University of Fianarantsoa

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 10 November 2026.

About the University of Fianarantsoa

According to the university’s history page, the Centre Universitaire Régional (CUR) of Fianarantsoa was created in the 1977/78 academic year with a first year in mathematics and 126 students. Lessons took place at the Lycée Raherivelo Ramamonjy, and the Andrainjato university complex became operational in 1980. On 7 October 1988 the University of Fianarantsoa took over from the CUR.^[1]

The page lists the directors of the centre from 1977, then rectors from 1988 and presidents from 2002. The current president is Pr Hajalalaina Aimé Richard, whose second term is given as 2025 to 2027;^[1] the Ministry of Higher Education names the same person.^[4] In 2014 the university opened an annex, the Centre Régional de Formation Universitaire at Farafangana, in the Atsimo Atsinanana region.^[1]

The page also notes that teaching started in 1977 with a single permanent teacher, helped by teachers from the University of Madagascar and by French and Romanian co-operation staff, and that Vietnamese and Soviet teachers took part until 1994.^[1]

How many students does the University of Fianarantsoa have?

The history page gives this series for enrolment:^[1]

The year labels are printed this way on the page. The introduction of the same page speaks of 30,000 students, so the current figure is “about 30,000 to 34,300” depending on the sentence.^[1] The university does not say how many of them are international students.

How is the University of Fianarantsoa ranked?

We could not confirm a place in the QS World University Rankings 2027, published on 18 June 2026. We read all 31 pages of the aggregator xuanxiao.org’s copy of the table (ranks 1 to 1,504) and found no institution in Madagascar.^[2] QS’s own pages block automated access, so this is not proof from QS itself.

The web ranking uniRank (page undated, copyright 2005 to 2026) puts the university 2nd in Madagascar and 10,927th in the world.^[6] That ranking is built from web-presence signals, so treat it as a rough indicator only. How we compile rankings.

What can you study at the University of Fianarantsoa?

The university names its components with their creation years:^[1]

• Faculty of Sciences (created 1977)
• Faculty of Law and Political Science
• Faculty of Economics-Management and Social Sciences of Development, Marketing and International Trade
• Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine (2014)
• École Normale Supérieure (1980), École Nationale d’Informatique (1981), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (1998), École de Management et d’Innovation Technologique (2004), Confucius Institute (2011) and Higher Institute of Sciences and Technology (2015)

The components page also lists a higher school of geomatics sciences that the history page does not count.^[5]

The faculties run their own course platforms. The Faculty of Sciences lists the mentions Mathematics and Applications, Physics and Chemistry, and Life Sciences;^[7] the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences lists Geography and Sustainable Development, History and Anthropology, and Applied Languages and Civilisations.^[8] Three doctoral schools were set up in 2012 and 2016.^[1]

How much does the University of Fianarantsoa cost?

We found no tuition, registration or pre-registration schedule on the university’s website for Malagasy or foreign students, and none for 2026/27.^[3][5] An expatriate guide (last updated in 2015) says that pre-registration at Malagasy public universities is generally paid, that the amount varies by faculty and programme, and that fees are higher for foreign students.^[9] It gives no amounts.

Ask the central registrar for the current figures in Malagasy ariary before you plan a budget. For living costs see our Madagascar guide.

How do you apply to the University of Fianarantsoa?

The pages we read contain no admission page for new students. The menu has an “Office du bacc” (the baccalauréat office), a training section and links to the faculty course platforms, but no application route.^[3]

uniRank describes the admission policy as selective, based on entrance examinations, but that is a secondary source and gives no detail.^[6] The 2015 expatriate guide describes the general procedure at public universities as merit-based selection on the grade and mention of the baccalauréat, with a paid pre-registration file; it says foreign students may apply.^[9]

Write to the university at BP 1264 Andrainjato, 301 Fianarantsoa, or call +261 20 75 508 02.^[5] We give no deadlines because they change every year and differ by programme.

Which language level do you need?

The university’s website, its history page and its course platforms are written in French.^[3][1] We found no published language test or level requirement. If you apply from abroad, ask the programme whether proof of French is needed and which certificates it accepts.

More about studying in Madagascar

• Madagascar: best universities
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

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