# University of Toulouse

The University of Toulouse (French: Université de Toulouse, pronounced) is a community of universities and establishments (ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the French Revolution in 1793, it was refounded in 1896 as part of the reorganization of higher education. It was finally abolished in 1969, giving birth to the three current universities: Toulouse 1 Capitole University, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès and Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University. The ComUE in the Toulouse region was known as Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées. On January 1, 2023, the university was renamed as the University of Toulouse.
The three universities, along with other institutions, participated in the reconstruction of the University of Toulouse – a joint structure of 107,000 students including 4,500 doctoral students, 17,000 staffs and 145 research laboratories. The mission was entrusted to Patrick Lévy, former president of the Grenoble Alpes University, accompanied by Philippe Raimbault, president of the Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées. This development, strongly desired by the elected officials of the Occitania region and Toulouse Métropole, aims to give greater visibility to Toulouse higher education in international rankings.

## History

The formation of the University of Toulouse was imposed on Count Raymond VII as a part of the Treaty of Paris in 1229 ending the crusade against the Albigensians. As he was suspected of sympathizing with the heretics, Raymond VII had to finance the teaching of theology. Bishop Foulques de Toulouse was among the founders of the university. Among its first lecturers were Jean de Garlande and Roland of Cremona. Other faculties (law, medicine) were added later. Initially, the university was located in the center of the city, together with the ancestors of student residences, the colleges.
In 1969, the University of Toulouse split into three separate universities and numerous specialised institutions of higher education. The three universities are: Toulouse 1 Capitole University, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès and Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University.
The university system was founded on 27 March 2007. It no longer represented a single university, it was the collective entity (PRES) which federated the universities and institutions of higher education in Toulouse region. With more than 100,000 students, Midi-Pyrénées is the fifth-largest university area in France.
The current university system was created as a ComUE according to the 2013 Law on Higher Education and Research (France), effective on July 1, 2015. It replaced the pôle de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur (PRES) which had been organized in 2007 to coordinate higher education and research in the region.
In 2021, Patrick Lévy conducted an audit of the university site, which proposed changes. In 2022, this process led to the evolution of the institution towards the status of an experimental ComUE. On January 1, 2023, the Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées became the University of Toulouse.

## Members

The University of Toulouse is a higher education and research institute cluster which brings together the following institutions:
* Université Toulouse 1 Capitole – UT1 (Law, Economics, Management)
* Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès – UT2J (Arts, Literature, Humanities and Languages)
* Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier – UT3 (Science, Technologies and Health)
* Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse – INP Toulouse (Engineering)
** École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse – INP-ENSAT (Agronomy)
** École Nationale Supérieure d’Électrotechnique, d’Électronique, d’Informatique, d’Hydraulique et des Télécommunications – INP-ENSEEIHT (Engineering)
** École Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques – INP-ENSIACET (Engineering)
** École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tarbes – INP-ENIT (Engineering)
** École Nationale de la Météorologie – INP-ENM (Meteorology)
** École d'ingénieurs de Purpan – INP-EI Purpan (Agronomy)
** École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse – ENVT (Veterinary Studies)
* Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse – INSA Toulouse (Engineering)
* Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace – ISAE-SUPAERO (Engineering)
* Centre Universitaire de Formation et de Recherche Jean-François Champollion – CUFR Champollion (Several fields of study)
* École des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux – EMAC (Engineering)
* École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile – ENAC (Civil Aviation)
* École nationale supérieure de formation de l’enseignement agricole – ENSFEA (Agronomy)
* École Nationale Supérieur d'Architecture de Toulouse – ENSA Toulouse (Architecture)
* Toulouse Business School – TBS Education (Business and Commerce)
* Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse – Sciences Po Toulouse (Political Studies)
* Institut Catholique d'Arts et Métiers de Toulouse – ICAM Toulouse (Engineering)

## Doctoral schools

The Doctoral Schools are all members of the Research and Doctoral Department of the Université de Toulouse : 15 Doctoral Schools representing a research potential of 4200 Scientists including 2400 Senior Scientists; 4200 PhD students and 800 Doctorate diplomas awarded per year.

### In the field of Science and Technology

* Biology, Health & Biotechnologies
* Sciences for Ecology, Veterinary, Agronomy & Bioengineery
* Geosciences, Astrophysics & Space Sciences
* Mathematics, Informatics & Telecommunications Toulouse Doctoral School
* Electrical, Electronic Engineering & Telecommunications
* Systems
* Physics, Chemistry & Materials Sciences
* Mechanics, Energetics, Civil & Process Engineering
* Aeronautics & Astronautics

### In the field of Social Sciences and Humanities

* Behavior, Language, Education, Socialisation, Cognition
* Art, Literatures, Languages, Philosophy, Information & Communication
* Time, Spaces, Societies & Cultures
* Legal & Political Sciences
* Management Sciences
* Toulouse School of Economics

## Faculty

* Paul Sabatier, (chemist) (1854–1941), Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Toulouse in 1905. Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with fellow Frenchman Victor Grignard in 1912.
* Adrianus Turnebus, (1512 – 12 June 1565), classical scholar.
* Pierre Laromiguière, (3 November 1756 – 12 August 1837), philosopher.
* Jean Jaurès, (3 September 1859 – 31 July 1914), politician.
* Paul Fauconnet, (1874–1938), sociologist.
* Raymond Aron, (14 March 1905, Paris – 17 October 1983) philosopher, sociologist and political scientist.
* Jean-Jacques Laffont, (13 April 1947 – 1 May 2004), economist.
* Jean Tirole, (born 9 August 1953), professor of economics, Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 2014.
* Paul Seabright, (born 8 July 1958), professor of economics.

## Notable alumni

* Étienne Dolet (1509–1546), French scholar, translator and printer.
* Michael Servetus (1511–1553), Spanish theologian and physician.
* Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), French philosopher and moralist.
* Vincent de Paul (1581–1660), French Catholic priest.
* Henry de Puyjalon, (1841–1905), French/Canadian pioneer in biology and ecology.
* Selman Riza, (5 February 1872 – 5 October 1931), linguist and politician.
* Mustafa Kamil Pasha (1874–1908), Egyptian lawyer, journalist, activist, and nationalist leader.
* Armand Praviel (1875–1944, Doctor of Law 1901), French writer and journalist.
* Marcel Dassault (1892–1986, graduated in 1913 from ISAE), French aircraft industrialist. He founded the company Dassault Aviation.
* Henri Koch-Kent (1905–1999), Luxemburger anti-fascist activist, author, historian
* François Hussenot (1912–1951, graduated in 1935 from ISAE aeronautical engineer credited with the invention of one of the early forms of the flight data recorder.
* Abdul Hafeez Mirza, (born 1939, graduated in 1964), Pakistani Tourism worker, professor of French language and a cultural activist, recipient of the Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 2015.
* Saeed Abu Ali, (born 1955), Palestinian politician and Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab Nations.
* Jean Castex (born 25 June 1965), French Prime Minister, from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022.
* Thomas Pesquet (born in 1978, graduated in 2001 from ISAE), European Space Agency astronaut.
* Thomas Castaignède, (born 1975, graduated from INSA Toulouse), rugby union footballer, played with the France national team
* Romain Mesnil (born 1977, graduated in 2001 from INSA Toulouse), French Pole vaulter
* Jean Bouilhou, (born 1978, graduated in 2002 from INSA Toulouse), rugby union footballer, played with the France national team
* David Skrela, (born 1979, graduated in 2003 from INSA Toulouse), rugby union footballer, played with the France national team