Sorbonne University Alliance


Sorbonne University Alliance is a group of ten academic institutions associated with the Sorbonne University. After the fusion between Paris-Sorbonne University and Pierre and Marie Curie University under the name Sorbonne University in 2018, the university system Sorbonne Universités changed its name to Association Sorbonne Université and later to Alliance Sorbonne Université.
The original group was founded in June 2010 by: Panthéon-Assas University, Paris-Sorbonne University, and Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University. The latter two merged in 2018 into Sorbonne University and Panthéon-Assas is now an associate member. Other members include INSEAD, the University of Technology of Compiègne, the National Museum of Natural History, and research centers such as the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation, and the French Research Institute for Development.
The group comprises nearly 60,000 students annually, of which 5,000 are Ph.D. students.
Members of the group have set up many projects to strengthen relations between them and to create new academic courses and research programs in the fields of science, medicine, law, human and social science, engineering, business management, and arts.
Member institutions are associated with twenty Nobel laureates and seven Field Medalists, ten billionaires, and three heads of state.
The group has been granted €130 million by the French government. Its budget was €680 million as of 2012.
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History

The group was founded in June 2010 by, at that time, some of the successors of the University of Paris: Panthéon-Assas University, Paris-Sorbonne University, and Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University.
The University of Paris, also known simply as the Sorbonne, is the medieval university of Paris that was divided into 13 autonomous universities after the French riots in 1968.
In the early 2000s, to perform on the international scale, these thirteen universities joined forces with public research and higher-education institutions and grandes écoles. In 2006, a French law compelled every university institution to join a university group. This was aimed at forming big university and research clusters able to compete with the best international universities.
In 2010, Sorbonne University formed its first group. Since then, other university institutions have joined, such as the National Museum of Natural History. Panthéon-Assas University left the group in 2013 because it was not happy with the governance of the group and became an associate member in 2014. Sorbonne University was composed of 11 founding members and 11 other associate members.
Like other French university groups, this group is a first step toward a merger of the relevant universities. Paris-Sorbonne University and Pierre and Marie Curie University merged in 2018 as Sorbonne University. Panthéon-Assas University and University of Technology of Compiègne may merge with it in the years to come.

Organization

Founding members

Associate members

Campus

Parisian campuses

The main campus of Sorbonne University is the historic central Sorbonne building in the Latin quarter, which Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris 4) shares with other universities not included in Sorbonne University. Sorbonne University is also located in the Jussieu Campus, near the Latin quarter. The campus is occupied by Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris 6). After a long period of restoration, the first half of the new campus was inaugurated in September 2014 with new academic buildings, new dormitories, and a gymnasium.
In Paris, Sorbonne University has the campuses of Sorbonne, Jussieu, Pitié-Salpêtrière, Cordeliers, Saint-Antoine, Trousseau, Tenon, the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, the Vision Institute belonging to the Pierre and Marie Curie University; the Jardin des plantes, the Institut de Paléontologie humaine, the Musée de l'Homme, the Paris Zoological Park, properties of the National museum of natural history; the Latin quarter campus, the Centre Clignancourt, the Maison de la recherche, the Institut national d'histoire de l'art, the Institut d'art et d'archéologie, the Malesherbes University center, and the Institut d'urbanisme et d'aménagement, all belonging to the Paris-Sorbonne University; the École supérieure d'art dramatique de Paris, the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris, all belonging to the Pôle Supérieur Paris Boulogne-Billancourt

Paris region campuses

Sorbonne University is also located in other numerous places in the Paris region:

National campuses

Sorbonne University is also located in numerous other places in France:

International establishment

Thanks to its members, Sorbonne University can benefit from a wide range of international partnerships, both in Europe and worldwide. These partnerships allow academic mobility for students and a broader scientific cooperation for researchers. For example,
Sorbonne University is also established in Asia, with one campus in Singapore, residence of INSEAD, and two campuses in Abu Dhabi, both for INSEAD and the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
Sorbonne University has also formed its own academic partnerships: in Canada; Brazil; Mexico, with UNAM; in China with the Harbin Institute of Technology; and in Singapore, with Nanyang Technological University and the Yale-NUS College.

Academic

Members of the group have worked on several projects in order to strengthen relations and potentially create a new international institution. The most famous projects are the Sorbonne College for bachelor's degree teaching and the Sorbonne Doctoral College for PhD candidates.

Sorbonne College

Since 2014, the Sorbonne College for bachelor's degree has been coordinating academic projects of the members of the group. It also offers cross-institutional academic courses in many fields, allowing students to graduate from both institutions. For example, some cross-institutional bachelor's degrees are proposed to students between Paris-Sorbonne University, Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University, and Panthéon-Assas University, in:
  • Science and History
  • Science and Musicology
  • Science and Philosophy
  • Science and Chinese
  • Science and German
  • Law and History
  • Law and Art History
  • Law and Science
  • History and Media
As is the case in the Anglo-American university systems, Sorbonne University proposes a major-minor program that is currently being deployed at Pierre and Marie Curie University.
Sorbonne University, in partnership with INSEAD, also offers all of its alumni and PhD students a professionalizing course in business management, to complete their curriculum.

Doctoral College

Since 2010, every PhD student is granted an honorary diploma labeled "Sorbonne University". This diploma highlights and gathers the skills of doctors and researchers from the institutions that form Sorbonne University.
The Sorbonne Doctoral College, created in 2013, coordinates the activities of the 26 doctoral schools. Since 2014, it has developed cross-disciplinary PhDs between the different members of the group:
FieldsDoctoral schoolInstitution
Énergie, matière, universChimie physique & chimie analytique de Paris centrePierre and Marie Curie University (Paris 6)
Énergie, matière, universPhysique et chimie des matériauxPierre and Marie Curie University
Énergie, matière, universChimie moléculaire de Paris centrePierre and Marie Curie University
Énergie, matière, universAstronomie et astrophysiquePierre and Marie Curie University
Énergie, matière, universSciences de la Terre et physique de l'universPierre and Marie Curie University
Énergie, matière, universPhysique en Ile-de-FrancePierre and Marie Curie University
Modélisation et ingénierieInformatique, télécommunications & électroniquePierre and Marie Curie University
Modélisation et ingénierieSciences mathématiques de Paris centrePierre and Marie Curie University
Modélisation et ingénierieSciences mécaniques, acoustique, électronique et robotiquePierre and Marie Curie University
Modélisation et ingénierieSciences pour l'ingénieurUniversity of Technology of Compiègne
Terre vivante et environnementSciences de l'environnementPierre and Marie Curie University
Terre vivante et environnementGéosciences, ressources naturelles et environnementPierre and Marie Curie University
Terre vivante et environnementSciences de la Nature et de l'Homme : évolution et écologieNational Museum of Natural History
Vie et santéCerveau, cognition, comportementPierre and Marie Curie University
Vie et santéSanté publique & sciences de l’information biomédicalePierre and Marie Curie University
Vie et santéPhysiologie, physiopathologie et thérapeutiquePierre and Marie Curie University
Vie et santéComplexité du vivantPierre and Marie Curie University
Histoire-GéographieÉcole doctorale de géographie de ParisParis-Sorbonne University (Paris 4)
Histoire-GéographieHistoire de l’art et archéologie Paris-SorbonneParis-Sorbonne University
Histoire-GéographieHistoire moderne et contemporaineParis-Sorbonne University
Histoire-GéographieMondes anciens et médiévauxParis-Sorbonne University
Langues, lettres et civilisationsLittératures françaises et comparéeParis-Sorbonne University
Langues, lettres et civilisationsCivilisations, cultures et sociétésParis-Sorbonne University
Langues, lettres et civilisationsConcepts et LanguageParis-Sorbonne University
ManagementINSEAD PhD program in managementINSEAD

Since 2011, Sorbonne University has celebrated its graduates in a formal ceremony where every PhD graduate wears a scholar's uniform.

Research

To strengthen the influence of its research infrastructures on the international scale, Sorbonne University has developed several research programs aimed at reinforcing or exploring new fields of study. This innovative cross-disciplinary approach was embodied with the creation of four new academic positions, gathering several establishments of the group:
  • A Department of Digital Humanities, exploring the use of digital technologies in the social sciences
  • A Department of Polychromatic Studies of Societies, associating architecture, anthropology, chemical physics, literature, and art history
  • A Department of Digital Health, exploring biomedical tools
  • A Department of 3D Craniofacial Reconstruction
Sorbonne University has also formed, with academic institutions such as the China Scholarship Council or the Brazilian foundation FAPERJ, several partnerships enabling bilateral research programs.

Academic results

Some of Sorbonne University’ members have recently won fame in global and national university rankings.

Global university rankings

The Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2014-2015 ranks PMCU 35th in the world; 1st French university and 6th university in Europe. In the same edition of the ranking, PMCU is the 4th university for mathematics.
In 2014, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University was ranked 103rd in the world, 3rd in France, and 29th in the world for physics in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, while Paris-Sorbonne University is ranked 56th in the world for reputation, 2nd in France.
QS World University Rankings 2015 ranks Paris-Sorbonne University 1st in France, 36th in the world for arts and humanities.
The Financial Times ranked INSEAD #1 in the world in its Global MBA Rankings in 2016, 2017, 2021.

National university ranking

The main universities and institutions of this group are considered as the first or one of the first universities in their field.

Student life

Since 2010, Sorbonne University has set a goal of optimizing students' living conditions and pooling associative activities of all the students.

Associations

Sorbonne University offers financial support to associations or student initiatives that help gather the students of each institution that comprises the group. Among the associations that are currently supported, are:
  • The association Doc’Up, founded in 2006, a students’ union that unites PhD students of every member of the group. The association aims at defending PhD students’ rights within the academic representative assemblies and helping them add value to their curriculum. Since 2007, the association has been organizing a scientific popularization short-film festival called « Les chercheurs font leur cinéma ».
  • In 2014, the music festival Imaginarium was founded by students of the UTC
Sorbonne University also supports students' welcoming initiatives at the beginning of the fall term, such as :
  • Les Sorbonnales, a cross-institutional student ball that gathers every student of Sorbonne University. The sixth edition of the ball took place in 2014
  • Since 2012, a welcome week has been organized at Pierre and Marie Curie University

Culture

Since 2012, Sorbonne University has organized an eloquence contest called « Fleurs d’Éloquence », during which every Sorbonne University student can compete. 150 students participated in 2015.
Sorbonne University has its own musical ensemble, called Chœur-Orchestre Sorbonne-Universités. COSU gathers 250 students, instrumentalists, and vocalists, who perform throughout the school year in concert halls, such as Sorbonne's Grand Amphitheater, or in other parts of Europe.

Sports

Each member of Sorbonne University provides its own range of sporting activities. Nevertheless, the members have recently begun to consolidate their sports facilities following the renovation of the Jussieu Campus: the new Jean-Talbot gymnasium was opened in the fall of 2014, and has since then become the venue for indoor sports.
Sorbonne University also takes part in student sport competitions, where it competes with other establishments. In 2014, Sorbonne University won 3rd place in the World Championships of Grandes Écoles and Universities, a competition jointly organized by the French Athletics Federation and the Journal of Grandes Écoles and Universities, a French magazine for students.

Notable people

Science

Fourteen Nobel laureates have been faculty members, researchers, or alumni, along with 7 Field Medalists:
Sorbonne University has many notable teachers, some of whom have themselves graduated from the members of the group:

Business

Politics

Others