University in France
Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
University profile
The École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon) is a public establishment of a scientific, cultural and professional character (EPSCP) under the authority of the French ministry responsible for higher education and research. It trains students by and for research and brings together every discipline except law and medicine. Teaching follows three principles: multidisciplinary approaches, individual follow-up of each student's pathway, and respect for the long timescale of research.
The school is organised on two sites in Lyon (Gerland district for the Monod site), Monod and Descartes, 800 m apart and close to metro, tram and bus lines. Studies are delivered through twelve teaching departments: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Earth Sciences, Economics, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Letters and Arts, Foreign Languages, Literatures and Civilisations, and Education and Digital Humanities. A Language Centre and a Sports Centre serve all students. The community numbers about 2,400 students and 500 doctoral students, with some 700 faculty and scholars and 600 administrative staff.
Every student, whether admitted by competitive examination (concours) or on file, enrols in the ENS de Lyon diploma, which carries the grade of master and includes a research-oriented master, a mandatory international experience of three months, a Cambridge Advanced (C1) English certification whose first sitting is paid by the school, interdisciplinary 'Interfaces' days and a final year of individual pathway (research, higher education, senior civil service or complementary training).
Student life is organised around the Bureau des élèves, the federation of associations and about twenty cultural, artistic, sporting and civic associations, with events such as the integration weekend, the school gala, the garden party and the InterENS tournaments. The campus has a theatre, a music room, exhibition spaces, a large tree-lined garden, two restaurants, sports facilities, a computer park accessible around the clock, the Diderot library of Lyon open day and night, a bookshop (ENS Éditions) and the LaBi fab lab. Student residences are on both sites (Bonnamour on the Descartes site; Debourg on the Monod site is being rebuilt, closed since July 2025 with reopening planned for the 2027 start of year).
The school hosts about 13% international students from roughly 70 nationalities and holds the three-star 'Bienvenue en France' label (obtained in 2020, renewed in 2025). It also hosts the Institut français de l'Éducation (IFÉ), a national research and innovation body on education, and is a partner of the Université de Lyon.
Public institutions in France bear most of the cost of training. Registration for a Master costs about EUR 250 per year (exemption for exchange students). The CVEC (contribution à la vie étudiante et de campus) is about EUR 105 (exemption for exchange students). Civil-liability and accommodation insurance is about EUR 50 if needed. Non-European students pay the ANAEM tax stamp for the residence permit, EUR 100. Non-EU students no longer receive APL housing aid from July 2026, except exchange students and government scholarship holders.
Normaliens with civil-servant trainee status are paid for 4 years: EUR 1,500 gross per month, with a ten-year commitment to the State. Foreign-admitted normalien students receive EUR 1,000 per month for up to 4 years while enrolled in the diploma; the amount is not cumulable with outside funding, and the school can top up to EUR 1,000 per month if outside funding is lower.
Since the 2025 start of year, women admitted on file to the diploma in mathematics or computer science receive EUR 1,000 per month during up to 4 years (EUR 48,000 over 4 years, EUR 12,000 per year), subject to following the study plan; cumulable with need-based grants. Thirteen women benefited at the 2025 start of year.
Ampère: EUR 1,000 per month for 12 months for the best international students in a Master in exact sciences, letters, humanities and social sciences (not FEADéP). Graduate+ (SFRI, France 2030): EUR 1,000 per month for 10 months for Masters in the Graduate initiatives CORE, DynLifeSys, MathInfi and PACE. One form covers both Master admission and scholarship application. Country partnerships: Lafayette (USA), and French embassy scholarships for Canada and India. Eiffel scholarships apply to international Master and doctoral candidates; an Eiffel award does not waive admission criteria.
CROUS need-based grants for French students (applications from 15 January before the start of year), Erasmus+, ENS mobility grants, regional BRMIE grants, State-guaranteed student loan. Doctoral students: Eiffel doctoral grants, Chateaubriand (US doctoral students), Mitacs Globalink (Canadians), Zellidja and Calmette-Yersin grants, Université de Lyon mobility grants.
Financing studies | DeWitt-Morette programme | Master and excellence scholarship
Ampère Scholarships of Excellence (Master's) →
ENS de Lyon Doctoral Co-funding Programme for International Students →
ENS-CSC Doctoral Fellowship Programme (China Scholarship Council) →
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View scholarships for ENS de Lyon →The diploma is the common framework of the normalien course: 4 years for students entering the first year (120 ECTS) and 3 years for those entering the second year (180 ECTS). Two routes run in parallel: the competitive examination (concours) after a two-year classe préparatoire, and selection on file.
Open to French and international students, who join as paid civil-servant trainees (EEA nationals) or as foreign-admitted normalien students with a scholarship. Candidates must hold the baccalauréat or an equivalent, may sit the school's concours at most three times, may not hold a diploma of 240 ECTS and may enter only one concours, group or series per session. Letters and Humanities (LSH) series: Letters and Arts, Modern Languages, Human Sciences, Economic and Social Sciences; registration via the SCEI platform, session 2027 from 7 December 2026 (10:00) to 11 January 2027 (17:00). Exact and experimental sciences: six tracks (M-MP, M-MPI, I-MP, I-MPI, PC, BCPST) through shared entrance banks; registration at www.scei-concours.fr, session 2026 from 8 December 2025 to 12 January 2026 (17:00), documents by 20 January 2026.
For university, IUT or INSA students who have validated at least 120 ECTS exclusively at university in three years at most. Two written scientific papers of 3 hours (admissibilité) and four orals: two scientific tests, one modern-language test and a personal project (original written document of up to 20,000 characters in French). Session 2026 registration: 2 February to 16 March 2026 (17:00). Admitted students are normalien students and must enrol in the diploma.
Applications are made on the CADENS web application. First year of the diploma: enrolment in or validation of L2 (120 ECTS to be proved at the start of the year). Second year: L3 enrolled or validated (180 ECTS to be proved), linked to an M1 application at the school. Two files are needed to apply to both years. Medicine/Science double curriculum: applicants must have validated the second year of medicine or pharmacy. For 2026-2027 applications ran from 17 February to 16 March 2026 (17:00) with results on 3 June 2026. Required documents: identity document, CV, motivation letter, higher-education transcripts, diplomas (non-French candidates provide translations certified in French or English) and two recommendation letters. For 2026-2027, no diploma year was open to international (non-EEA) students with foreign degrees; 2027 information is announced for mid-November 2026.
M1 through second year of the diploma plus M1 (L3 or 180 ECTS), or via Mon Master for eight M1 tracks (calendar 17 February to 16 March 2026: ASIOC, De la Renaissance aux révolutions, Didactique des sciences, Études moyen-orientales, Histoire ancienne, Humanités numériques, LLCA, Musique en scènes). M2: validated M1 or 240 ECTS, applying on CADENS. Admission decisions are taken by the school's admission committee. Teacher-training agrégation preparation (M2 FEADéP) welcomes auditors holding 240 ECTS.
Non-EEA candidates with a foreign degree apply for a Master with or without an excellence scholarship through the school's online forms (M1 with 180 ECTS, M2 with 240 ECTS); some programmes, such as M1 Advanced Mathematics and M2 Migrations, are closed to international recruitment. Exchange students apply under bilateral agreements for one or two semesters. English and French levels are required according to discipline and level, evidenced by a certificate of recognised tests; candidates who studied in a French- or English-speaking country or entirely in French or English can be exempted with a self-written statement.
Candidates hold a national master's degree or equivalent giving master grade, show a first research experience, have identified a thesis topic and supervisor and have funding. They enrol in a doctoral school and at the ENS de Lyon; cotutelle and co-direction are possible after checking feasibility with the Service Doctorat et HDR ([email protected]). Preparation should start in the last year of Master.
The school and the Lycée du Parc jointly run a Cycle pluridisciplinaire d'études supérieures (CPES).
Facilities: Diderot library open day and night and bookshop, two restaurants, a large garden, sports facilities run by the Centre des Sports, a computer park accessible 24 hours a day, a video capture studio, equipment loan, a theatre, a music room, exhibition spaces, amphitheatres, teaching and practical rooms, laboratories and scientific platforms, and the LaBi fab lab. A student health service runs weekly wellbeing workshops.
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