Student Reviews of Paris Programs

ENS Exchange Program Review

Overview:

I can strongly recommend the ENS exchange program to any interested student. Personally I've found the environment to be very productive, both at the ENS and in Paris generally. I've finished my dissertation, begun a translation project for my nominal advisor here, and successfully gone on the job market in the States with minimal back-and-forth travel. For anyone in the research or writing stages, it's a great place to be.

Academics:

As a pensionnaire étranger at the ENS, you can attend any class offered here. There are classes for every taste and level. They also offer French classes for foreign students. You can attend classes at any of the other Parisian universities as well; I attended classes at Paris X - Nanterre, and it worked out very well. You can also attend the PPCT seminar, and any attached short-term seminars. There are many, many conferences -- including a number hosted at the ENS itself. There's also the College de France basically around the corner.  Pretty much everything academic that happens in France happens in Paris, and pretty much all of that happens within 9 minutes walk from the ENS residences (at least the ones in the 5th).

Dorms:

There are two ENS dorms:  the dorms at rue d'Ulm, in the 5th, in or near the main ENS building for the humanities; and the dorms at Jourdan. I haven't been to the latter; they're modern, and slightly bigger per room (or so I hear), but they're down in the 13th or 14th, near the Cité Universitaire.  Rue d'Ulm is in the heart of the 5th. In my dorm, we're living on top of the building in which the library and most classes are held. By the Fall 2006 they'll be done with a lot of renovations, so the buildings on rue d'Ulm will be in great shape.

The students have individual rooms. The floors are co-ed, as are the shared bathrooms and shared showers. People are very modest and unobtrusive, but they are friendly, too. There is one shared kitchen per hallway, with varying degrees of cooperative orderliness, depending on the hallway. It's important to remember that the dorms are mainly inhabited by people around age 20 who have not spent much time away from home and who, due to their studying schedule over the previous two years to pass the entrance exam, are often somewhat undersocialized. But they're really smart, and generally nice. It's a
lot quieter than I expected around here. There are occasional outbursts at night, and the walls and doors are thin. But in general people are responsive to requests to keep the noise down. I like to work outside my room; the library is just downstairs, and open from 9 to 6, so I get down there when I can. Otherwise, it's just living in a dorm. There are all kinds of clubs (wine tasting, sailing, anime, chess, outdoors/hiking, etc., etc.) to join, with enthusiastic student members, so if you're into any particular kind of activity, there will be a chance to use it as a platform to meet other students. There are film series, etc. -- in short, all the things you remember from being an undergraduate, just on a small scale (the ENS is a small school), and carried out by French people.

There are no curfews or holiday closures, as far as I know. It should be noted that the rooms are not suitable for couples for anything more than short-term stays.

The meals in the dining hall are generally OK, and they cost about 3 euros each. Vegetarians are not very happy in the dining hall, but they get by (I hear).

Libraries:

The ENS library I use is the "Letters and Science" library in the main building at 45, rue d'Ulm. There's also one at Jourdan for the students living down there; and there are additional subject-specific libraries here and there as well (like for physics). Unlike the Bibliothèque Nationale, the ENS library is a circulating library. But the BNF isn't far away. There's also the library at the Pompidou center, but it's overcrowded.

School Life:

As noted above, there are lots of activities, etc. There's a general orientation session at the beginning of the year, both for foreign students and for new students generally. I missed it because of a commitment I had in the States, but I would strongly recommend attending all those sorts of things to anyone who can make it. I came here to study philosophy, and the philosophy department is pretty
active in terms of informal colloquia, etc. Being in the 5th is a great opportunity in general, with lots of restaurants, bars, revival movie theaters, etc.