Lectures
- Five half-days per week, in the afternoons of the first (L3) year, and in the mornings of the second (M1) year.
- The faculty are invited to give a personal view of their respective fields.
- The attendance of the courses is not compulsory, except for seminars given by invited speakers.

Free time
- A significant part of the time (five half-days per week) is not scheduled with any formal classroom events, so as to allow the students to make their own choices for the future, to study whenever necessary to assimilate new concepts, to meet with tutors and other faculty, to gain a deeper understanding of certain areas of interest, to read scientific articles, to follow courses in other departments of the ENS or elsewhere, and so on...

Assessment
The ECTS credits are awarded after successfully passing examinations or other forms of assessment.

- 60 ECTS in the first year (L3)
- 60 ECTS in the second year (M1)
- 60 ECTS in the third year (M2)

which amounts to 180 ECTS (L3+M1+M2).

- To obtain an ENS Diploma, 36 additional ECTS must be obtained in the course of the three years. A minimum of these 12 ECTS must be obtained in areas other then chemistry.