- See also: École Normale de Musique
de Paris
The École normale supérieure (also known as Normale Sup', Normale, ENS, ENS-Paris,
ENS-Ulm or Ulm) is a prestigious French grande
école, possibly the most prestigious. This establishment of higher education, with small attendance, focuses on
training future academics in a variety of fields.
Its main campus is located around the rue d'Ulm (Ulm Street, the main building being at 45, rue d'Ulm) in the
5th arrondissement of Paris. The ENS has
annex campuses on Boulevard Jourdan (48°′″N 2°′″E / 48.822439,
2.331312, in Paris) and in
Montrouge (a suburb; 48°′″N 2°′″E / 48.820742,
2.315180), as well as a biology annex in the countryside at Foljuif.
Three other "écoles normales supérieures" have been established: the École
Normale Supérieure de Lyon (sciences); the École
Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines (humanities) in Lyon; the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (pure and applied sciences, sociology, economics
and management, English language) in Cachan. They make up the infomal ENS-group. For this reason
the ENS in Paris is often called 'ENS-Paris' or 'ENS-Ulm'.
Overview
The
quadrangle at the main ENS building on rue d'Ulm is known as the
Cour
aux Ernests – the Ernests being the goldfish in the pond.
Originally meant to train high school teachers through the agrégation, it is now an
institution training researchers, professors, high-level civil servants, as well as business and political leaders. It focuses on
the association of training and research, with an emphasis on freedom of curriculum.
Its alumni include eight laureates of the Fields Medal (all French holders of the Fields
medal were educated at the École Normale Supérieure), which is the equivalent of the Nobel
Prize for the mathematical sciences, as well as Nobel Prize winners in both science and literature.
As in many other grandes écoles, the ENS mostly enrolls its students two or
three years after high school. The majority of them come from prépas (preparatory classes, see grandes écoles) and have to pass France's most selective competitive exams. Studies at ENS last four
years. Many devote the third year to the agrégation which allows them to teach in high
schools or universities. ENS-Ulm annually enrolls about 100 students in science and 100 in the humanities.
The normaliens, as the students of the ENS are known, keep a level of excellence in the various disciplines in which
they are trained. Normaliens from France and other European
Union countries are considered civil servants in training, and as such paid a monthly salary, in exchange for an agreement
to serve France for 10 years, including those of studies. Although it is seldom applied in practice, this exclusivity clause is
redeemable (often by the hiring firm).
Apart from the normaliens, ENS also welcomes select foreign students ("international selection"), as well as select
students from neighboring universities, to follow the same curriculum along with the reception of a stipend. It also participates
in various graduate programs and has extensive research laboratories.
The professors at the ENS are called the "caïmans", and the goldfish in the pond the "Ernests".
The fictitious mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki's "association of collaborators" is
based at ENS.
Influence abroad
The Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa
was founded in 1810 as a branch of the École normale supérieure and later gained independence.
The ENS group has opened a branch at the ECNU in Shanghai.
The influence abroad of the university can be seen by its positioning in international university rankings. In the 2006
THES - QS World University Rankings[1], the university ranked 18th in the world, and 5th in Europe.[2]
Free online content
Some conferences are in free access on the "Transfer of knowledge" site of the ENS.
About fifty books are in free access on the "Éditions Rue d'Ulm" site, but they are in French.
Notable alumni
-
Notable faculty
-
See also
External links
References
- ^ [1] — A 2006 ranking from THES
- QS of the world’s research universities.
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