As one of France’s four Écoles Normales Supériores, the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Lyon is a premier institution of research and learning. The first ENS was founded after the French Revolution and has since produced such great minds as Louis Pasteur, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone Weil. Building on the success of the original school, ENS Lyon was founded in 1880. The campus in Lyon is located close to the city centre with good public transport links. Throughout the year, conferences and events take place in the university’s facilities, such as the Kantor Theatre and the Salle Dutilleux. ENS Lyon's 2,300 students are seen as civil servants in training, and are expected to work for France in exchange for financial support during university. ENS Lyon’s mission is to train students to ask the right questions and to come up with innovative answers.

Important: Final decision on students' study abroad application to their host institution rests entirely with that host institution. Students must also meet their departments’ academic requirements to obtain final departmental approval to study abroad. It is usually at least a 60% average prior to departure, however this can vary amongst departments. Students should double check with their Study Abroad Tutor if they are unsure of their academic requirements. French students will need to have obtained at least 65% average in their first year to be considered for this university. King’s students that wish to study abroad at this institution should check the ‘Undergraduate options by department’ page to see if this institution is indeed an option for them.