School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

The École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) is a graduate-only research institution that has a unique standing in the world of research and higher education in France. It hosts scholars from all over the world committed to the study of contemporary societies seen within broad cultural and historical contexts. It trains students up to PhD level in all disciplines of the social and human sciences (history, anthropology, sociology, economics, geography, linguistics, psychology, demography, cognitive science, political science, philosophy and mathematics). With its high percentage of international students and faculty, EHESS has created a unique global academic network. With over 1,000 round-table seminars a year, in which faculty and guest scholars present and discuss their current research with students, EHESS occupies a central position in French intellectual life. EHESS was founded in 1984 as a ‘grand établissement’ alongside the College de France, the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers. The school’s unique status was recognized in 1985 by ministerial decree, which clearly defined its mission and organization: it is structured around research training for Master’s and PhD students, as well as students of its own EHESS Diploma and candidates for the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (Accreditation as a Research Supervisor). EHESS maintains close links with a number of French universities and research institutions operating within its disciplinary fields: the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, the Maison des sciences de l’Homme, the Écoles normales supérieures, the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, to name but a few.