or do a long internship, sometimes in foreign countries. Each année sans solde project needs the approval of the ENSL supervisors. Doctoral studies The ENS de Lyon welcomes over 400 PhD students from all over the world. Normaliens can apply to specific doctoral contracts, as long as the thesis is undertaken within a French research institution. Rankings The 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked ENSL 177th university in the world. However, international rankings do not suit well the French academic system, where research organizations are often independent from universities. Moreover, the ENS are small institutions favouring education quality rather than research productivity. For instance, some French universities are better ranked than the ENS, even though the different écoles normales supérieures are considered to be among the highest French academic institutions due to their endowment, prestige and selectivity. Notable people Faculty Jean Giraud (1936 – 2007) - mathematician Francis Albarède (born 1937) - geochemist Jean-Pierre Hansen (born 1942, in Luxembourg) - chemist Jean-Claude Sikorav (born 1957) - mathematician Hélène Miard-Delacroix (born 1959) – historian and Germanist Emmanuel Giroux (born 1961) - mathematician Claire Mathieu (born 1965, in Caen) - computer scientist and mathematician Cédric Villani (born 1973, in Brive-la-Gaillarde) - politician and mathematician Laure Saint-Raymond (born 1975) - mathematician Sophie Morel (born 1979) - mathematician Alumni Laurent Freidel - theoretical physicist Georges Calas - mineralogist Catherine Bréchignac (born 1946, in Paris) - physicist Jacques Prost born 1946, in Bourg-en-Bresse) - physicist Étienne Ghys (born 1954) - mathematician Jakob von Weizsäcker (born 1970, in Heidelberg) - German economist and politician Emmanuel Grenier (born 1970, in Château-Thierry) - mathematician Mazarine Pingeot (born 1974, in Avignon) - writer, journalist and professor Alessio Figalli (born 1984) - Italian mathematician Recipients of honorary degree Yakov Eliashberg (born 1946, in Leningrad) - mathematician Paul Seymour (mathematician) (born 1950) - British mathematician Ole Petter Ottersen (born 1955, in Kongsberg) - Norwegian physician and neuroscientist References External links Official website ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni Écoles Normales Supérieures Universities and colleges in Lyon 7th arrondissement of Lyon Lyon Grands établissements Educational institutions established in 1880 1880 establishments in France