretary of the RI services will help you with your inscription, the administrative requirements and accommodation.

Before each semester, specific meetings for exchange program students are scheduled. These meetings allow us to inform you about the courses and practical aspects and they enable us to welcome you under the best circumstances. Please try your very best to be present at every meeting.

In order to learn more about life at the ENSAT, you can consult the chapter: life on campus.

The student office (BDE) can help you as well to find a lodging or register with the clubs and/or cultural, sports and leisure associations.

Prepare the documents to get a “titre de séjour”:

You’ll need a medical check-up certificate to be sent to the National Welcoming Foreigners and Migration Agency and a proof of address in France. 

Meet Welcoming Foreign Student Committees:

• The University of Toulouse invites you to the “welcoming week” in November, organises French classes for foreign students, cultural activities, sightseeing in Toulouse and surrounding areas (the Midi-Pyrénées region), etc. Consult the University of Toulouse website.
• The Regional Education Center (Centre Régional des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires – CROUS)
• Regional Youth Information Center (Centre Régional d’Information pour la jeunesse-CRIJ)

Life at the ENSAT

Where is the ENSAT?

The ENSAT is located within the Agronomic Research Institutions in Toulouse-Auzeville, 20 minutes away from the city centre, by bus n° 62, bus stop Moulin Armand and by tube (line B, stop terminus Ramonville).

In 1999, the ENSAT moved to its present location at the modern, architectural, fully functionnal building, ambitiously designed to meet all the teaching and research requirements.

Three places welcome both students and staff:

• Building “A”, “avenue de l’agrobiopole” in Auzeville-Tolosane: 7500 square metres among which 1900 m2 for the teaching, 3200 m2 for research, 500 m2 for the Multimedia Documentation Centre and 400m2 for the Oenology and Viticulture Centre of Midi-Pyrénées. In this building can be found as well the “Maison des étudiants” (Student Recreational Area) and the University Restaurant run by the CROUS. The school is situated in a new district called “Ponts de Bois”, which has halls of residence numbering 200, primary schools, local shops, mixed lodging, sports facilities, student activity hall etc.
• Building "B", includes the Plant Biotechnology Centre, on the site of INRA in Auzeville Tolosane: 2500 m2 for research laboratories, lecture halls and practical work linked to INRA, CNRS and Paul Sabatier University laboratories. It is located east of building A (around 15 minutes walk).
• The experimental farm in Poucharamet: experimental bovine station, experimental poultry station, 40 km away from Toulouse.

Lodging

If you are an exchange student wishing to be accommodated ina student residence, you have to contact the International Relations Services at the ENSAT.

Close to the ENSAT (5 minutes walk), you’ll find the student halls “Pont de Bois”. Read

You can consult the Regional Education Centre website (CROUS) to get more information or reserve a lodging in a student hall: 

For more practical information on lodging, you can consult the south-east area community (SICOVAL) website.

Catering

On the ENSAT website, you’ll find a university restaurant run by the CROUS, which costs 2,90 euros a meal.

To know more about university restaurants in Toulouse.

Health

Foreign students staying in France for more than 3 months have to register with the social security agency. This enrollment happens while registering administratively with the ENSAT. Are exempt: the students who’ve got a grant from the French government, those from the European Union who are entitled to a European Insurance Card and the students from Québec who are entitled to documents SE401Q102bis or E401Q106.

The Interuniversitary Service of Preventative Medicine and Health Preservertion (SIMPPS) provides counselling for students concerning their health and continued well-being. Social representatives are there to welcome you and to help you in any way they can.

Public liability insurance

It is compulsory to get this insurance. You have to ask an insurance company or a health-care student plan for it when registering administratively with the ENSAT.

Grants and social aid

In order to know better about which kind of grant and social aid you can get, consult the CROUS website. 

Transport

Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport is located 15 km away from the ENSAT. There’s a shuttle (bus) every 20 minutes from the city centre (to get to the airport it takes 30 minutes on average). Tel +33(0)5.34.60.64.00 Fare: 3 to 4 euros.

You can also come to Toulouse by train: Toulouse is connected to all major stations in France and Europe (SNCF).

The ENSAT is located 20 minutes away from the city centre by bus (n°62) and by tube (line B) (a book of 10 tickets costs 6.70 euros)

Toulouse has put in place a cycle hiring system: Vélo Toulouse .

The library

The multimedia centre at the ENSAT is available for all the students, includes more than 9000 periodicals and newspapers. It has got all the modern equipment to do bibliographical research. Read about the documentation centre

Computer rooms

The ENSAT offers 4 self-service computer rooms and puts at your disposal numerous computers equipped with the most recent software, the connexion with the internet and e-mailing and printing services. Most courses are available online, on a server accessible to all ENSAT students.

The exciting student life at the ENSAT

The Student office (Bureau des Etudiants-BDE) offers numerous cultural, sports and leisure activities through its clubs and lively associations. Link to BDE

The Student Office can help you find a lodging, adapt to the school more easily and it can allow you to discover Toulouse and its surrounding areas (the Midi-Pyrénées region).

Life in Toulouse

Toulouse is a lively universitary city which is located in the heart of a region turning towards agriculture and agro-industries. Toulouse is the second university in France: more than 110000 students go to one of the 3 universities, its institutes and National Engineering Schools.

Located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, 730 km away from Paris, Toulouse is the capital city of the vast Midi-Pyrénées region and the 4^th biggest city in France. With more than 700000 inhabitants and its population increasing year after year, Toulouse and its surroundings is considered among the finest metropolitan areas in Southern Europe.

Thanks to its quality of life and gastronomy, Toulouse is a city where that’s good to live and work in, a city we sing and celebrate in our own French, south-western style.

To learn more about Toulouse and cultural activities.

University Calendar  2010-2011

Orientation day for Exchange students 1rst semester        from 6 September 2010
Start of classes S1 (1rst year students)                            7 September 2010    
Start of classes S3 (2nd year students)                            14 September 2010  
Start of classes S5 (3rd year students)                             23 September 2010  
Christmas holidays                                                        17 December 10 - 3 January 11
End of classes S1 and S3                                                21 January 2011
First semester exams                                                     24-28 January 2011

Mid-year break – No classes                                             31 January-4 February 2011

Orientation day for Exchange students 2nd semester           4 February 2011
Start of classes S2 and S4                                                7 February 2011
Easter holidays                                                                22 April-9 May 2011
End of classes S4                                                             4 June 2011
End of classes S2                                                             17 June 2011
Second semester exams                                                   20-24 June 2011
Exam retakes                                                                  First week of September 2011