About EHESS

Since 1947, the EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) has pioneered innovative methods and ideas that have made landmark contributions to the evolution of the humanities and the social sciences. An interdisciplinary approach, global outlook and critical spirit are cornerstones of the EHESS philosophy, and have informed the thinking of some of the most well-known French scholars, such as Fernand Braudel, Pierre Bourdieu, Jacques Derrida, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Françoise Héritier and Thomas Piketty.

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 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 French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), 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.

EHESS has 252 full time Faculty members. It has its main base in Paris with three regional campuses in Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse.

The current President of EHESS is Christophe Prochasson.