PSL’s international bachelor in artificial intelligence
The International Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence (IBSAI) is a three-year undergraduate programme of Université PSL, taught entirely in English in the centre of Paris. It provides a strong scientific foundation for future researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and managers in artificial intelligence, in a university that is pioneering the advancement of this science.
It is meant for students who want to understand how modern artificial intelligence systems work rather than only how to use them, and who intend to carry on into a selective master’s programme in artificial intelligence and, for many of them, a future career in research or in research and development in this area. The programme opened in 2025 and belongs to the Paris School of AI, the school PSL devotes to artificial intelligence.
Watch: welcome to the Paris School of AI
on YouTube, 4K, in English
What you study
The backbone of the programme is a full sequence of mathematics and computer science, taught with weekly lectures and tutorials in small groups. Artificial intelligence proper is introduced from the first semester and deepens each year, and courses in economics, law, philosophy, cognitive science, and the environment run alongside to give a broader perspective on artificial intelligence.
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Year 1
Algebra, analysis, probability, statistics, and the art of computer programming; an introduction to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and databases; and first courses in economics and law.
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Year 2
Deep learning, statistical learning, reinforcement learning, and optimization, on a deeper mathematical and algorithmic base, with ethics, the economics of AI, and cognitive science.
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Year 3
Specialization: language processing, computer vision, robotics, generative models, on a last layer of mathematics and algorithms; then an internship in a laboratory or a company.
What makes it particular
- Taught by researchers. Most courses are given by people whose day-to-day work is research in areas around artificial intelligence, in PSL laboratories, in particular in the context of the PR[AI]RIE – PSAI artificial intelligence cluster; see the teaching team.
- Small, international cohort. About ninety students a year from September 2027, from a diversity of origins, taught in small tutorial groups.
- Foundations first. A large part of the programme provides the necessary foundations in mathematics and computer science, rigorously taught, because these are the building blocks of modern artificial intelligence systems and techniques.
- The questions around the science. Economics, law, philosophy, the environment, and cognitive science are part of the curriculum.
- Inside PSL. A collegiate university of some 17,000 students and 140 laboratories, ranked among the best in the world, with alumni and faculty distinguished by 28 Nobel prizes, 10 Fields medals, and 3 Abel prizes.
After the bachelor
The degree is designed as a preparation for graduate study. Within PSL, graduates continue into master’s programmes such as Artificial Intelligence, Systems, Data or AI & Society, or into the research-oriented programme of ENS-PSL, entered through the selective admission of its University track; others go on to selective universities elsewhere in France and abroad. Continuation into doctoral study after the master’s programme is possible and encouraged.
Applying
Applications for entry in September 2027 are made, depending on the applicant’s situation, through the Études en France procedure, for many international applicants, open from 1 October to 15 December 2026; or Parcoursup, expected to be open from mid-January to mid-March 2027. Candidates are expected to have a strong record in mathematics – including the mathématiques expertes option for French applicants – and a C1 level of English.
