PSL awards Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD diplomas for its constituent schools and institutes. It offers an education based on research and interdisciplinary instruction, and its 17,000 students have access to a broad range of disciplines in science, engineering, humanities, social sciences, fine art and performing arts.
In 2004, institutions in the Latin Quarter began thinking of how to join forces to boost their international visibility. The French law on research promulgated in 2006, which encouraged the formation of research networks (in various forms including PRES and RTRA), paved the way for new projects such as Paris Universitas, PRES ParisTech and an early version of the PSL project. This new organization combined five institutions of higher education in the Latin Quarter: Chimie ParisTech, Collège de France, École normale supérieure (Paris), École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris (ESPCI Paris), and Observatoire de Paris.[4] Together, they adopted the status of a scientific cooperation foundation (FCS) (fr). The new entity, called "Paris Sciences et Lettres – Quartier Latin", was initially conceived as a scientific alliance.[5][6] In 2011, the five institutions submitted a joint application for the Initiatives for Excellence (IDEX) as part of France's Investing for the Future program (PIA), causing the project to evolve into a new form of French university. This university would have 70% of its students at the Master's and PhD level and offer a Bachelor's program, with an emphasis on equal opportunity students (40% scholarship students in the CPES multidisciplinary preparatory class).
In 2010, the French government launched a call for proposals to boost higher education: the Investing for the Future program (also called the grand emprunt). PSL has successfully responded to several calls for proposals. In 2011, with the Initiatives for Excellence call for proposals, PSL was one of the first three projects selected,[10][11] along with Université de Bordeaux and Université de Strasbourg.[12]
While the diversity of project participants has sometimes been cited as a weakness, the promoters of PSL underline the complementarity of its institutions and the potential for collaboration.[13] The funding of the Excellence Initiative has, in addition, supported the creation of 11 Laboratories of excellence (Labex) within PSL: CelTisPhyBio, DCBIOL, DEEP, DYNAMO, ENS-ICFP, ESEP, IEC, IPGG, MemoLife, TransferS, and WIFI. In 2014, the Corail, HaStec, and TEPSIS Labex laboratories joined the list with EHESS and EPHE becoming members of PSL.
Also in 2011, PSL's institutions presented ten projects under the "Equipped with excellence" (Equipex) program. Among the initial submissions, they obtained eight Equipex facilities: BEDOFIH, D-FIH, Equip@Meso, ICGex, IPGG, Paris-en-Resonnance, Planaqua, Ultrabrain. These projects have received funding ranging from 2 to 10 million euros.
In 2017, after a detailed review process, nine institutions agreed to put in place an integrated budget and a multi-year strategy for academic recruitment, as well as to create a number of shared platforms and services. Chimie ParisTech, École Nationale des Chartes, École Normale Supérieure, École Pratique des Hautes Etudes, ESPCI Paris, Institut Curie, Observatoire de Paris, MINES ParisTech, Université Paris-Dauphine decided to jointly form Université PSL.
The agreement approved by their respective boards calls for the schools and institutions that form the university to adopt a unified strategy, to submit to the budgetary authority of the president of the university, to jointly plan their recruitment, and to transfer the whole of their diplomas to PSL. Towards the end of the process, in 2018, one of the former members, EHESS, did not approve the new statutes and decided not to be part of the target University.[14]
Beaux-Arts de Paris, Collège de France, Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, École Française d'Extrême-Orient, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, La Fémis, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique and Institut Louis Bachelier are recognized as associates of the university pending later integration.
University status (2019)
In December 2018, an opportunity to formally create a full University arose with a new Ordonnance (ordinance)[15] allowing to create a collegiate university, whose constituents may keep their legal personality,[16] similar to British collegiate universities like Oxford and Cambridge.
PSL is a collegiate university (17,000 students). It consists of 11 constituent schools, with plans to gradually expand to include some or all other associate colleges.[17] Three national research organisations (CNRS, Inserm, Inria) are involved in governance and help to define PSL's strategy, with which they coordinate their own strategies.
The current president is Alain Fuchs. He took over the position from Thierry Coulhon in 2017, when Coulhon was appointed advisor to the French President in charge of Education, Higher Education, and Research.
2012–2014: Monique Canto-Sperber, previously director of ENS, founder and first president of PSL[20]
September 2014 – February 2015 (acting) Romain Soubeyran, director of MINES ParisTech
2014–2017: Thierry Coulhon, previously director of the Mathematical Sciences Institute at Australian National University in Canberra[21]
June – October 2017 (acting) Marc Mézard, director of ENS[22]
2017 – present: Alain Fuchs, previously president of CNRS[23]
Organization
PSL is administered by a Board of Directors chaired by the PSL president. It relies on the recommendations of an Academic Council and a Strategic Steering Committee. The executive organ of the university is the Executive Committee (the president, vice-presidents, and deans), supported by the Council of Members.
At Université Paris-Dauphine, a constituent of Université PSL, bachelor's degrees are available for students in the following fields: management, economics and finance, accounting, applied mathematics, computing, journalism (IPJ-Dauphine).
Sustainable Development Goals
PSL is co-leader of the SDSN Network for France, under the initiative of the United Nations.,[25] together with Kedge Business School and Universite Cergy-Pontoise.
In this context, Université PSL is promoting that all students shall have access to courses related to climate, biodiversity and sustainability.
PSL has launched in 2020 a bachelor program dedicated to sustainability sciences.
PSL organizes a yearly summer school open to European students, to help understand the challenges of sustainable development: the European School of Positive Impact and Responsibility (ESPOIR).[26]
Graduate education
Université PSL offers training programs for graduate students through its constituent schools in a broad array of disciplines: engineering, fine and applied arts, management, economics, biology, humanities and social sciences, astronomy.
More than 70% of PSL students are at the Master's or PhD level. University PSL Graduate Programs are inspired by the graduate schools that can be found in most of the world's research universities. The first two programs of this kind are a Graduate program in the Humanities (Translitterae) and a PhD program in Cognitive science (FrontCog).
PSL hosts some 140 laboratories, 2,900 research and teaching staff, and about 100 ERC grants.
The scientific research strategy is organised around a core of discipline-specific programs and interdisciplinary programs such as the laboratories of excellence (Labex) (fr) and the Interdisciplinary and Strategic Research Initiatives.
Examples of interdisciplinary programs are Scripta (History and practices of writing),[29] the OCAV program (Origins and Conditions for the Emergence of Life),[30] or the Q-Life Institute.
PSL's research landscape includes the following research fields: law, economics, and business administration; literature, literary theory, and philosophy; aesthetics and art theory; life and health sciences; area studies; energy and engineering; physics; chemistry; history; anthropology; informatics and data science; mathematics; materials science and soft matter science; cognitive science; sociology; earth and space science; religious studies; archaeology and heritage science.
The first recognition of PSL's existence as an integrated university came in 2017, when it appeared on the Times Higher Education ranking in 72nd place globally and 1st place in France, and 41st place globally in 2018.[35][36][37]
In 2020, PSL University appears for the first time in two other major university rankings: CWTS Leiden Ranking and ARWU: in the Shanghai ranking[38] it is ranked 36th and 2nd French University behind Paris-Saclay University. In ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (also known as Shanghai Ranking by Subjects) University PSL is ranked among the best world universities in 39 of the 54 subjects, e.g., 10th in the world for Mathematics and for Physics, and 12th in Ecology.
In 2022, Université PSL is ranked first in the Young University Rankings 2022.[39]
The PSL Orchestra and Choir is a choral symphonic ensemble open to all members of the Université PSL community. PSL Orchestra and Choir's musical season consists of five different programs and incorporates contemporary work from different countries.[41]
Nobel and Fields laureates
Serge Haroche – B.A and Professor – Nobel in Physics – 2012