School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate grande école and grand établissement in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in France. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conjointly with the grandes écoles École Normale Supérieure, École Polytechnique, and École pratique des hautes études. Originally a department of the École pratique des hautes études, created in 1868 with the purpose of training academic researchers, the EHESS became an independent institution in 1975. Today its research covers social sciences, humanities, and applied mathematics. Degrees and research in economics and finance are awarded through the Paris School of Economics. The EHESS, in common with other grandes écoles, is a small school with very strict entry criteria, and admits students through a rigorous selection process based on applicants' research projects. Scholars in training are subsequently free to choose their own curriculum amongst the School's fields of research. The école has a small student-faculty ratio; 830 researchers for 3,000 students (27.6%). Most of the School's faculty belong to other institutions, mostly within the French National Centre for Scientific Research and schools affiliated with PSL University. The School is notable for its work connected to amongst others sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, philosopher Jacques Derrida, as well as economist Thomas Piketty. Originally part of the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) as its VI Section: Sciences économiques et sociales, the EHESS gained autonomy as an independent higher education institution on 23 January 1975. The creation of a dedicated branch for social science research within the EPHE was catalyzed by the Annales historical school and was supported by several academic initiatives of the Rockefeller Foundation, dating to the 1920s.