Université Paris Cité

Overview

The University of Paris (Université de Paris) is a public university in Paris, France, which is considered the main French institution of higher learning and is the second oldest university in Europe. Established in 1150, it remained in active operations, from the early 12th Century until 1970, except during the French Revolution (1793–1806). The university is also popularly called Sorbonne, taken from one of its pioneering faculty, the theological College of Sorbonne, which was founded in 1257.

Since the Middle Ages, the university has gained wide acclaim for its academic excellence in humanities, especially, philosophy and theology. It is also credited for establishing various academic traditions and standards, which are still being used in today’s educational systems, such as “student nations,” “doctoral degrees,” etc.

With a long-standing global prominence, the Sorbonne is known for its cutting-edge academic programs in various fields. Its state-of-the-art courses include Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy & Nursing, Science & Technology, Human, Economic, & Social Sciences, and Arts, Humanities, & Languages. Major global university ranking organizations generally consider the university as among the top universities in Europe and across the world.

It currently has a student population of over 63,000, supported by around 10,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel. The university has around 35 buildings, with its headquarters located in Saint-Germain, while its other campuses and offices are spread from the 5th to the 18th arrondissement of Paris, including Fontainebleau and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. It also has campuses and laboratories abroad, mainly in various French-administered territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Reunion Island.

At present, the Sorbonne comprises three major faculties and one institute, namely, the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, the Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Health, and the Institut de physique du globe de Paris.

In addition, the University of Paris is an acknowledged leader in global research. With around 150 research centers, institutes, and laboratories. It is rated as the best French university for citation rate per article. Most of its research centers were established under the Initiative of Excellence (IdEx) Label of the university. These include the LabEx, the Earth Policy Center, the Global Research Institute of Paris, the Data Intelligence Institute of Paris, and Institut la Personne en medecine.

The Sorbonne has educated a long list of eminent alumni, including 50 Nobel Prize laureates, two Popes, around a dozen of French presidents, and many heads of government, such as those of Canada, Jordan, Niger, the Dominican Republic, Albania, and Iraq, to name a few.