Each academic year, the Collegium de Lyon welcomes approximately twenty high-level researchers from outside Rhône-Alpes, both senior and junior, who are selected by an international scientific board.

A senior researcher would occupy a high-level academic position (for example, professor), while juniors are defined as well-recognised young (less than 40 years old) researchers.

In general, their stay at the Collegium has duration of ten months; however, five-month stays are also acceptable.

There is one general selection process across all research programs. The call for applications is permanent, so that applications may be lodged either electronically or by mail at any time. This system allows up to eighty applications to be evaluated each academic year.

The invited researchers will initially (until 2013) be provided with offices in the research building at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon of Lyon (ENS de Lyon) or at the Institut des Sciences de l'Homme. They will thus benefit from the advantages entailed in working in an exceptional place of study (on both material and human levels), as well as from the academic and cultural scene offered by the city of Lyon, which is endowed with an extensive academic infrastructure. From 2013, the Collegium will be located within the precincts of the Université de Lyon, at its Saint-Joseph site.