At its creation, the University of Paris 5 chose to be placed under the patronage of philosopher Rene Descartes in order to commemorate his truly modern scientific work that included all human knowledge and accordingly the university adopted a multidisciplinary curriculum. The university provides bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in medicine, pharmacy, social sciences and humanities.
The university currently has 10 units of formation and research centres. With more than 1900 professors and over 1000 administrative staff, the university accommodates each year more than 32000 students across many campuses.