Abstract

If university student mobility has been the focus of historical studies for some decades now, the approach today has changed thanks to the contribution of digital tools and the use of international databases. The cross-referencing of these data and the combined use of resources enables us to build an advanced prosopography of foreign students attending the French universities of Montpellier, Orléans and Paris toward the end of the Middle Ages. By tracing students’ origins, their education and career paths, it is possible to determine both their motivations and features of international student mobility. It is pragmatic choices and the material opportunities for students in a particular city that appear to be the main factors explaining the mobility, over the subjects taught and courses offered. The choice of foreign university is also the result of a conscious strategy, which becomes apparent in the choice to study abroad in France and Italy. However, from a career perspective, the profiles of students who moved abroad to study are not substantially different from those of students choosing universities closer to home: in both cases, there is a marked preference for ecclesiastical and legal careers. It is precisely in academic careers that we observe the main benefits of studying abroad since it provided students the opportunity to exercise the highest functions and occupy honorary posts