In French law, Établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel (EPCSP) refers to a formal category including more than one hundred and thirty public higher education institutes in the field of sciences, culture and professional education. EPCSP have legal, administrative and financial autonomy in the French education system.

EPCSP category includes:

• public universities, per se
• four groups of other institutes with an operational status equivalent to a university.

[edit] Organisation

EPCSP have full scientific autonomy to organise their research area, their curricula and degrees, up to and including doctoral degrees. They operate on the basis of a 4-year objective roadmap that they define and agree with the national fund-granting authority and their achievements are assessed by a national evaluation agency for research and higher education. They also have the ability to create their own research foundations.

[edit] Different types of EPSCP

The law establishes different groups of EPSCP, which are described below.

[edit] Universities

The 81 universities and institutes of technology are EPCSP led by a president and administered by a board of directors. They deliver bachelor, master and doctoral degrees as well as continuous education. They also contribute to national research programmes.

[edit] Autonoumous higher education institutes

École centrale de Lille

These higher education institutes with a university-equivalent status are managed by a board of directors, assisted by a scientific council and a board of studies and academic life. Chairman of the Board of Directors is elected from among persons outside of the institute. The director is appointed by the Minister of Higher Education for a period of 5 years. The following institutions have this status

• Centrale Graduate School
  • École centrale de Lille
  • École centrale de Lyon
  • École centrale de Marseille
  • École centrale de Nantes
• École nationale supérieure des arts et industries textiles
• Institut national des sciences appliquées are institutes of technology
  • INSA Lyon
  • INSA Toulouse
  • INSA Rennes
  • INSA Strasbourg
  • INSA Rouen
• Universities of Technology
  • The University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard (Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard or UTBM)
  • The University of Technology of Compiègne (Université de Technologie de Compiègne or UTC)
  • The University of Technology of Troyes (Université de Technologie de Troyes or UTT)
• Institut supérieur de mécanique de Paris

[edit] Écoles Normales Supérieures

École Normale Supérieure

The four Écoles Normales Supérieures are institutions educating researchers and professors. The ENS have a board of directors and a scientific council, and are headed by an appointed director.

[edit] French institutes abroad

There are five French institutes operating outside France, hosting world-class researchers. These institutes are intended to provide an intellectual and material support to such researchers, including the presence of resource materials in French language. Some of these institutes can also provide accommodation for researchers.

École française d'Athènes

The following institutions are included in this sub-group :

• Casa de Velázquez in Madrid
• École française d'Athènes
• École française d'Extrême-Orient
• École française de Rome
• Institut français d'archéologie orientale in Cairo

[edit] Grands établissements

Twenty large institutions with diverse roles are included in this sub-group.

[edit] External links

• French Decree No. 2000-250 15 March 2000 on the classification of EPSCP (((Légifrance|base = JORF}}).