Computer Science at ENS Lyon
A study guide for incoming students
The Computer Science cursus at ÉNS-Lyon includes the third year of Licence (or L3) and two years of Master (M1 and M2), divided into semesters. Courses are organised as Teaching Units (UE in French) covering one semester. One UE typically accounts for 5 or 6 ECTS credits and typically represents 30 hours of lectures, 30 hours of lab or classworks, and homework, or any other balance between courses, labs, project work and homework.
Teaching language at the ENS is french. However, most modules will be available in English on request. In this case the course will begin in English, with the hope to switch to French after a few months. You will not enjoy staying in France without mastering the language anyway. Another possibility is to have the course in one language and the classworks in another. In any case, the exams will be given in English on request. In doubt, inquire.
The modules listed on this site are only those taught at the computer science department of ENS. There are however several other possibilities:
- Students may follow courses in other departments of ENS Lyon, including mathematics, physics and biology; Browse http://www.ens-lyon.eu/
- Students may follow courses at the Université Claude Bernard in licence and master. The list of these courses in computer science is available on the web: http://www.univ-lyon1.fr/
- There is a wide range of foreign langage courses available at ENS Lyon. We list English courses below because they are mandatory to French students, although they are not to incoming students. Courses of French as a foreign language are also available on site.
- All students are invited to attend seminars in which researchers present their field and research work. Such seminars are organized about every other week. See the programme at http://www.ens-lyon.fr/DI/.
The final decision about what modules you follow will be taken three weeks after the beginning of the semester, which gives you the freedom to try and choose modules during these three weeks.
Feel free to contact our teachers. All the mail addresses are of the type FirstName.FamilyName@ens-lyon.fr.