As of 2021, 21
Nobel Prize winners and 9 Fields Medalists have been affiliated with the Collège. It does not grant degrees. Each professor is required to give lectures where attendance is free and open to anyone. Professors, about 50 in number, are chosen by the professors themselves, from a variety of disciplines, in both
science and the
humanities. The motto of the Collège is
Docet Omnia,
Latin for "It teaches everything"; its goal is to "teach science in the making" and can be best summed up by
Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phrase: "Not acquired truths, but the idea of freely-executed research" which is inscribed in golden letters above the main hall. The Collège has research laboratories and one of the best
research libraries of Europe, with sections focusing on
history with rare books,
humanities,
social sciences and also
chemistry and
physics. As of June 2009, over 650 audio podcasts of lectures are available on iTunes. Some are also available in
English and
Chinese. Similarly, the 's website hosts several videos of classes. The classes are followed by various students, from senior researchers to PhD or master's students, or even undergraduates. Moreover, the "leçons inaugurales" (first lessons) are important events in Paris intellectual and social life and attract a very large public of curious Parisians. == History ==