Apply to the Master's program

The master has a single admission session a year. The 2027 session is expected to open in January and close in February 2027; the exact dates will be announced on this page. Applications are submitted on the PSL application portal.

Application process

The procedure has two stages: an online application, then interviews. Students can only enter the program in the first year (M1); there is no direct entry into the second year (M2). A panel assesses each application on the basis of the applicant’s prior education and qualifications.

Timetable

The dates below are those of the 2026 session; the 2027 dates will be similar but not identical.

You are strongly advised to complete and submit your application well before the deadline, ideally the day before or at least several hours in advance, to avoid last-minute technical issues.

Documents to prepare

1. The online application form.
2. A résumé (CV).
3. A cover letter. It is an essential part of the application: read the guidelines carefully before writing it.
4. All higher-education transcripts and diplomas, with a French or English translation when the originals are in another language.
5. At least one recommendation letter.
6. Optionally, a writing sample: a piece of written work produced during your previous studies (dissertation, thesis or an essay written for a class). If you have no such document, do not write one for the application; the cover letter matters much more.

No official English test is required.

Prerequisites

The program is open to any student holding a bachelor’s degree in science or the humanities. Knowledge of French is not required.

Normaliens do not go through this procedure to join the master: they contact the director of studies of the department, Yves Boubenec (boubenec@ens.fr).

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are set each year by ministerial decree. For 2026–2027 they are €255 for one year of the master’s program, plus the CVEC (contribution de vie étudiante et de campus), a €105 fee paid online before registration.

Students from outside the European Union

Students who are not citizens of the EU or the EEA and who enter the master’s program in September 2027 or later pay the differentiated tuition fee set by French law, for every year of the program. In 2026–2027 this fee is €3,950 per year of master’s study; the amount for 2027–2028 will be set by decree. Until now, ENS-PSL exempted its non-EU master’s students from this rate. A decree of May 19, 2026 limits the exemptions an institution may grant, and from the 2027 intake the ENS no longer exempts all of its non-EU students. The differentiated rate does not apply to the categories exempted by law: refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, long-term residents in France, tax residents in France for at least two years, and citizens of Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco and Quebec. Individual exemptions also remain possible, as for every ENS student: holders of a French need-based higher-education scholarship and wards of the state are exempted automatically, and any student may ask the ENS exemption committee, at administrative registration, for a full or partial exemption on personal or financial grounds.

The ENS double degree and scholarship

Applicants to the master’s program are strongly encouraged to also apply to become Normaliens at the École normale supérieure. The status is highly prestigious in the French academic system and brings several major benefits, including the near certainty of receiving a PhD scholarship after the master’s and, for international students, a scholarship of around €1,000 per month. The ENS double degree and scholarship page gives the details.

ST4Health, a parallel option

Students in engineering or medicine may also apply to the Digital Mental Health track at ST4Health, a parallel PSL option that accepts direct entry at the M2 level.