Paris Nanterre University


Paris Nanterre University, formerly called "Paris X Nanterre" and more recently "Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense", is a French university in the Academy of Versailles. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, mainly in the areas of law, humanities, political science, social and natural sciences and economics. It is one of the thirteen successor universities of the University of Paris. It is located in the western suburb of Nanterre, in the La Défense area, the business district of Paris. The university is commonly referred to as Nanterre.

History

Nanterre was built in the 1960s on the outskirts of Paris as an extension of the Sorbonne. It was set up as an independent university in December 1970. Based on the American model, it was created as a campus.
Nanterre became famous shortly after its opening by being at the center of the May '68 student rebellion. The campus was nicknamed "Nanterre, la folle" or "Nanterre la rouge".

Size and scope

Nanterre is the second largest campus in France after Nantes, with its own Olympic-sized swimming pool and a stadium. It welcomes 35,000 to 40,000 students every year in all fields of studies: Social Sciences, Philosophy, Literature, History, Languages and Linguistics, Economics, Law and Political Sciences, as well as Teacher Training, Acting, Cinema, Physiology and Sports.
The university is renowned in the fields of Law and Economics. Even though French universities are required by law to admit anyone with a Baccalauréat, strain is put on the students from the start and the first year drop-out rate consistently hovers in the 60% region. At the postgraduate level, the university offers very competitive programs and partnerships with some grandes écoles such as the Ecole Polytechnique, ESSEC, Ecole des Mines de Paris, and ESCP Europe among others.
The Rene Ginouves Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology is another important institution on campus, merging the departments of the CNRS, and Paris X-Nanterre.
As in most Parisian universities, there is a large minority of foreign exchange students.

Innovative programs

Over the years, Nanterre has developed innovative programs such as the double bilingual courses in French Law and Anglo-American, Spanish, Russian, German or Italian law; in Economics & Management ; and in History. These programs have inspired many universities and grandes écoles throughout the country and are now renowned on a national level.

Rankings

Law
The university’s undergraduate law program is ranked 9th of France by Eduniversal, with 2 stars.

Notable people

Alumni

Professors