École nationale des chartes – PSL

Archiviste paléographe diploma: entrance competition

The Archiviste paléographe course is accessible by competitive examination. The winner is admitted as élève fonctionnaire stagiaire (trainee civil servant), paid by the State (around €1,250 net per month) during the three years and nine months of study, and in return signs a ten-year service commitment. There are two routes: entry into the first year, the main route for about twenty students a year from literary preparatory classes (about 220 candidates), with examinations similar to those of the ENS; and entry into the second year, for advanced university students.

First-year entry has two sections. Section A recruits historians with solid ancient-language knowledge (5 of the 11 written and oral tests are history, 3 are Latin or Greek, plus a modern language and a French essay). Section B follows its own programme. Written admissibility tests for Section A include a French essay (four hours), medieval history (six hours), modern history (six hours), a Latin translation (three hours), an option of Latin composition or Greek translation (three hours) and a modern-language translation in English, German or Spanish (three hours); all tests have equal weight and there are no eliminatory marks. The history programme questions are set for two years at a time (medieval: the elites in the kingdom of France, 6th-15th century, for 2027 and 2028; modern: towns in France, 16th century to 1815, for 2026 and 2027). Competition candidates also have special access routes to the École du Louvre (double curriculum), the instituts d'études politiques and the Celsa, and since 2013 laureates of the ENS Ulm and ENC competitions can follow both schools' programmes in parallel.

International students

Nationals of a European Union or European Economic Area state may register for the entrance competition (first or second year) and, if successful, receive trainee civil-servant status. Any foreign student, whatever their nationality, may join the École through the international selection. Students recruited this way follow the same curriculum, internships and institutional thesis as competition winners, are appointed élèves à titre étranger by ministerial order and graduate as archivistes paléographes à titre étranger, but they cannot claim trainee civil-servant status or the associated salary. For the 2026 session the application file had to be sent by e-mail to [email protected] before Thursday 30 April 2026.

Masters

The Digital Humanities master (a research degree awarded by Université PSL) is open to bachelor's graduates who want dual skills in the humanities and data science; no prerequisites in mathematics or programming are required, but students must show a real interest in these fields. The Medieval Studies master requires a bachelor's degree in Classics, Modern Literature, Language Sciences, History or Philosophy or an equivalent qualification (including preparatory-class and foreign students); applications and enrolment are handled by the partners Sorbonne Université and Sorbonne Nouvelle. The Digital Technologies Applied to History master is built on the Archiviste paléographe courses in the first year, and entry to the second year requires approval of the teaching committee. The Transnational History master is jointly run with ENS – PSL (courses at rue de Richelieu and rue d'Ulm) and is a research master preparing for doctoral study. Applicants from countries where it applies should also follow the Études en France / Campus France procedure; enquiries go to [email protected].

Doctorate

The doctorate is awarded by PSL University in history, art history, and ancient and Romance languages and literature. Recruitment is open to holders of the Archiviste paléographe diploma, a master's degree or equivalent, including international students. Doctoral candidates are attached to the doctoral school of their supervisor (EPHE's École doctorale 472 or Sorbonne Université's doctoral school of modern and contemporary history) and to the Centre Jean-Mabillon. Joint supervision and international co-supervision (cotutelle) require at least a master's degree and are set up by agreement; cotutelle applications are submitted at the same time as first-year doctoral applications, and the thesis language is preferably French. Enrolment is renewed annually through ADUM, with a CVEC certificate. Contact: [email protected].

Prépa Talents

The Prépa Talents preparatory class, run with the INP, the École du Louvre and the Fondation Culture & Diversité, takes up to fifteen students holding or completing a bachelor's degree who meet income conditions; selection is by file review and interview.

65, rue de Richelieu, Paris 2e – the main site, an Art Deco building of 1929 renovated in 2014 for the École; it houses teaching and administration and is open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm. Nearest transport: metro Pyramides (lines 7 and 14), Bourse (line 3), Richelieu-Drouot (lines 8 and 9); bus lines 20, 21, 27, 39, 48, 81, 95.

Library, Quadrilatère Richelieu (Paris 2e) – the library founded in 1846, housed in the renovated Quadrilatère Richelieu since 2016, with storage at 12, rue des Petits-Champs. About 145,000 volumes with open access to almost all of them, CollEX-labelled collections, a digital library and doctoral thesis repository (ThENC@).

École normale supérieure – PSL, 45, rue d'Ulm (Paris 5e) – partner site where part of the Transnational History master's courses is taught.