PSL is the world’s highest new THE WUR entrant, despite competition from Asia putting pressure on European Universities

Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) is the world’s highest new entrant in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018

Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) has recorded the strongest performance of any university in the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018. The research university made its debut in the rankings in 72nd place, the highest ranking French institution on the list, and the 22nd ranking European institution.

In a year that sees only 34% of the 38 European universities in the top 100 gaining ground in the face of increasing competition from Asia, PSL is the only French university to feature among the world’s elite.  The performance is all the more remarkable given that this is the first time that PSL has taken part in the THE World University Ranking, whose methodology takes into account the ranking performance of previous years.

Part of France’s ambitious Excellence Initiative to create multi-disciplinary universities capable to meet the challenges that face the world of higher education and research today, PSL is the first French IDEX university to rank in the top 75, a list long dominated by universities from the US and UK.

PSL’s ranking shows that the consolidation of a number of institutions within a large university with a rich and diverse talent pool makes it possible to rise to levels that no French institution could hope to reach on its own.

Marc Mézard, President of PSL, notes: “This THE World University Ranking ranking shows clear recognition of the progress achieved in developing PSL. Pooling our strengths bears fruit. We see this not only in our research programs and the new educational tracks we are creating, but also in the innovation coming out of our laboratories. All of this is reflected in the ranking. This performance compels us to stay the course and rise to upcoming challenges with the same success”.

About PSL – univ-psl.fr/e: Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) research university, located in the heart of Paris, provides the ideal academic environment for breeding excellence, creation and innovation, with 4,500 faculty researchers, 181 laboratories, 20,000 students, and some dozen business incubators, fablabs and co-working spaces for student entrepreneurs. Arts and sciences, engineering, humanities and social science form the core of the university’s ambitious intellectual and scientific vision. As a selective, global, interdisciplinary university, committed to promoting talent and equal opportunity, PSL is creating the world of tomorrow.

Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) comprises:

Members : Chimie ParisTech, École nationale des chartes, École normale supérieure, École Pratique des Hautes Études, ESPCI Paris, Institut Curie, MINES ParisTech, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris-Dauphine

Associate members : Beaux-Arts de Paris, Collège de France, Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, École française d’Extrême-Orient, École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, IBPC-Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, Institut Louis Bachelier, La Fémis

Research centers : CNRS, Inria, Inserm

Partners : Lycée Henri-IV, Institut Pasteur