École normale supérieure de Lyon

The École normale supérieure de Lyon (also known as ENS de Lyon, ENSL or Normale Sup' Lyon) is a French grande école located in the city of Lyon. It is one of the four prestigious écoles normales supérieures in France. The school is composed of two academic units— Arts and Sciences— with campuses in Lyon, near the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers.
ENSL's students usually enjoy a special civil servant status in the wake of highly competitive exams, providing they pursue careers in public service. Although it maintains extensive connections with the University of Lyon and external research institutions, including the CNRS, the school remains independent.
History.
Training teachers for normal schools.
"L'École normale supérieure de Lyon" is the descendant of two top educational institutions founded by Jules Ferry:
Recruiting among the most brilliant French students, these two schools used to train the future professors of the French normal schools. Whereas these schools were largely regarded as meritocratic, their sisters - the eldest, "l'École Normale Supérieure de la Rue d'Ulm", and her feminine counterpart, "l'École normale supérieure de jeunes filles de Sèvres" -, which trained academics, were "de facto" dedicated to the heirs of the Parisian elites.
A shift towards secondary and higher education.
Following the decline of normal schools and a reform of national education, the decree of February 19, 1945 granted both institutions the title of "Écoles normales préparatoires à l'enseignement secondaire". The Schools' purpose changed in the context of a secondary system democratisation. By 1956, the length of studies was increased to four years in order to institute a preparation for the "agrégation" - a prestigious teaching qualification. Increasingly opening up to research, they aligned their development strategies with those of the ENS Ulm and Sèvres.
The relocation in Lyon.
As part of France's process of decentralisation, the Schools' scientific departments moved in 1987 to Gerland, a former Lyon's industrial district, in the premises of the current Monod campus. The relocated institution was named "ENS Lyon".
Humanities students remained in the Paris region within the coeducational "École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud". In 2000, this school, informally renamed École normale supérieure lettres et sciences humaines, was transferred to the new Descartes Campus also located in Gerland.
On the first of January 2010, the two branches merged to become a single institution, retaining the name "École normale supérieure de Lyon".
Academics.
"ENS de Lyon" is a "Grande École", a French institution of higher education that is separate from, but parallel and connected to the main framework of the French public university system. Similar to the Ivy League in the United States, Oxbridge in the UK, and C9 League in China, "Grandes Écoles" are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process. "Grandes Écoles" typically they have much smaller class sizes and student bodies than public universities in France, and many of their programs are taught in English. While most "Grandes Écoles" are more expensive than French universities, "ENS de Lyon" charges the same tuition fees: €243 annually for the master's degree in 2021–2022; €184 for the Bachelor's. International internships, study abroad opportunities, and close ties with government and the corporate world are a hallmark of the "Grandes Écoles". Degrees from "École normale supérieure" are accredited by the "Conférence des Grandes Écoles" and awarded by the Ministry of National Education (France) (). Alums go on to occupy elite positions within government, administration, and corporate firms in France.
Teaching at the ENS de Lyon is organised through twelve main departments, spread over the two campuses:
Research.
23 of ENSL's research groups have contractual ties to major research organizations, notably the CNRS and INSERM. ENSL is a member of several advanced research networks and competitive clusters, including Lyon BioPôle, and hosts an Institute for Advanced Study, the Collegium de Lyon.
Students.
Normaliens-élèves.
ENSL retains its close links to the classes préparatoires which prepare high-level students - previously selected on the basis of their academic record - for the competitive entrance examination that is taken after two years of pluridisciplinary undergraduate-level study.
Students who succeed in the entrance examinations, which attract some 6000 candidates for 228 positions, are known as "normaliens-élèves"; those who are from France or another European Union country are considered trainee public servants, and receive a salary for their studies during 4 years. A second entrance examination is also open to students who have not gone through the "classes préparatoires" system.
In return of their salary, they have to serve in public services for 10 years.
Normaliens-étudiants.
Entry to ENSL is not restricted to "normaliens-élèves". Students may also apply through a separate admissions process based on academic prowess. The "normaliens-étudiants" are not public servants, but their formation and diploma are the same as those of the "normaliens-élèves".
Auditeurs de masters.
An "auditeur de master" is someone who has been admitted at the ENSL at the master level. By opposition to the "normaliens-élèves" and the "normaliens-étudiants", they don't have the title of "Normalien" and are just eligible to a master's degree. They can't obtain the ENSL diploma.
Studies.
First year.
Students prepare the third year of "Licence", the equivalent of a UK Bachelor's degree.
The ENS de Lyon offers numerous courses which are conceived as preparations for Masters.
Second and third years.
Students prepare in two years their Master's degree. 5 research Masters are proposed in Sciences, 36 in Humanities.
Fourth year.
During this year, students can prepare the "agrégation" teacher recruitment examination in 16 different subjects.
Students can also start their PhD, go studying for one year or more in a foreign country, or follow during one year courses in other subjects.
Gap years.
Between the first and fourth year, "normaliens" can also spend up to 2 free years called "années sans solde", during which they can study other disciplines or do a long internship, sometimes in foreign countries. Each "année sans solde" project needs the approval of the ENSL supervisors.
Doctoral studies.
The ENS de Lyon welcomes over 400 PhD students from all over the world. "Normaliens" can apply to specific doctoral contracts, as long as the thesis is undertaken within a French research institution.
Rankings.
The 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked ENSL 177th university in the world.
However, international rankings do not suit well the French academic system, where research organizations are often independent from universities. Moreover, the ENS are small institutions favouring education quality rather than research productivity. For instance, some French universities are better ranked than the ENS, even though the different "écoles normales supérieures" are considered to be among the highest French academic institutions due to their endowment, prestige and selectivity.