École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay
The École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (ENS Cachan, Normale Sup' Cachan) is a prestigious Grande École located in Cachan, a suburb of Paris, in France. Like all the other Grandes Ecoles, this higher education institution is not included in the mainstream framework of the French public universities.
Overview
Its main mission is to train world-class academics, but it may also be a starting point for public administrative or private executive careers. It recruits mostly from the very competitive "classes préparatoires" (see also Grande École) but also admits students who have graduated from university with a DEUG (Diplôme d'Etudes Universitaires Générales, two years of studies). This last way of entry however only applies to the mechanical engineering branch of ENS Cachan. Students who entered through "classes préparatoires" are automatically civil servants and are paid during their studies. They follow the standard university curriculum (Licence, Maîtrise) but have to take then the Agregation competitive examination and to work for the State for six years after their four-years curriculum at the ENS is completed. Students originating from the University do not have to take the Agregation exam but are not paid either.
Its academic and research focus is on: applied sciences, economics, engineering, management, sociology.
Students of the ENS Cachan who are civil servants are known as "normaliens".