The Ecole normale supérieure is committed to diversity among its students, and we welcome applications from students in the 3rd year of their bachelor’s degree or 1st year of their master’s degree. Our competitive examination is open to young graduates in Arts & Humanities as well as Sciences, who have completed at least one year of undergraduate study at a foreign university and have distinguished themselves with outstanding results.
ENS Scholarships details
- Deadline: 7 Dec 2022 (annual)
- Study in: France
- The course starts September 2023
- Host: École Normale Supérieure
- Level: Masters’s Degree
ENS International Selection Scholarships 2023/2024 for Sciences, Art, and Humanities
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 for more than 10 months during the academic year of the selection (September 1st – August 31st) or 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 authorize 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.
Sciences, Arts & Humanities List of documents
- Detailed editable application form (editable form, download and save before filling it out) – 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 font: 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 a few hypotheses. The material the research project relies on on (e.g. fieldwork, corpus, database, archives, etc.) has to be precisely described. The research project refers to 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, and merged as a unique Pdf, on a platform whose link will be sent once you have filled out 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 an Email address) to download HERE
If incomplete, your application will not be taken into consideration.
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.
Schedule in Arts and Humanities
| Dates | Actions |
| October 11 – December 7 |
|
| January 18 | Admissibility results published online and at ENS
Shortlist on: https://www.ens.psl.eu/en/academics/admissions/international-selection All candidates receive an Email, whether they have passed this first step or not |
| February 6 – 14 | Admission tests by videoconference:
-One written test -Two oral tests |
| February 16 | Admission results published online and at ENS
All candidates receive an Email, whether they are admitted or not |
| Spring 2023 | The admitted candidates receive:
· An invitation letter · An attestation for the visa (by Email and/or postal mail) · A list of documents to prepare for the administrative registration in September (University diplomas translated and certified, a birth certificate translated and certified, 3 ID photos,..) · Information about French lessons · Information about ENS, administrative registration, multifunction card, Health office, Health insurance (i.e sécurité sociale), liability insurance, opening a French bank account, residency permit |
| The admitted candidates must:
· Apply for a visa for studies, i.e “visa long séjour pour études” · Prepare the documents required by ENS for the administrative registration |
|
| Beginning of the French courses for foreigners | |
| September 2023 | Administrative registration with:
· Setting up the scholarship · Dossier for the residency permit application (if needed) |
| October 2023 | 1st payment of the scholarship (September and October). The next payments are made monthly, between the 5th and the 10th. |
Competition tests in Arts & Humanities
There is no specific reading program. After the pre-selection, the board of examiners conceives tests in order to evaluate candidates’ abilities to analyze, conceptualize and synthesize information. They also assess the scientific or literary culture and intellectual curiosity of candidates as well as the relevance of their projects.
The 3 exams are:
- A written exam in French, related to the candidate’s discipline – Duration: see here – Weight 1.
- An oral exam in front of a panel of the candidate’s discipline – Duration: see here – Weight 2. Warning: the duration in the candidate’s discipline might change from year to year.
- An interview about both the candidate’s academic background and project, in front of a single panel for all candidates – Duration: 20 to 30′ – Weight 2.
The regulations for distance tests are available for consultation HERE.
International selection in Sciences -23/24
Academic disciplines
offered through International selection in Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Earth science, Computing Science, Mathematics, Physics, Cognitive sciences
| Dates | Actions |
| October 11 – December 7 |
|
| January 19 | Admissibility results published online and at ENS
Shortlist on: https://www.ens.psl.eu/en/academics/admissions/international-selection All candidates receive an Email, whether they have passed this first step or not |
| Personal invitation to the tests is sent by Email | |
| January 30 – February 9 | Oral tests by videoconference according to the schedule decided by each scientific department
|
| February 13 | Admission results published online and at ENS
All candidates receive an email, whether they have passed this second step or not |
| Spring 2023 | The admitted candidates receive, or can be handed directly at the SAE:
· An invitation letter · An attestation for the visa (by email and postal mail, or they can come to the SAE and be handed it) . A list of documents to prepare for the administrative registration in September (University diplomas translated and certified, a birth certificate translated and certified, 3 ID photos,..) · Information about French lessons · Information about ENS, administrative registration, multifunction card, Health office, Health insurance (i.e sécurité sociale), liability insurance, opening a French bank account, residency permit |
| The admitted candidates must:
· Apply for a visa for studies, i.e “visa long séjour pour études” · Prepare the documents required by ENS for the administrative registration |
|
| Beginning of the French courses for foreigners | |
| September 2023 | Administrative registration |
Competition tests in Sciences
The 2 oral tests are:
- Oral interview on your major, 1 hour at least. This test might include a written preparation – Weight 6
- Oral interview on the candidate’s scientific culture, major and minor (if applicable), and motivation, from 45 minutes to 1 hour, including 15 minutes of preparation – Weight 3
Exercises are both in French and in English. The candidate chooses to answer either in French or in English.
The disciplines proposed are Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive studies, Earth Science, Computing Science, Mathematics, and Physics. Candidates choose 1 major (mandatory) and 1 minor (optional).
Calculators or any personal document are forbidden.