School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

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 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.

It is a member of Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) University, which comprises 26 prestigious self-governing academic and research institutions. It will join the Campus Condorcet, a new urban campus for Humanities and Social Sciences, in 2019.

As an institution dedicated to developing all forms of scientific knowledge concerning human interactions and relationships, EHESS has long been considered an "innovation hub" for the Social Sciences. For nearly 70 years, the School has been a major player in the renewal and reinvention of theories, methodologies and practice in history, anthropology, and sociology. The school has also promoted and supported inter-disciplinary collaboration between cognitive sciences and philosophy, poetry and mathematics, and is the home of a new institutionally accredited school of thought in economics, the success of which is internationally recognized.

EHESS has its origins in the Economics and Social Sciences department of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), created in 1947 under the direction of Lucien Febvre. Over the following three decades this department was highly influential in carving out a place for Social Sciences as an epistemological domain in its own right, and as a space for inter-disciplinary exchanges focusing on a common research object: human societies.

As Director of the Economics and Social Sciences department of EPHE since 1972, Jacques Le Goff worked for the creation of an independent institution: the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). The school was established by decree on January 25 1975. In the early 1970s, it was housed at 54 Boulevard Raspail in Paris, in the same building as the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, founded by Fernand Braudel.

From the very beginning, it was the seat of a number of influential research centers that provided an intellectual home for some of the greatest historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers of the time including: Pierre Bourdieu, Jacques Derrida, François Furet, Françoise Héritier, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Jean-Pierre Vernant.

The EHESS attracts students from all over the world, who come to benefit from a complementary approach that combines an in-depth analysis of the past with research that is explicitly directed at understanding today's world. Students and researchers come together in seminars, which have been the traditional locus of training for research through research since the foundation of the School.

Ever since its official launch as an independent institution in 1975, the EHESS's mission has been to promote debate between researchers on concepts, disciplines, and cultural areas.

To celebrate the anniversary of its foundation as an independent institution, many scientific and artistic events were organized throughout 2015, which celebrated the diversity and richness of current research and the innovative potential of future work in the Social Sciences.

In April 2017 the EHESS' headquarters moved back to 54 boulevard Raspail, in the heart of Paris. See the video of the inauguration (in French).

From the outset, EHESS was designed as an international institution. This is evidenced by the high proportion of foreign researchers (22%) and students (approximately 50% of PhD and Master's students) within the School. This international outreach is a hallmark of the School and has enabled EHESS to develop a strong and extensive network of academic exchange programs with leading universities all over the globe. Many of its researchers have achieved worldwide recognition for their work, and contacts are maintained and fostered thanks to their regular trips abroad. In 2017, EHESS signed 61 cooperation agreements with international partners. All these agreements are headed by researchers.

The international mission of EHESS has three primary objectives: disseminating the scientific work of the school through major international institutions, facilitating exchanges between academics from different scientific backgrounds, and monitoring and bringing to public attention the most innovative developments in present-day research. In the sphere of social and human sciences, which have become increasingly international in recent years, it is essential to build research networks and develop projects with scholars from other countries. This concept lies at the heart of the School's philosophy and has led to the development of a number of new research centers focused on “cultural areas”, in which 42% of Master's students and 50% of PhD students come from overseas.

EHESS has a long-standing history of promoting and supporting international exchanges through: short-term invitations (“Petites Invitations”) enabling faculty members to invite colleagues from abroad to participate in their seminar series; co-supervision of PhD students (309 co-supervised PhD theses per year on average over the last five years); the active support and promotion of international mobility for researchers and graduate students; the development of international training and research projects; funding for international post-doctoral positions.

Each year EHESS hosts between 150 and 200 visiting professors from every corner of the globe. These professors are affiliated to one of the School's research centers, where they participate in a range of scientific activities. They make an important contribution to the intellectual breadth and richness offered by the school with each visitor giving 3 or 4 seminar papers during their month-long stay with us.

EHESS has continued to nurture its contacts with former international alumni who have become recognized academics in their countries of origin, and has built strong links with other eminent scholars. We are committed to the idea that individual relationships are the primary source of intellectual exchange and seek to support and promote ongoing dialogue between permanent staff, visiting professors, and former international researchers and students. The geographic locations of EHESS alumni can be seen on this map.