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Introducing a special issue devoted to the making of curricula in higher education, this article presents the main theoretical and empirical issues in this field of research. It first stresses the importance of addressing the contents and organization of knowledge in the study of higher education, a key site for the production, legitimation and transmission of abstract knowledge. Based on a literature review of French and international works on curricula in higher education, the article then highlights three research questions, related to the production and institutionalization of academic knowledge, its translation into curricula, and the role of curriculum in the socialization of students. Finally, the presentation of the issue’s articles brings to light the political issues, institutional arrangements and professional logics structuring curricula.