CyPES - Social Sciences in Societies and their History

• Cultivate yourself, and embark on a course of study that enables you to take the measure of the challenges of the contemporary world.
• Get to grips with a globalized world, with a semester abroad starting in the second year of the curriculum.
• Take part ina wide range of independent and small-group projects under the supervision of leading-edge researchers in various fields of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Understand and question society through multidisciplinary teaching.

CyPES - Cycle Pluridisciplinaire d'Études Supérieures :

• Close collaboration between the Lycée Thiers and the University of Aix-Marseille. Varied learning situations in different institutions (Lycée Thiers, Faculty of Economics and Management, Faculty of Arts, Letters, Languages and Human Sciences).

• Project-based training. A wide range of independent and small-group projects will be offered right from the first year. These projects will cover a broad spectrum of humanities and social sciences disciplines, and will be supervised by University researchers.

• International training. Semesters abroad from the second year and preparation for internationally recognized certifications.

• A general core curriculum over the first three semesters, followed by specialization in semester 4 abroad, and an à la carte pathway in 3rd year at the University of Aix-Marseille.

• Courses designed around a general theme: Making Society.

• Excellence: An education that balances the tradition of the classes préparatoires with the academic culture of the University.
• Multidisciplinary: A core curriculum that includes history, mathematics, economics and social sciences, as well as literature and philosophy.
• Autonomy: A strong emphasis on projects, with room for autonomy and creativity.
• International: A semester abroad starting in the second year, at one of the Université d'Aix-Marseille's partner institutions.

Lycée Thiers (70% of teaching):

• Mathematics: courses will follow a program inspired by that of the classes préparatoires, offering a solid grounding in analysis, probability, differential and integral calculus, and linear algebra. The courses will be supplemented by khôlle sessions specific to the preparatory classes system.
• SES: The first part of the course introduces the discipline. The second part of the course details the actors of the economy (rationality, anticipations, beliefs), the forms of exchange and the different institutions (States, markets, companies, associations). The third part of the course details the microeconomic analysis of consumers and producers. The final part of the course introduces the concepts of competition, equilibrium and optimality.
• English: A demanding course with a target level of competence of C1 at the end of 3rd year, i.e. the autonomous level of the European Framework of Reference for Languages. This level will be attested by one of the internationally recognized certifications. Whole-class sessions will focus on language and lexicon work using a variety of materials (articles, essays, films, series, etc.). Small-group sessions will also provide guided listening and speaking practice. Classes will be supplemented by khôlle sessions specific to the preparatory class system.
• History : the course covers the 20th century from the First World War onwards. It focuses on the links between political events and the elements that make up societies. It seeks to highlight the compromises that are established as the countries studied evolve internally, taking account of the constraints and burdens imposed by relations between countries.
• Literature: the course looks at the relationship between literature and society from the point of view of the relationship between the writer and society, using literary works, theoretical writings and writings in the press. This study of the committed writer focuses on successive figures, such as Albert Camus.
• Philosophy: The course develops several topics around the general theme of "Making Society". Here are just a few possible topics. Topic 1: different conceptions of identity (substantial, relational, narrative, etc.). Topic 2: the individual in the political community and analysis of the question of the foundation of political authority. Introduction to the fundamental concepts of political philosophy. Topic 3: the concrete forms of life in society: the question of work, the notion of property, the question of wealth, the appropriation of natural resources. Topic 4: Social representation and beliefs.
  

Université Aix Marseille (30% of courses):

• Development: political aspects and sustainability issues (FEG): Introduction to development and the formation of societies over the long term, from the angle of political issues, microeconomic problems and related sustainability issues.
• Economics of the environment and climate change (FEG): Economic analysis of environmental issues and public policy, with the aim of understanding how economics responds to environmental challenges.
• Globalized societies (FEG): Emergence of a globalized world and issues linked to economic and financial globalization (crises, international trade, conflicts).
  Formal methods in economics (FEG): Introduction to a formalized approach to economics, including an introduction to choice theory and consumer and producer theories.
• Historical and epistemological approach to the humanities and social sciences (ALLSH): How did people and societies become the objects of sciences such as sociology, anthropology, psychology and history?
• Faire société : approche philosophique (ALLSH): familiarization with the fundamental concepts of political philosophy (power, authority, State, nation, sovereignty, representation, people, nation, government, etc.), using the notion of totalitarianism as a guideline.
• Faire société: approche sociologique (ALLSH): introduction to the history of the discipline, then familiarization with the concepts and methods of sociology, and application to themes such as violence, the family, work, etc.
• Faire société: approche historique (ALLSH): based on the 20th century history course taken in the first semester, introduction to the different methods of history and debates on these methods, and application to a particular theme linked to the social bond.
• Faire société: approche littéraire (ALLSH) : Faire société : approche sociologique (ALLSH) : The course provides an overview of literary contributions to the general theme of "Faire Société", and is divided into three parts: the first, "Fiction de soi", details the configurations of identity through language and self-identification; the second deals with representations of the social and the idea of "social reality" in literature; the last, "Myths, tales and projects", studies narrative as a collective fabrication/of the collective.
  

Independent research projects

Open internship:

At the end of the first year, students take part in a 2-6 week internship (in a company, laboratory, association, etc.), leading to an agreement signed by one of the two faculties.

Who can apply?

Prerequisites (1st year): French secondary school diploma or foreign secondary school diploma with recognized equivalence.

How to apply?

Go to ParcoursSup

• Lycée Thiers (Marseille, 1st)
• University of Aix-Marseille, Faculty of Economics and Management (Marseille, 1st)
• University of Aix-Marseille, ALLSH (Aix, Site Schuman)
• One semester at a partner university abroad.

The CyPES gives access to the best bac +5 programs in France and abroad. At the end of the 3-year program, there are numerous opportunities for further study, including the most selective masters programs at the University of Aix-Marseille, as well as admissions to the Grandes Ecoles.