Aix-Marseille University

Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, petitioned the Pisan Antipope Alexander V to establish the University of Provence, making it one of the oldest university-level institutions in France. The institution came into its current form following a reunification of the University of Provence, the University of the Mediterranean and Paul Cézanne University. The reunification became effective on 1 January 2012, resulting in the creation of the largest university in the French-speaking world, with about 80,000 students. AMU has the largest budget of any academic institution in the Francophone world, standing at €750 million. It is consistently ranked among the top 200 universities in the worldLeiden Global University Ranking 2022
/ref> and is ranked within the top 4 universities in France according to CWTS and USNWR, and 5th in the country according to ARWU.

The university is organized around five main campuses situated in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. Apart from its major campuses, AMU owns and operates facilities in Arles, Aubagne, Avignon, Digne-les-Bains, Gap, La Ciotat, Lambesc and Salon-de-Provence. The university is headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Marseille.

AMU has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, politics, business, science, academia and arts. To date, there have been four Nobel Prize laureates amongst its alumni and faculty, as well as a two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, four César Award winners, multiple heads of state or government, parliamentary speakers, government ministers, ambassadors and members of the constituent academies of the ''Institut de France''.

AMU has hundreds of research and teaching partnerships, including close collaboration with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). AMU is a member of numerous academic organisations including the European University Association (EUA) and the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED).

History

Early history (1409–1800)

The institution developed out of the original University of Provence, founded on 9 December 1409 as a ''studium generale'' by Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, and recognized by papal bull issued by the Pisan Antipope Alexander V. However, there is evidence that teaching in Aix existed in some form from the beginning of the 12th century, since there were a doctor of theology in 1100, a doctor of law in 1200 and a professor of law in 1320 on the books. The decision to establish the university was, in part, a response to the already-thriving University of Paris. As a result, in order to be sure of the viability of the new institution, Louis II compelled his Provençal students to study in Aix only. Thus, the letters patent for the university were granted, and the government of the university was created. The Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence, Thomas de Pupio, was appointed as the first chancellor of the university for the rest of his life. After his death in 1420, a new chancellor was elected by the rector, masters, and licentiates – an uncommon arrangement not repeated at any other French university. The rector was to be an "ordinary student", who had unrestricted civil and criminal jurisdiction in all cases where one party was a doctor or scholar of the university. Those displeased with the rector's decisions could appeal to a ''doctor legens''. Eleven ''consiliarii'' provided assistance to the rector, being elected yearly by their predecessors. These individuals represented all faculties, but were elected from among the students. The constitution was of a student-university, and the instructors did not have great authority except in granting degrees.Carol Summerfield, Mary Elizabeth Devine, ''International Dictionary of University Histories'', Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998, p. 418 A resident doctor or student who married was required to pay ''charivari'' to the university, the amount varying with the degree or status of the man, and being increased if the bride was a widow. Refusal to submit to this statutable extortion was punished by the assemblage of students at the summons of the rector with frying-pans, bassoons, and horns at the house of the newly married couple. Continued recusancy was followed by the piling up of dirt in front of their door upon every Feast-day. These injunctions were justified on the ground that the money extorted was devoted to divine service.

In 1486 Provence passed to the French crown. The university's continued existence was approved by Louis XII of France, and Aix-en-Provence continued to be a significant provincial centre. It was, for instance, the seat of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence from 1501 to 1789, no doubt aided by the presence of the law school.

In 1603 Henry IV of France established the ''Collège Royal de Bourbon'' in Aix-en-Provence for the study of ''belles-lettres'' and philosophy, supplementing the traditional faculties of the university, but not formally a part of it. This ''college de plain exercice'' became a significant seat of learning, under the control of the Jesuit order. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the college frequently served as a preparatory, but unaffiliated, school for the university. Only the university was entitled to award degrees in the theology, law, and medicine; but candidates for degrees had first to pass an examination in philosophy, which was only provided by the college. Universities basically accepted candidates who had studied in colleges formally affiliated with them, which in reality required both college and university to be situated in the same city. In 1762 the Jesuits were forced to leave France, and in 1763 the ''Collège Royal de Bourbon'' was officially affiliated with the university as a faculty of arts.

The addition of the ''Collège Royal de Bourbon'' essentially widened the scope of courses provided at the University of Provence. Formal instruction in French was initially provided at the college, with texts and a structured course of study. Subsequently, physics became a part of the curriculum at the college as a part of the philosophy course in the 18th century. Equipment for carrying out experiments was obtained and the first course in experimental physics was provided at Aix-en-Provence in 1741. Classical mechanics, however, was only taught after 1755, when the physicist Paulian offered his first class and Isaac Newton's ''Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica'' and commentaries were obtained for the library.

The French Revolution, with its focus on the individual and an end to inherited privilege, saw the suppression of the universities. To the revolutionaries, universities embodied bastions of corporatism and established interests. Moreover, lands owned by the universities and utilized for their support, represented a source of wealth to be tapped by the revolutionary government, just as property possessed by the Church had been confiscated. In 1792, the University of Provence, along with twenty-one other universities, was dissolved. Specialized ecoles, with rigorous entrance examinations and open to anyone with talent, were eventually created in order to offer professional training in specialized areas. Nonetheless, the government found it necessary to allow the faculties of law and medicine to continue in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille in the early 19th century.

Modern era (1800–1968)

During the 19th century, additional faculties were opened in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille to serve the changing needs of French society. For instance, Hippolyte Fortoul, later Minister of National Education and Public Worship of France, was the first dean and professor of a new faculty in French literature established in Aix-en-Provence in the 1840s. In 1896, the departmental council of the Bouches-du-Rhône founded a chair in the faculty of letters at Aix-en-Provence in the language and literature of Southern Europe; their aim was to assist the commercial exploitation of the region by French business. A new science faculty was created in Marseille to support the growing industrialization of the region. At about the same time, a special training program was created in the faculty of medicine in order to train doctors in colonial medicine for France's expanding colonial empire.

The most significant development for the university in the 19th century, nevertheless, was the recreation of French universities in 1896. The various faculties in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille were grouped into the new University of Aix-Marseille.

Through two world wars and a depression, the University of Aix-Marseille continued to develop. Increasing numbers of women and foreign students joined the student body, and an overwhelming majority of students majored in the science, medicine, and law. Individual faculties were almost autonomous from university administration and the Ministry of Education frequently intervened directly among the faculties.

Recent history (1968–present)

Following riots among university students in May 1968, a reform of French education occurred. The Orientation Act ''(Loi d'Orientation de l'Enseignement Superieur)'' of 1968 divided the old faculties into smaller subject departments, decreased the power of the Ministry of Education, and created smaller universities, with strengthened administrations. Subsequently, the University of Aix-Marseille was divided into two institutions. Each university had different areas of concentration of study and the faculties were divided as follows:
* University of Aix-Marseille I: law, political science, history, psychology, sociology, ethnology, philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural sciences, languages, literature and civilization
* University of Aix-Marseille II: economic science, geography, technology, medicine, pharmacy, dental surgery, topical medicine, physical education and ocean science
In 1973, conservative faculty members led by Charles Debbasch, demanded and obtained the creation of the University of Aix-Marseille III, grouping law, political science, applied economics, earth science, ecology and technological studies.

Nearly 40 years later, in June 2007, the three universities of Aix-Marseille expressed their intention to reunite in order to form one university. The reunification was gradually prepared, respecting a schedule which allowed for long discussions at each stage, after which it was approved by vote of the Board of Directors of each university. Thus, Aix-Marseille University was re-established by decree No. 2011–1010 of 24 August 2011 and officially opened its doors on 1 January 2012.

Organization

Aix-Marseille University is organized into five sectors:
* Law and Political Science
** Faculty of Law and Political Science
** Institute of Public Management and Territorial Governance
* Economics and Management
** Faculty of Economics and Management
** School of Journalism and Communication
** Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management
** Regional Institute of Labour
* Arts, Literature, Languages and Human Sciences
** Faculty of Arts, Literature, Languages and Human Sciences
** Training Centre for Musicians
** Mediterranean House of Human Sciences
** Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences
** Faculty of Dentistry
** Faculty of Pharmacy
* Sciences and Technology
** Faculty of Sciences
** Faculty of Sports
** Pytheas Institute – Earth Sciences and Astronomy Observatory
** Polytech Marseille
In addition, the University Institute of Technology and Institute of Teaching and Education are part of the university.

Governance

AMU is governed by the President, the Vice Presidents, the General Director of Services and Deputy Directors General of Services and the Accounting Officer. They meet on a weekly basis to discuss the main affairs of the university and to devise the strategic orientations which will be examined by the university councils. A second meeting with all the deans and directors takes place immediately afterwards to discuss more specific issues regarding internal activities of the various faculties and schools. The Administrative Council comprises 30 members: academics, teaching staff, administrative and technical personnel, students and external members. Its role is to determine the university general policy. The Academic Council consists of two bodies: The Research Committee, composed of 40 members, drafts policy proposals for research, scientific and technical documentation, and the allocation of research funding. The Education and Student Life Committee, composed of 40 members, drafts policy proposals on the curriculum, on requests for authorization and projects for new programs, and on the assessment of programs and teaching.

If the President of the university is the most important actor in defining the mission and the strategies of the university, he also has the necessary power to impulse or to sustain the projects that relate to these strategies. Before implementing these projects, they have to be accepted by the university council and if necessary they have to be included in the planning processes. There are two main planning processes in the definition of projects in the university that have to be followed in order to be financed or even authorised and accredited by the public (national and local) authorities. The first process takes place every six years and involves the central government, the region as well as the university. It is devoted to major investment projects, for instance building a new school, a new campus, a new library, etc. It is a catalogue of projects and for each of them it defines the financial burden accepted by each partner in the contract. The second process covers four years and has to be approved by the French Ministry of Education. In this process, the university sets its objectives at the pedagogical and research levels (new degrees, research projects). This planning process is very important because the university is free to define its own strategy, to be approved by the decision makers. Each process generates an important brainstorming period at all levels of the university in order to identify and build new ideas, new needs, and opportunities, to prioritise them, after an analysis of strengths and weaknesses. Other choices can be made after each process is closed, but they are more difficult to implement because other sources of funding and other ways of authorisation must be found.

Academic profile

Aix-Marseille University enrolls about 80,000 students, including more than 10,000 international students from 128 different countries. The university, with its wide range of general and vocational courses including 600 degree courses, offers teaching in fields as varied as the Arts, Social Sciences, Health, Sport and Economics, Law and Political Sciences, Applied Economics and Management, and Exact Sciences such as Mathematics, Data-processing, Physical Sciences, Astrophysical Sciences, Chemistry and Biology. Its 132 recognized research units and 21 faculties make it a centre of international excellence in social and natural sciences. With more than 500 international agreements, the university participates in the creation of European area of education and research and in the development of mobility. A policy in the direction of Asian countries has led to increase its enrollments of excellent international students. Programmes in French and/or English have been organized in order to favour the welcome and the integration of international students, in particular thanks to the presence within the university of the University Service of French as a Foreign Language (SUFLE). Its predecessor, the Institute of French Studies for Foreign Students ''(Institut d'Etudes Françaises Pour Etudiants Etrangers (IEFEE))'' was founded in 1953 and was regarded as one of the best French-language teaching centres in the country. About a thousand students from 65 countries attend the SUFLE throughout the academic year. It is also a notable centre for teachers of French as a foreign language, and its function is to provide training and perfecting of linguistic abilities in French as a scientific and cultural means of communication. According to Harvard University's website, the university is "one of the most distinguished in France, second only to the University of Paris in the areas of French literature, history, and linguistics".

The university's library system comprises 59 libraries, with 662,000 volumes, 20,000 online periodical titles, and thousands of digital resources, making it one of the largest and most diverse academic library systems in France. The overall area occupied by the libraries is equal to 37,056 m², including 19,703 m² public access space. The libraries offer 49.2 kilometers of open-stacks shelving and 4,219 seats for student study. In addition, there are 487 computer workstations, which are available to the public for research purposes.

Political Science

The university's Institute of Political Studies ''(Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence)'', also known as '' Sciences Po Aix'', was established in 1956. It is one of a network of 10 world-famous IEPs ''( Instituts d'Etudes Politiques)'' in France, including those in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Strasbourg and Toulouse. ''Sciences Po Aix'' is a ''grande école'' in political science and its primary aim is to train senior executives for the public, semi-public, and private sectors. Although the institute offers a multitude of disciplines, its main focus is on politics, including related subjects such as history, law, economics, languages, international relations, and media studies. Its admissions process is among the toughest and most selective in the country. ''Sciences Po Aix'' has numerous exchange programs through partnerships with about 120 different universities in the world: the school therefore welcomes 200 foreign students a year. On top of these academic exchanges, students have the opportunity to do internships abroad in large international firms.

Many of the institute's graduates have gone on to high positions within both the French government and in foreign governments. Among the best-known people who studied at ''Sciences Po Aix'' are the current President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, the 5th President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga, former Minister of Justice of France, Élisabeth Guigou, former Presidents of the National Assembly of France, Philippe Séguin and Patrick Ollier.

Law

The law school at AMU dates back to the university's foundation in 1409. The school had far-reaching influence, since written law, which in France originated in Aix-en-Provence, spread from there, eventually replacing the common law practiced throughout the rest of Northern Gaul. The law school has a long tradition of self-management, with a strongly institutionalized culture and practices enrooted in the social and economic realities of the region. Today, it is one of the largest law schools in France, and is considered to be one of the nation's leading centres for legal research and teaching. The school is unique among French law schools for the breadth of courses offered and the extent of research undertaken in a wide range of fields. For 2021/22, the law school is ranked 3rd nationally for its undergraduate studies by '' Eduniversal''. According to the University of Connecticut's website, "other than the Sorbonne, Aix has attracted the most prestigious law faculty in France". The teaching faculty comprises 155 professors and 172 adjunct lecturers, the latter drawn from private practice, the civil service, the judiciary and other organizations. Much of the legal research at the university is done under the auspices of its many research institutes – there is one in almost every field of law. Research activity is buttressed by a network of libraries, which holds an impressive collection of monographs and periodicals, including an important collection of 16th-century manuscripts. Moreover, the libraries have several specialized rooms dedicated to specific fields of law, in particular in International and European Law and Legal Theory.

The school has produced a large number of luminaries in law and politics including the 2nd President of France, Adolphe Thiers, former Prime Minister of France, Édouard Balladur, former President of the National Assembly of France, Félix Gouin, and former Minister of Justice of France, Adolphe Crémieux. The school has also educated two Nobel laureates: René Cassin, winner of the 1968 Nobel Peace Prize, and Frédéric Mistral, winner of the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature. Alumni also include the 3rd President of Lebanon, Émile Eddé, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Vasil Kolarov, former Prime Minister of Angola, Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem

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