Best Universities | 67- École Normale Supérieure

Founded in 1793 on Enlightenment principles, the École Normale Supérieure (ENS)—the name means “Higher Normal School”—is a product of the French Revolution. It was re-chartered a few years later by Napoleon himself.

The ENS has since become a leading French university with a unique character. Whereas many schools pursue influence through sheer weight of numbers, ENS has remained small, even by college—let alone university—standards. It has a mere 2,700-member student body, which includes about 650 doctoral students, and only 800 faculty members.

But what ENS foregoes in size it makes up for in elite reputation. The school attracts over 300 top international students from 46 countries, offers 60 master’s degrees, and 23 doctoral programs. These degree programs are spread across 15 teaching and research departments, and feed the college’s 21 research centers.

ENS’s library system consists of 12 smaller libraries that house some 850,000 volumes combined. The prestigious school has produced 13 Nobel Prize winners and an astounding 10 Fields Medalists, making it one of the most significant contributors to mathematics in the world.