Paris Nanterre University

Paris Nanterre University (French: Université Paris Nanterre), formerly called "Paris X Nanterre" and more recently "Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense", is a French university in the Academy of Versailles. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, mainly in the areas of law, humanities, political science, social and natural sciences and economics. It is one of the thirteen successor universities of the University of Paris. It is located in the western suburb of Nanterre, in the La Défense area, the business district of Paris. The university is commonly referred to as Nanterre.

Paris Nanterre University
Université Paris Nanterre
TypePublic
Established1964
PresidentJean-François Balaudé
Students32,000
Location
Nanterre, France
CampusUrban
AffiliationsUniversity of Paris, Elles Bougent
Websiteparisnanterre.fr

History
Ths Social Sciences buildings

Nanterre was built in the 1960s on the outskirts of Paris as an extension of the Sorbonne. It was set up as an independent university in December 1970. Based on the American model, it was created as a campus (as opposed to the old French universities which were smaller and integrated with the city in which they were located).

Nanterre became famous shortly after its opening by being at the center of the May '68 student rebellion. The campus was nicknamed "Nanterre, la folle" (Mad Nanterre) or "Nanterre la rouge" (Red Nanterre, in reference to communism).

Size and scope

Nanterre is the second largest campus in France after Nantes, with its own Olympic-sized swimming pool and a stadium. It welcomes 35,000 to 40,000 students every year in all fields of studies: Social Sciences, Philosophy, Literature, History, Languages and Linguistics, Economics, Law and Political Sciences, as well as Teacher Training, Acting, Cinema, Physiology and Sports.

The university is renowned in the fields of Law and Economics. Even though French universities are required by law to admit anyone with a Baccalauréat, strain is put on the students from the start and the first year drop-out rate consistently hovers in the 60% region. At the postgraduate level, the university offers very competitive programs (highly selective master's degrees in Law and Business) and partnerships with some grandes écoles such as the Ecole Polytechnique, ESSEC, Ecole des Mines de Paris, and ESCP Europe among others.

The Rene Ginouves Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology (Maison de l'archeologie et de l'ethnologie Rene Ginouves) is another important institution on campus, merging the departments of the CNRS, Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne and Paris X-Nanterre.

As in most Parisian universities, there is a large minority of foreign exchange students.

Paris X-Nanterre in May 1968

Innovative programs

Over the years, Nanterre has developed innovative programs such as the double bilingual courses in French Law and Anglo-American, Spanish, Russian, German or Italian law; in Economics & Management (with half of the courses in French and half of the courses in another foreign language); and in History (with half of the courses in French and half of the courses in another foreign language). These programs have inspired many universities and grandes écoles throughout the country and are now renowned on a national level.

Rankings

In the QS, Paris-Nanterre University is ranked the 4th French higher-education institution in the field of arts and humanities, next to the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris Sorbonne and the École normale supérieure de Paris. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings considers Paris-Nanterre to be "one of the most prestigious universities in the country" and underlines the quality of its master's degree programs, its partnerships with the Grandes Ecoles, and its list of alumni.

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as Shanghai Ranking, Paris-Nanterre University is ranked 50th in Archeology and 51st-100th in Anthropology.

Paris-Nanterre University's master's degree in Psychology is the first in France in terms of employability and professional integration, according to Parisien’s ranking in 2018.

The university offers very competitive programs with highly selective master's degrees in Law and Business. Because of the number of applications submitted each year, this University is one of the most desired French high-education institutions, ranked 3rd in France.

Notable people

Alumni
Some famous alumni:

Professors

Nanterre in fiction

See also

References

    Selected Master's programs

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