École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales: Encyclopedia II - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales - Overview

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales - Overview

Originally part of the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) as its VI Section: Sciences Économiques et Sociales, the EHESS gained autonomy as an independent higher education institution on January 23, 1975. The creation of a dedicated branch for social science research within the EPHE was supported by several initiatives of the Rockefeller Foundation dating back to the 1920s. Soon after its creation (1947), the VI Section, later EHESS, became one of the most influential shapers of contemporary historiography, area studies and social sciences methodology, thanks to the contribution of eminent scholars such as Lucien Febvre, Fernand Braudel, Jacques Le Goff.

Today, the EHESS is one of France's prestigious Grands Établissements. It functions as a research, teaching, and degree-granting institution. It offers advanced students high-level programs intended to lead to research careers. Students are admitted by dossier and undertake at the EHESS master programs and doctoral studies. The main areas of specialization include: history, linguistics, philosophy, philology, sociology, anthropology, economics, cognitive science, demographics, geography, archaeology, psychology, law, and mathematics, although the institution's focus is on interdisciplinary research within these fields. The EHESS currently hosts more than 80 research centers (among which several joint research units with the CNRS) and 22 doctoral programs, 13 of which in partnership with other French Universities and Grandes Écoles.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Overview", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki