Higher education in Monaco offers something unexpectedly refined: intimate environments focused on excellence, where luxury business degrees, marine science research, and executive programs exist just steps from the sea. From IUM’s internationally ranked business school to the groundbreaking work at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, learning here feels both high-level and deeply rooted in the Principality’s identity. In this guide, we explore what Higher education in Monaco truly looks like – precise, global, and quietly powerful.

When most people think of Monaco, they picture the harbour, the Grand Prix, and evenings that stretch into champagne-lit nights. But if you live here – or spend enough time walking its quieter streets -you’ll see another layer. A handful of institutions that quietly, consistently shape futures.

Here, higher education isn’t about sprawling campuses or endless lecture halls. It’s smaller, more focused. The kind of place where you might pass a marine biologist on the way to the market, or see students in business attire chatting over coffee by the port before heading to class.

1. International University of Monaco – A Business School with a Riviera Pulse

The International University of Monaco, or IUM, has been here since 1986, though locals still remember its early days as the University of Southern Europe. Today, it’s the country’s only degree-awarding university – a business school that mirrors Monaco’s own industries1: luxury, finance, sports management, sustainability, and yachting.

It’s international to its core. Step into the courtyard and you might hear a mix of English, Italian, French, and Spanish in the same conversation. Lectures are small enough that professors know students by name, yet the connections built here stretch worldwide.

In 2024, IUM added a specialised Yachting track to its Luxury Management MSc – a natural fit in a country where the yacht industry is both heritage and innovation. And when its MSc in Finance ranked 17th globally in the Financial Times 2025 list, it felt less like a surprise and more like confirmation of what people already knew: this is a place that takes business education seriously.

2. Higher education in Monaco – Centre Scientifique de Monaco 

Founded in 1960 by Prince Rainier III, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) started with a simple mission: to study and protect the sea that surrounds the Principality. Back then, the focus was marine biology. Over the years, it has grown into something much broader – and much more ambitious.

Today, the CSM houses three main departments:

• Marine Biology, which studies coral health and the effects of climate change.
• Polar Biology, launched in 2010 to explore life in extreme conditions.
• Medical Biology, founded in 2013 and working on treatments for childhood cancers and neuromuscular diseases.

The building itself is modest, but the work inside is anything but. Collaborations span continents, and research here influences environmental and medical conversations far beyond Monaco’s borders.

3. Institut Océanographique – Monaco’s Maritime Soul

Prince Albert I was known as the “Navigator Prince” for good reason. His passion for the sea led to the creation of the Institut Océanographique in 1906, and just a few years later, the Oceanographic Museum – a landmark that still towers above the Mediterranean.

Inside, it’s part museum, part research hub, part classroom. Generations of visitors remember walking through its grand halls, gazing up at skeletons of great marine mammals or watching aquariums filled with bright reef life. Jacques Cousteau’s decades as director left their mark too – turning the museum into an international voice for ocean conservation.

It’s not a degree-granting body, but it has inspired more marine scientists and environmentalists than one could count. For many, a visit here plants the first seed of a career.

4. Higher education in Monaco – Specialised Learning

Not everything happens inside traditional universities. Monaco offers smaller, focused academies that reflect its unique industries. Yachting and maritime management courses at the Yacht Club, hospitality and luxury service training with leading hotels, and seasonal marine workshops all feed into careers that keep the Principality running at its polished best.

5. Lifelong Learning – Because Education Doesn’t End at Graduation

For those already working, there are short executive programs at IUM, sustainability workshops, and targeted business seminars. They’re designed for people who want to refine their skills without stepping away from their careers. Here, learning isn’t something you leave behind after a diploma –  it’s part of the rhythm of professional life.

Higher education in Monaco – Final Thought

Higher education in Monaco is shaped by the same qualities that define the country itself: precision, high standards, and a global outlook. It’s not vast in scale, but it is deep in expertise.

Whether it’s a business school overlooking the port, a lab studying coral resilience, or a century-old museum inspiring ocean advocates, education here is rooted in purpose. And that purpose, like the Principality, looks far beyond its borders while keeping its feet firmly on the Riviera’s shore.