Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne was founded in the 13th century as the Collège de la Sorbonne by Robert de Sorbon and is located in the heart of the capital’s Latin Quarter. It is one of the oldest French universities, renowned throughout the world. The present-day university has combined tradition with modernity since its establishment in 1971.

Three Major Disciplinary Areas

Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne offers courses in three disciplinary areas: economics and management, arts and humanities and law and political science. This broad range of courses makes Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne the biggest social science and humanities university in France in terms of both the range of courses on offer and student numbers. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne has always emphasised interdisciplinary research. Today the university offers a number of innovative double degrees at both bachelor’s and master’s levels with excellent reputations in France and abroad.

Research Excellence

Teaching and research are intrinsically linked at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. As with teaching, research is also structured around three major disciplinary areas with 37 research teams and 10 doctoral schools. Every year, over 320 PhD theses and habilitations are defended at the university and 60 titles are added to the university press catalogue, the Editions de la Sorbonne. More than 300 scientific events are also organised each year.

International Outlook

20% of the university’s 45,000 students are international students enrolled across 10 academic departments and four institutes. Internationalisation of teaching and research at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne is constantly increasing thanks to strong historic links with a large number of global institutions (287 partners in 66 countries) and the university’s involvement in a number of networks. This strong international presence makes it possible for Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne to offer provision for the international joint-supervision of PhDs, Erasmus Mundus programmes, joint degree programmes, and many delocalised degrees within foreign partner universities.

International Reputation

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne is very well placed in international rankings. In the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject, the university was ranked among the world's top 20 institutions in Arts and Humanities and came first in France across eight subjects: archaeology, architecture, communication and media studies, development studies, law, geography, history and philosophy.

Key Figures

44,500 students
2,100 PhD students
8,800 international students
1,440 incoming and outgoing exchange students

10 academic departments and 4 institutes
1,500 members of teaching and research staff
1,200 members of administrative and library staff

13 bachelor's degrees
68 master’s degrees
10 doctoral schools
325 PhD viva hand habilitations every year

287 partner universities in 75 countries
25 locations in Paris and the Île-de-France region
41 libraries within the Library Services (SCD)