The ENS de Lyon viewed by Sara Watson

Her experience at the ENS de Lyon as a graduate student from 2005 to 2010. I came to the ENS when I was nineteen, a shy bookworm, not knowing what to expect. The university building was only a couple of years old, and there was an exciting sense of newness and opportunity at the school. During the first assembly, seated between an aspiring philosopher and a budding historian, I felt a bit intimidated, especially since the Dean was telling us how the next few years would very happy years, so you'd better enjoy them. But it is very hard to stay shy at the ENS. Contrary to most French universities, the Ecole has a campus with dorms, both on the science and humanities sites, which meant for us that we were immediately plunged into social life, as well as academic enrolment. You slip into activities when you live on a campus.