University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (; UVSQ) is a French public university created in 1991, located in the department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Seine. It is a constituent university of the federal Paris-Saclay University.
Consisting of eight separate campuses, it is mainly located in the cities of Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Mantes-en-Yvelines, Vélizy-Villacoublay and Rambouillet. It is one of the five universities of the Academy of Versailles.With the universities of Paris-Nanterre, of Paris-Sud, of Évry-Val d'Essonne and of Cergy-Pontoise
It is one of the four universités nouvelles (new universities)With the University of Évry Val d'Essonne, the Cergy-Pontoise University, the University of Marne la Vallée and the UVSQ itself inaugurated in the Île-de-France region after the 2000 University project (). It has a population of 19,000 students, a staff of 752 people, and 1,389 teachers and researchers, as well as an additional 285 external teachers.
The university teaches courses in the fields of natural science, social science, political science, engineering, technology, and medicine. It also provides interdisciplinary courses covering the relationships across economics, ethics, natural environment and sustainable development.
History
Origin A branch of the Pierre and Marie Curie University was created in Versailles in 1987 to increase the university's capacity for enrollment.UVSQ, une université à l'âge de tous les possibles It focused on the study of science, and merged with the law annex of Paris West University Nanterre La Défense established two years earlier at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. In the 1990s, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research developed the French higher education modernization plan called Université 2000, and created eight unaffiliated universities, known as new universities. The Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University was officially created on 22 July 1991 from the relocation of the two centres of Pierre and Marie Curie University and Paris West University Nanterre La Défense.L'université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Rapport d'évaluation, p. 3
A new status
In 1996, the status of the university was changed by law. The law, legislated in 1984, required that the university have elected officials. Michel Garnier was its first president, and created committees that included a board of directors, a scientific council, and a student life council. Dominique Gentile was the second president, and created new annexes such as the Ph.D. School, the University Institute of Technology, and Professionalized University Institute of art, science, culture, and multimedia.Professionalized University Institute During this period, the College of Medicine of Paris-Descartes University was relocated to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and renamed "Paris-Île-de-France-Ouest" (PIFO). It is part of the UVSQ today. Increasing tertiary enrollment in France from 1997 to 2002 increased enrollment at UVSQ.
2002 to present In 2002, Sylvie Faucheux became the president of the university. The university applied the réforme LMD to its courses in 2004.Edition spéciale LMD (Licence, Master, Doctorat) - Construction de l'espace universitaire européen - Quelques propositions pour une approche du LMD à l'UVSQ The CFA d'Alembert was created at Guyancourt in 2006. In 2007, Unité de formation et de recherche médicale Paris Île-de-France Ouest (PIFO) moved to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, and UniverSud Paris was established, with Paris-Sud 11 University, École Normale Supérieure de Cachan, and UVSQ as members, among others. In 2010, the humanities and social sciences college of UVSQ was split into four: the institut des études culturelles (cultural studies institute), institut supérieur de management (management institute), institut de langues et études internationales (languages and international studies institute), and social sciences research institute. The university expanded to develop the plateau de Saclay (in English European Silicon Valley), an area with world-class universities and research centers. As a founding member of UniverSud Paris, UVSQ supported scientific cooperation and the Paris-Saclay research-intensive cluster. A partnership with Cergy-Pontoise University was considered in 2011, and Université du grand ouest parisien was created in February 2012.Décret n° 2012-178 du 6 février 2012 portant création de l'établissement public de coopération scientifique "Université du Grand Ouest Parisien" An Institut d'études politiques commons for both universities is being studied.
Students' profile and demographic changes This table shows the changes in student population, from 1993 to 2013. The number of students enrolled has more than doubled over the past ten years. 1993 1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 7,209Rapport d'évaluation de l'Université de Marne-la-Vallée, Paris, p. 6 9,322 10,029 10,200 10,579Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche 10,719Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche 12,769Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche 13,295 14,226 14,765 14,450 13,992 13,654Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche 14,623Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche 15,142Michel Quéré, Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche, 2011, Imprimerie moderne de l'Est, p.175, 15,420Michel Quéré, Repères et références statistiques sur les enseignements, la formation et la recherche, 2012, Imprimerie moderne de l'Est, p.177 16,126Marion Defresne, Les étudiants inscrits dans les universités publiques d’Ile-de-France en 2012-2013, Service Statistique Académique - Paris 16,925
In 2013-2014, the UVSQ welcomed approximately 9,600 undergraduate, 6,600 graduate and 700 post-graduate students.
The most popular degree courses are law, economics, and management, with almost 6,200 students representing 37% of total enrollment in 2013, followed by science and engineering school (31%).
Overall, more than half of the undergraduate students enrolled every year are female (60%), except for first-year students at Mantes and Vélizy IUT (University Institute of Technology), two-thirds of whom are male.L'observatoire de la vie étudiante http://www.drip.uvsq.fr/le-pole-orientation-et-insertion-professionnelle/langue-fr/presentation/l-observatoire-de-la-vie-etudiante/portrait-des-etudiants-de-premiere-annee-en-2012-13/portrait-des-etudiants-de-premiere-annee-a-l-uvsq-236181.kjsp?RH=1315301039593
The social backgrounds of students are on average, more advantageous than the students matriculated in French public universities.https://www.cne-evaluation.fr/WCNE_pdf/Versailles_2006.pdf Approximately 50% of first-year students come from business and professional families, and globally about four out of five students belong to wealthy and cultivated social classes.Les étudiants de l'UVSQ en 1992-93 au scanner http://www.drip.uvsq.fr/servlet/com.univ.collaboratif.utils.LectureFichiergw?ID_FICHIER=1262860912040 ) The percentage of students coming from low-income families increased from 14% in 1992 to 20-23% in 2013, but remains a minority. This rate, which is common to most selective universities, reflects the population of the region where the UVSQ is located. Two thirds of first-year students come from the Yvelines department (66%), with a significant concentration around Versailles and Saint-Quentin.
The university welcomes an increasing number of international students; in 2010 there were 2,400 enrolled from 72 different countries, making up 13,3% of UVSQ students. Most were enrolled in Ph.D. programs; 45% of all Ph.D. students were from other countries.Key figures for the UVSQ http://www.uvsq.fr/key-figures-for-the-uvsq-233403.kjsp?RH=1286540609235
Buildings and sites
Campus The university is primarily located on four campuses in Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Mantes-en-Yvelines and Vélizy-Villacoublay / Rambouillet, but has eight campuses in total, throughout two departments and seven communes; together these cover 160,000 m2. At the Versailles campus, there is the sciences college and ISTY, the computer science college. At the campus of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, there are the disciplines of law and political sciences, social sciences, medical research and the sciences of the universe observatory. Another campus of the sciences college is located at Le Chesnay. Vélizy-Villacoublay, which includes the IUT of Vélizy and Rambouillet, is one of its annexes. The campus of Mantes-la-Jolie houses the IUT of Mantes-en-Yvelines. Mantes-la-ville includes the mechatronics college of ISTY.
Other graduate school and institutes The Unité de formation et de recherche médicale Paris Île-de-France Ouest (in English Paris Île-de-France West Medical Research and Training Departement; also called PIFO or Paris Ouest) is a faculty department of UVSQ. PIFO left Paris Descartes University to join UVSQ between 2001 and 2002,Mémoire pour l'obtention du DU de pédagogie médicale and is located in Guyancourt. Associated hospitals include the Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, Ambroise-Paré Hospital, Foch Hospital, André Mignot Hospital, Poissy St-Germain Hospital, Sainte-Périne Hospital and René Huguenin Hospital. Two schools of midwifery are located in the PIFO department.
Observatory
The observatory, also called OVSQ, supports sustainable development, an important goal for UVSQ. It is located on Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines campus, and emphasizes observing, teaching, and supporting the environment. OVSQ researches environmental changes, including its sanitary and socioeconomic impacts, and is involved in spatial programs supported by the CNES (French National Center of Spatial Studies) and the ESA (European Spatial Agency). OVSQ supports international projects that monitor the atmosphere, and develops instruments to observe and analyze natural and social phenomena. To prepare future generations in the field of sustainable development, the OVSQ provides an interdisciplinary culture to the students comprising economics, humanities, and environmental studies. In France, OVSQ partners with Fondaterra (European foundation for sustainable territories) and the international industrial professorship, Econoving, to develop sustainable environments and eco-innovations. The OVSQ partners with the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, located in Guyancourt. The observatory contributes to climate study, and supports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The OVSQ allows the university to be an important part of the Climate-Environment-Energy center of the Paris-Saclay Campus. The observatory also contributes to the European community of Knowledge and Innovation dedicated to the Climate (KIC).
PhD graduate schools The university has PhD graduate schools that take care of the PhD students and also habilitation. There are five schools and 102 Doctorates have been delivered in 2009.
The Cultures, Regulations, Institutions and Territories PhD graduate school, which studies various topics specific to social sciences and humanities as well as legal and political sciences.Le potentiel de recherche de l'établissement The Genome Organizations PhD graduate school (co-accreditation with University of Évry Val d'Essonne), which is interested in biology and genomics in particular, and interfaces with mathematics, computer science, physics and chemistry.