The curriculum, departments and programs


Course organization and requirements

First-year students attend studios falling into one of three fields: drawing, painting, printmaking; sculpture; and multimedia techniques.
Within their chosen field, they are monitored by several studio heads (at least two, at most three). Students work successively in the each of their instructors' studios, one after the other.

In order to take the examination for the Diplôme National Supérieur d'Art Plastique (DNSAP) at the end of their studies, students are required to have passed at least twelve course modules (or UV: Unités de Valeur).

First year

First-year students are required to attend two studios and pass four UV modules in order to be eligible for second year.
The four UV modules break down as follows:
1 UV awarded by the combined team of studio heads,
1 technical UV chosen in agreement with the studio heads,
1 theoretical UV chosen on the same basis,
1 first-year anatomy UV or 1 drawing UV.
At the end of the first year, the studio heads advise the students. Together, they define directions for the future, in terms of the studio or studios most profitable to the student.
The first year may be repeated only once.

Subsequent years

Each year for the following four years, students must pass at least two UV modules and at most three.
These are to be:
3 technical UV modules chosen in agreement with the instructors in charge of the student,
3 theoretical UV modules of the student's own choice,
1 UV module is required to be a stage, i.e. an extra short-term field-work course relevant to the student's own work. This may take place in France or in another country, in a visiting instructor's studio, etc.
n 1 elective UV module chosen from all the above categories.

At the end of third year, the student displays his or her work, and an assessment is made by an ENSB-A teaching staff committee, which, under the terms of the institution's regulations, comprises two studio heads who have monitored the student's progress and the coordinator of the student's particular field.
On examination of the student's work, the committee decides what tuition arrangements would be appropriate for preparation of the final examination: the committee may recommend courses in particular subjects with a view to preparing the student for the final examination.
Should the student's work be considered inadequate by three out of the committee's four members, he or she will not be permitted to pursue further study at the ENSB-A. A certificate will be issued indicating which subjects the student attempted.
Students are advised to attend classes in English throughout their training.
At the end of each year, the decision to allow students to enter the following year rests with the relevant heads of studio, who may request the debarment from re-registration of any student who has displayed serious long-term inadequacies. Such requests are made to the Dean, who makes a final decision after consulting a faculty commission.

Course modules (or UV: Unités de Valeur)

Theoretical UV modules may be chosen from the following subjects:
Aesthetics
Art criticism - Writing critical essays
Art history survey
Contemporary art
History and theories of art
History of 20th century art
History of Renaissance art
History of non-Western arts
History of architecture (taught and examined by Paris-Villemin)
Media and new image types: history and theory
Psychoanalysis of art

Technical UV modules may be chosen from the following subjects:
Anatomy
Casting
Computer graphics (advanced level)
Critical analysis of an art work
Drawing
Etching
Figure modelling
Fresco
Lithography
Mosaic
Multimedia techniques
New materials
Painting techniques
Rudiments of architecture
Sculpture techniques (foundry, wood, metal, ceramic, forge, etc.)
Silkscreen printing
Stage Design
Stained glass
Urbanism
Video (introductory level)

The stage (field-work course)
The stage counting towards the student's degree requirements may take place in a corporation, an institution in France or in another country, or else be organized by the ENSB-A's academic coordinators.

Before going on such a stage, the student must file an official application in the Médiathèque (New books and current periodicals reading room/Media center). The application must be signed by the head of the Service des Enseignements (Course administration office).
After completing the course, the student must hand in a paper stating the ways in which it contributed to his or her artistic and technical progress.
The stage requirement may also be met by study trips outside France (Foreign exchange program), or a six-month period in a visiting instructor's studio.

Obtaining UV credits
From second year on, it is up to each student, in consultation with his or her instructors, to plan and prepare the UV credits to be obtained.
Performance in technical and practical UV modules is evaluated on a continuous assessment basis, with no final examination at the end of the year.
Students are to register both with the instructor of each UV and the Service des enseignements (Course administration office) on the dates specified in the academic calendar.
Assessment in theoretical UV modules is by written and oral examination at the end of the year.
A second examination session is held in September each year for those students who postpone their June assessment.
Registration for these UV modules takes place in the Service des enseignements (Course administration office) on the dates specified in the academic calendar.

The Diplôme National Supérieur d'Art
Plastique (DNSAP)

To be eligible for the DNSAP, students must have passed at least twelve UV modules. The DSAP is awarded at the end of the student's studies, and can be attempted twice only.
The ENSB-A awards no other degrees; the DNSAP reflects the student's achievements as a whole.
Those who fail to obtain the degree are given certificates specifying which courses they have attended.
The Board of Examiners:
The degree is awarded by a Board of five examiners: two ENSB-A instructors and three external examiners. The two ENSB-A instructors are chosen by the student. The external examiners are nominated by the Dean.
Mentions (distinctions): The degree can be awarded with the additional distinction termed félicitations du jury, which is further qualified by the phrases à la majorité or à l'unanimité, depending on whether the Board of Examiners reached a majority or a unanimous decision. Students with distinction give a collective exhibition of their work in the Quai Malaquais Gallery.

The post-graduate year

Students who have obtained their degrees may re-register at the ENSB-A for one year for the following purposes:
retaining student status, for those who have enrolled for further courses or training outside the ENSB-A;
access to the Médiathèque (Media center).
This year is intended as a transitional phase between the ENSB-A and subsequent activities outside it. For this reason, registration with a studio or a workshop is not permitted, but courses taken outside the ENSB-A are strongly recommended, and the Initiation à la vie professionnelle classes (Introduction to a career in art) are compulsory.
DNSAP equivalencies

DNSAP holders are granted admission equivalencies on various bases in the following institutions:
Universities on French territory: contact the office dealing with equivalencies in each university:
Paris I - UFR d'Arts plastiques et Sciences de l'art, 167 rue Saint-Charles, 75015 Paris (equivalencies awarded on a place-available basis)
- DNSAP holders with a baccalauréat are granted a DEUG equivalency
- those without a baccalauréat are granted 15 UV credits towards the DEUG. A further 5 UV modules must be undertaken in the UFR to obtain the DEUG degree.
Paris VIII - Département d'Arts plastiques, 2 rue de la Liberté, 93200 Saint-Denis
DNSAP holders are granted a partial equivalency towards
a licence in plastic art.
Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts décoratifs
31 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris
DNSAP holders are entitled to enter the first year of the second cycle.
Ecole nationale supérieure de Création industrielle
48 rue Saint-Sabin, 75011 Paris
After submission of a portfolio of their work, DNSAP holders may join Category 3 studios. Study period: two years.
Architecture schools
DNSAP holders who do not have a baccalauréat are allowed into the 1st cycle (in terms of the government ruling dated June 21, 1984, J.O., June 17, 1984).

The DNSAP is officially recognized as giving Niveau II status (baccalauréat + 4 years' higher education) (in terms of the government ruling dated September 26, 1984).

CAPES - CAPET - Agrégation

DNSAP holders may take the CAPES, CAPET and Agrégation examinations. Registration for them is only possible by minitel (dial 3615, access code SIEC), from September to November.
Preparation for the CAPES examination: registration at IUFM 10 rue de Molitor, 75016 Paris - Tel. 40.50.25.25.