The Ecole normale supérieure:

Ecole normale supérieure aims at varying its students’ profiles and incorporates students to be enrolled in the 3rd year of bachelor in Math and in Computing science (licence 3) or 1st year of master (master 1), coming from all over the world and from all disciplines. The competitive examination of the International selection is intended to young graduates in Arts & Humanities as well as Sciences, who justify at least of one-year undergraduate studies in a foreign university and distinguish themselves with outstanding results.

The examination takes place in 2 steps: a selection based upon application, then oral and written exams (Arts&Humanities) or oral exams only (Sciences) for shortlisted candidates.

Host country: France

Host University: Ecole normale supérieure (ENS)

Scholarship coverage: Fully funded

The number of positions: ENS opens 10 positions in Sciences and 10 positions in Arts& Humanities.

Degree level: Masters

Eligible countries: All Nationalities

Eligibility criteria

• Candidates must be under 26 when they apply (must not have reached their 26th birthday)
• Candidates apply only once to the International Selection
• Candidates must not have lived in France more than 10 months during the academic year of the selection (September 1st – August 31st) nor the previous year.
• Candidates must justify at least one year of undergraduate studies awarded by a foreign university (outside France) during the calendar year preceding the start of applications.
• Candidates justify at least two years of undergraduate studies in a foreign university (outside France), on the 1st of September following admission.

On rare occasions, the Director of ENS may authorise applications from candidates whose academic background is non-standard.

Procedure:

Application to International selection according to the calendars below.

• If your file is complete, it is submitted to the jury.
• If the jury selects your dossier, you are invited to take written and oral tests.
• The marks obtained at the tests determine the list of admitted students.

NB: Applicants interested in the Department of Cognitive Studies (DEC) can apply using the Science or Arts&Humanities forms indiscriminately. This document shows the differences between these 2 options. All candidates MUST contact the DEC in order to choose the right way, based on their personal academic background.

International selection in Arts & Humanities

Academic disciplines offered through International selection in Arts&Humanities: Anthropology, Archeology, Classical studies (Greek, Latin), Cinema, Theater studies, History of Art, Musicology, Cognitive sciences, Economics, Political studies, Geography, History, History and Philosophy of Law, History and Philosophy of Sciences, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Sociology.

List of documents to be submitted on the dedicated platform:

• Detailed editable application form: HERE
• Passport-1st page only (for non-European candidates) or ID card (for European candidates)
• High school diploma
• University transcript
• Curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter (1 to 3 pages long fon : Times New Roman, 12 pt and 1.5 line spacing) – written in French; Candidates in Economics, Linguistics or Cognitive studies must submit their motivation letter both in French and in English
• Research project of 3 pages maximum (10 000 characters including spaces).  This is not a cover letter but a research project: it should address a well-defined topic and deal with a core issue, then develop a set of arguments and provide for a few hypotheses. The material the research project relies on (e.g. fieldwork, corpus, database, archives, etc.) has to be precisely described. The research project refers to an existing scientific literature while selecting a small range of relevant and informed references.This project includes a bibliography (list of 10 books, including articles or literary works you have read and which turned out to be important in your intellectual career). It comes in addition to the study project. – written in French; Candidates in Economics, Linguistics or Cognitive studies can submit their  project either in French or in English

All these documents must be deposited, merged as a unique Pdf, on a platform whose link will be sent once you have filled your initial application form on HERE

This unique pdf  must be named “Family Name-Given Name.pdf”

• 2 to 4 letters of recommendation sent by Email by your referees; Editable sample (with Email address) to download HERE

If incomplete, your application will not be taken into consideration.

International selection in Sciences Ecole normale

Academic disciplines offered through International selection in Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Earthscience, Computing science, Mathematics, Physics, Cognitive sciences

List of documents to be submitted on the dedicated platform:

• Detailed editable application form: HERE
• Passport-1st page only (for non-European candidates) or ID card (for European candidates)
• High school diploma
• University transcript
• Curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter (1 to 3 pages long : Times New Roman, 12 pt and 1.5 line spacing) – writen either in French or in English

All these documents must be deposited, merged as a unique Pdf, on a platform whose link will be sent once you have filled your initial application form on HERE

This unique pdf  must be named “Family Name-Given Name.pdf”

• 2 to 4 letters of recommendation sent by Email by your referees; Editable sample (with Email address) to download HERE

If incomplete, your application will not be taken into consideration.

Deadline:

the application deadline is December 9 for art and humanities applicants and December 12 for science applicants