L'université Paris-Sud 11 est une université française créée le 1er janvier 1971 et située sur les départements de l'Essonne, des Hauts-de-Seine et du Val-de-Marne. Elle comporte 127 laboratoires de recherche, 5 UFR, 3 IUT, et un département de formation des ingénieurs. Elle est présidée par le professeur Guy Couarraze.
It is one of the largest and most renowned French universities, particularly in the sciences. Paris-Sud is ranked 49th in the 2008 edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and is the second best French University according to this methodology. Furthermore, the University was ranked 36-39 wolrdwide in 2009 according to Global University Ranking. It was officially recognized as an independent academic institution in 1965, after some of the expanding inner-Paris particle and nuclear physics laboratories were transferred to Orsay, under the impulse of Irène Joliot-Curie. It hosts a great number of laboratories on its large (236 ha) campus. About 26,000 students are currently enrolled. Paris-Sud University comprises some 104 research units.