Ecole Normale Superieure: Courses, Admission, Cost

École Normale Supérieure is one of the most prestigious institutions in Paris, France. It was established in 1794 and reorganised by Napoleon. This institution was conceived during the time of the French revolution. The new set of professors was meant to provide secular values and a critical spirit, influenced by The Enlightenment.

ENS has about 2,400 students attending every year. The École Normale Supérieure has quite a few campuses. There is one that still occupies space in the very heart of Paris. The main building is in the 5th arrondissement of Paris which was made by Alphonse de Gisors. This building has the departments of archaeology, literature, classics and philosophy. Aux Morts, the monument of the site, was inaugurated in 1923. It is a reminder of the normaliens who passed away during the First World War. There are auxiliary buildings that surround the campus. The first one has the biology department and laboratories, the second one has the chemistry and physics departments, and the third one has the libraries and the department of cognitive sciences.

ENS has around 8 departments, which are the Department of Science, Department of Geography, Department of Economics, Department of History and Theory of the Arts, Department of Philosophy, Department of Literature and Languages, Department of Geography and Territories, Department of Social Sciences and Antiquity Sciences.

The notable alumni of École Normale Supérieure include quite a few people from various disciplines. Some very famous people who had their background in Mathematics and Physics are the Founder of Galois Theory and Group Theory Evariste Galoise, Mathematician Augustin Cournot and Andre Weil, Professor of Algebraic Topology Henri Cartan and Elie Cartan, Mathematicians Laurent Schwartz, Jean-Pierre Serre, Rene Thom, Alain Connes, Jean-Christophe Yoccoz, Pierre-Louis Lions, Laurent Lafforgue, Wendelin Werner, Cedric Villani and Ngo Bao Chau.