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Take a year off

In accordance with the current legislation, any student may request a sabbatical of a maximum duration of one academic year, during which the student suspends his or her studies to complete a personal or professional project, in France or abroad. It must start at the same time as a university semester. A deferral may also be requested. It is not possible to take advantage of this scheme to complete an internship.

The sabbatical is on a strictly voluntary basis, is not required for the completion for the M1 or M2 program and is not mandatory.

The break period is not to be considered a year off or a default decision! A sabbatical requires reflection and planning. The gap year must represent a real opportunity for learning or maturing projects. This might be: training in another institution, voluntary work or civic service (with a certificate of commitment), work on a fixed-term contract (within a company or an administration), a language training stay, or even a commitment to a not for profit project (citizen, humanitarian, athletic, etc.). The sabbatical can be considered in the annex to the diploma and possibly allow the allocation of ECTS credits, in addition to the number of ECTS delivered at the end of the training.

Taking a sabbatical is a possibility, but not a right. In order to benefit from this break year, a formal application must be submitted to the President of the EPHE or the Pedagogical Secretariat of the Master’s course at the EHESS. Applications (form to be requested from the DEVE) will be considered by the persons in charge and the relevant departments. Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria: quality and coherence of the project in relation to its training; motivation of the student (a letter is required), form of the break (employment contract, civic service, personal project, training, etc.). A request for a break may be refused if it is established that it has no benefit from a personal or “professional” point of view. If granted, an agreement will be signed between the enrolment institution and the student guaranteeing that she will be re-registered in the course.

To benefit from a break period, the student must be enrolled in a course at the EPHE or EHESS issuing a national diploma. The student must pay the CVEC and the registration fees at the reduced rate