Governance & Leadership

Nantes Université is an experimental public institution, a public institution of a scientific, cultural and professional nature governed by the provisions of Order No. 2018-1131 of 12 December 2018.
Unless otherwise provided in its statutes, in accordance with the aforementioned order, Nantes Université is governed by the provisions of the Education Code and the Research Code.
Consult the statutes of Nantes Université (in French).

2025 Nantes Universite members             
Nantes Université replaces the University of Nantes and is composed of the following members:

Component Institutions:
  • Centrale Nantes
  • École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Saint-Nazaire;
  • École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nantes.
Associates:
  • CHU de Nantes
  • IRT Jules Verne
Special cooperation agreement:
  • INSERM, in accordance with its statutes and its prerogatives as a national research organisation.

The component institutions (Centrale Nantes, École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Saint-Nazaire, École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes) retain their legal entity and all the prerogatives arising from their respective statutes. They retain their supervisory ministry.

Nantes Université may delegate the exercise of one or more of its powers to its component institutions, in accordance with procedures subject to the opinion of the Executive Board and the approval of the Boards of Directors of the component institutions and Nantes Université.

Similarly, a component institution may transfer or delegate to Nantes Université the exercise of one or more of its powers in accordance with procedures subject to the opinion of the Executive Board and the approval of the Boards of Directors of the component institution and Nantes Université.

Nantes Université is made up of 4 Colleges that bring together research structures and components.

  • Societies College (Law and Political Science, School of Economics and Management - IAE Nantes, Institute for Preparation for General Administration - IPAG, Sociology)
  • Health College (Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Science and Techniques of Physical Activities and Sports - STAPS)
  • Humanities Centre (Institute of Geography and Regional Planning - IGARUN, History, Art History and Archaeology, Foreign Languages and Cultures - FLCE, Humanities and Language, Psychology)
  • Science and Technology College (Polytech'Nantes, Institute of Technology (IUT) Nantes, Institute of Technology (IUT) Saint Nazaire, Institute of Technology (IUT) La Roche-sur-Yon, Science and Technology)

The Colleges perform the missions assigned to the institution within their scope. They implement the link between training and research and carry out their missions in dialogue with the components and research structures within their scope, in interaction with the other Colleges, non-College components and members of Nantes Université.
In a spirit of trust and a posteriori control, the Colleges have the freedom to direct and manage the resources allocated by the institution and ensure a balanced distribution of human and financial resources among the components and research structures.

The Colleges are administered by a College Council.

Nantes Université is made up of the following components:

  1. Training and research units (UFR), sometimes referred to as faculties
  2. Institutes or schools
  3. A National Higher Institute for Teacher Training and Education (Inspé)

The components contribute to the proper match between the training project and the research programme in relation to the research structures of the College. They guarantee its implementation by teacher-researchers, teachers and researchers from one or more disciplines.

The research structures of Nantes Université may be:

  • Specific to Nantes Université within the scope of its Colleges and its non-College components
  • Mixed between Nantes Université, within the scope of its Colleges and non-College components and
    • One or more member institutions
    • One or more national research organisations
    • One or more other institutions outside Nantes Université
  • Specific to a member institution
  • Mixed between one or more Component Institutions and one or more national research organisations or one or more other institutions.

The Graduate Schools are internal structures that develop and organise internationally recognised master's and doctoral programmes in their subject areas.
These programmes, known as Graduate Programmes, take the form of master's and doctoral programmes, and are based on the areas of excellence of the research teams at Nantes Université, with a high profile and a strong international outlook, with the aim of bringing training and research closer together, developing interdisciplinarity, combining strengths and breaking down barriers between academic disciplines.
Each Graduate School is managed by a committee made up of the research structures, Colleges, components, component institutions and other members of Nantes Université involved, who provide the training and associated resources.
It is coordinated by one of the members of the steering committee, who is responsible, on behalf of Nantes Université, for leading the reflection and collective work.

Nantes Université includes shared and general services. Shared services are specific to each institution or shared between Nantes Université and the component institutions. They are administered by a director appointed under the conditions determined by the texts in effect.

The president and her team

The university is headed by a president elected for a five-year term. She is assisted by a leadership team.

The governing bodies of Nantes Université

The major decisions that guide the executive team are taken in the councils, commissions and committees.

General Directorate for Services

The General Directorate for Services coordinates and organises all of the university's administrative, financial and technical departments and services.
Mis à jour le 25 mars 2025.