Follow
The Collège de France is a renowned higher education and research establishment (grand établissement) in France. It is located in Paris, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles.
It was established in 1530 by King Francis I of France, modeled after the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain, at the urging of Guillaume Budé. Of humanist inspiration, the school was established as an alternative to the Sorbonne to promote such disciplines as Hebrew, Ancient Greek (the first teacher being the celebrated scholar Janus Lascaris) and Mathematics. Initially called Collège Royal, and later Collège des Trois Langues (Latin: Collegium Trilingue), Collège National, and Collège Impérial, it was named Collège de France in 1870.
Unusually for an institution of higher education in France, each professor is required to give lectures where attendance is free and open to anyone. The school's goal is to "teach science in the making". Professors are chosen from a variety of disciplines, in both science and the humanities. The motto of the Collège is Docet Omnia, Latin for "It teaches everything", and its goal can be best summed up by Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phrase: "Not acquired truths, but the idea of free research" which is inscribed in golden letters above the main hall. The Collège does not grant degrees but has research laboratories and one of the best research libraries of Europe, with sections focusing on history with rare books, humanities, social sciences and also chemistry or physics.
As of June 2009, over 650 audio podcasts of Collège de France lectures are available on iTunes. Some are also available in English and Chinese. Similarly, the Collège de France's website hosts several videos of classes.