M1 MPRI at ENS Paris-Saclay

Description

The first year of Master in Computer Science at ENS Paris-Saclay is part of the MPRI curriculum. This year is dedicated to reinforcing the students' familiarity with core topics in computer science, but unlike the Bachelor, it is also the occasion for students to diversify and learn about exciting application areas of this core knowledge (for instance in bioinformatics, robotics, verification, or machine learning).

Outcomes

The objective of M1 MPRI at ENS Paris-Saclay is to train future researchers in computer science, mainly for academia but also for corporate environments. It offers an excellent preparation to MPRI M2 before starting a Ph.D. in computer science. Nevertheless, the students from ENS Paris-Saclay routinely tune their curriculum and choose a different speciality for their second year of Master.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes:

  • A choice of courses à la carte, mostly in the first semester. The courses can be chosen from the MPRI M1, but also from other Masters, and not necessarily all in computer science (see the validation conditions). Each student chooses their own curriculum, pending validation by the department.
  • A research internship abroad of 4 months, in a corporate or academic institution, during the second semester. Every student is advised by a member of LMF for their search of a suitable internship. Internships are graded on the basis of a report and a public defence; the latter takes place during the first two weeks of the first semester.
  • Visits of research institutions, with every year two French institutions and one foreign. Those are whole-day visits where the students can interact with researchers working in a variety of areas of computer science through conferences and demonstrations.

Language Policy

The language policy of the courses from MPRI M1 at ENS Paris-Saclay is to teach in French by default, but in English if at least one attending student requests it. Note that this policy may not apply to courses from other institutions but validated as part of the curriculum.

Course Offer

The main source of courses is MPRI M1. These courses take place either at ENS Paris-Saclay or at ENS PSL. The timetable displays the main courses on offer. Note that the course of initiation to research is mandatory.

Each student can decide on their own curriculum, choosing extra courses, for instance from:

Validation

The year is passed if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

  1. the research internship, as evaluated through the report and defence, is passed; this internship grants 21 credits,
  2. sufficiently many course credits are obtained and at least 39 in total, including 24 credits from the courses on offer from MPRI M1, and out of which 33 credits are in computer science.

Admissions

We welcome applications from top students with a B.Sc. in Computer Science or Mathematics and a strong background in theoretical computer science (in logic, complexity, algorithmic, formal languages, discrete mathematics, etc.) as well as an excellent command of English. Be sure to write a convincing cover letter explaining

  • your motivations for joining the programme,
  • why you have the prerequisites for it,
  • which courses you are most interested in attending, and
  • what you would like to do after this first year of Master.

Applications are processed through the Paris-Saclay university's Inception platform from February 2027 to April 2027. Early applications are required if you wish to be sponsored for a grant. We run interviews including technical exercises as part of the admission process.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any question. More information is available on admission page, along with funding information (see also the financial support at ENS Paris-Saclay).