Aix-Marseille University

Aix-Marseille University ^[4] is a public research university in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, asked the Pisan Antipope Alexander V to establish the University of Provence.^[5] It is the fourth-oldest university in France. It came into its current form by a merger of the University of Provence, the University of the Mediterranean and Paul Cézanne University^[6][7][8] in January 2012. It is the largest university in the Francophone world, with about 80,000 students.^[9] AMU has the largest budget of any academic institution in the French-speaking world at €750 million.^[10] It is consistently ranked among the top 200 universities in the world^[11][12][13] and is ranked within the top 4 universities in France according to CWTS and USNWR.^[14][15]

There are five main campuses in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.^[16] AMU also owns and operates facilities in Arles, Aubagne, Avignon, Digne-les-Bains, Gap, La Ciotat, Lambesc and Salon-de-Provence. The university headquarters are in the 7th arrondissement of Marseille.^[17]

It has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, politics, business, science, academia, and the arts. Four of its alumni and faculty have won Nobel Prizes.^{[18][19][20][21]} One won the Pulitzer Prize twice.^[22] Four won César Awards.^{[23][24][25][26]} Alumni have also been heads of state or government, parliamentary speakers, government ministers, ambassadors and members of the constituent academies of the Institut de France.

It has hundreds of research and teaching partnerships, including close collaboration with the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.^[27] AMU is a member of numerous academic organisations including the European University Association^[28] and the Mediterranean Universities Union.^[29]