École Normale Supérieure

The École Normale Supérieure (also known as Normale Sup', Normale, ENS, ENS-Ulm or Ulm, from the name of the street where its main campus is located) is an elite French grande école located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.

Originally meant to train high school teachers through the agrégation, it is now an elite institution training researchers, university professors, and civil servants (as well as highschool teachers, in particular in the humanities). It focuses on training through research, with an emphasis on freedom of curriculum.

Its alumni include eight laureates of the Fields Medal, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for the mathematical sciences, as well as Nobel Prize winners in both science and literature.

Apart from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, three other écoles normales supérieures have been established, with similar goals:

The normaliens, as the students of the several 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. This exclusivity clause is seldom applied, though.

Apart from the normaliens, ENS also welcomes selected foreign students ("international selection"), who receive a stipend, as well as, selected students from neighbouring universities, to follow the same curriculum. It also participates in various graduate programs and has extensive research laboratories.

The fictitious mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki's "association of collaborators" is based at ENS.

Table of contents
1 Famous alumni
2 Famous professors
3 See also
4 External link

Famous alumni

(Non-exhaustive list.)

Famous professors

See also

External link


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