Address: 2 avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91120 Palaiseau, Île-de-France, France
Optics, Photonics, Optical Engineering
Optics and photonics define Institut d’Optique Graduate School, an engineering school created in 1917 whose teaching began in 1920. It awards the French engineering diploma and also offers doctoral studies through partner doctoral schools. The school is a component of Université Paris-Saclay and a member of the ParisTech group.
The school works from three places: the Paris-Saclay site at Palaiseau, with an innovation and entrepreneurship building in Orsay known as Le 503, a branch in Talence near Bordeaux, and another in Saint-Étienne. Research is carried out in three laboratories run with the CNRS: the Laboratoire Charles Fabry, created in 1998, the Laboratoire Photonique, Numérique et Nanosciences, linked to the Université de Bordeaux, and the Laboratoire Hubert Curien in Saint-Étienne, linked to Université Jean Monnet.
The name of the first of these laboratories honours Charles Fabry, a physicist who was among the early leaders of the school. Because the teaching is concentrated on one family of subjects, optics and photonics, the curriculum and the research laboratories share the same scientific vocabulary. For prospective students, the engineering programme, doctoral options and internship routes are described by the school itself, which also publishes its list of partners and its laboratory teams on its official website.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Bioengineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Metrology, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Project Management, Robotics, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Telecommunications
Diplomas*:
Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Component of Université Paris-Saclay. Partnerships with CNRS, CEA, Thales, Essilor, Safran. Member of various international networks.
Université de Bordeaux is a public university whose optics and photonics work is shared with the school's Bordeaux laboratory, alongside health sciences and materials science.
École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées stands in Palaiseau too, a public engineering school with applied mathematics, mechanical engineering and computer science for engineering.
Télécom Paris, a public school in Palaiseau, covers digital technologies, data science and cybersecurity, another neighbouring engineering school.
ESPCI Paris - PSL is a public school in Paris whose physics, chemistry and bioengineering resemble the physical sciences behind optics.
Institut Polytechnique de Paris, also based in Palaiseau, groups engineering, computer science and AI, and applied mathematics.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena in Germany is a public university with optics and photonics listed first among its fields.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium is a public university where photonics sits beside artificial intelligence and engineering.
In Finland, Tampere University is a public institution that lists signal processing, photonics and automation.
University of Rochester in the United States, a private university, lists optics along with music and medicine, so optics is the shared strength.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When was the Institut d'Optique founded?
The school was created in 1917, and teaching began in 1920. It is an engineering school specialising in optics and photonics.
Which degrees can I earn there?
The main route is the engineering diploma, and doctoral studies are available through partner doctoral schools. Details of tracks and exchanges are given by the school.
How many sites does it have?
Three: the Paris-Saclay site, centred on Palaiseau and including a building in Orsay, a branch in Talence near Bordeaux, and another in Saint-Étienne.
Which laboratories does the school run?
They are the Laboratoire Charles Fabry, the Laboratoire Photonique, Numérique et Nanosciences and the Laboratoire Hubert Curien. All three are joint research units supervised together with the CNRS.
What is its link to Paris-Saclay and ParisTech?
It is a component school of Université Paris-Saclay and a member of ParisTech. These links connect it with a wider group of French engineering schools and universities.
Who was Charles Fabry?
He was a physicist and an early leader of the school, and the main research laboratory carries his name. The laboratory was created in 1998 together with the CNRS.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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