Grande école
Agrande école(French:[ɡʁɑ̃dekɔl];lit. 'great school') is a specialized top-level educational institution inFranceand some other previous French colonies such asMoroccoorTunisia.Grandes écolesare part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstreamFrench public university system,and take the shape of institutes dedicated to teaching, research and professional training in eitherpure naturalandsocial sciences,or applied sciences such asengineering,architecture,business administration,orpublic policy and administration.[1][2]
Grandes écolesprimarily admit students based on their national ranking in written and oral exams calledconcours,which are organized annually by theFrench Ministry of Education.[3]While anyone can register forconcours,successful candidates have almost always completed two or three years of dedicatedpreparatory classes(classes préparatoires) prior to admission.[4][5]As they are separate from universities, most of them do not deliver the undergraduate degree of thediplôme de licencebut deliver master'sgrande écoledegrees.[6]Admission to thegrandes écolesis extremely selective.[7][8][9]
Grandes écolesare generallypublicly fundedand therefore have limited tuition costs. Some, especiallybusiness schools(Écoles de commerce), are organised privately and therefore have more costly tuition.
Classification ofgrandes écoles[edit]
Origins[edit]
The termgrande écoleoriginated in 1794 after theFrench Revolution,[10]when theNational Conventioncreated theÉcole normale supérieure,the mathematicianGaspard MongeandLazare Carnotcreated theÉcole centrale des travaux publics(later theÉcole polytechnique), and the abbotHenri Grégoirecreated theConservatoire national des arts et métiers.
The model was probably the military academy atMézières,of which Monge was an alumnus. The selective admission opens up to higher education based on academic merit.
Some schools included in the category have roots in the 17th and 18th centuries and are older than the termgrande école,which dates to 1794. Their forerunners were schools aimed at graduating civil servants, such as technical officers (École d'Arts et Métiers, renamedArts et Métiers ParisTech,established in 1780), mine supervisors (École des mines de Paris,established in 1783), bridge and road engineers (École royale des ponts et chaussées,established in 1747), and shipbuilding engineers (École des ingénieurs-constructeurs des vaisseaux royaux,established in 1741).
Five military engineering academies andgraduate schools of artillerywere established in the 17th century in France, such as theécole de l'artillerie de Douai(established in 1697) and the later école du génie de Mézières (established in 1748), wherein mathematics, chemistry and sciences were already a major part of the curriculum taught by first-rank scientists such asPierre-Simon Laplace,Charles Étienne Louis Camus,Étienne Bézout,Sylvestre-François Lacroix,Siméon Denis Poisson,Gaspard Monge(most of whom were later to form the teaching corps of École Polytechnique during the Napoleonic era).
In 1802, Napoleon created theÉcole spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr,which is also considered agrande école,although it trains only army officers.
During the 19th century, a number of higher-education grandes écoles were established to support industry and commerce, such asÉcole nationale supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étiennein 1816,École supérieure de Commerce de Paris(todayESCP Business School,founded in 1819),L'institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement(Agro ParisTech) in 1826, andÉcole centrale des Arts et Manufactures(École centrale Paris) in 1829.
Between 1832 and 1870, theCentral School of Arts and Manufacturesproduced 3,000 engineers and served as a model for most of the industrialized countries. Until 1864, a quarter of its students came from abroad. Conversely, the quality of French technicians astonished southeastern Europe, Italy, the Near East, and even Belgium. The system ofgrandes écolesexpanded, enriched by theEcole des Eaux et Forêtsat Nancy in 1826, theEcole des Arts industrielsat Lille in 1854, theEcole centrale lyonnaisein 1857, and theNational Institute of Agronomy,reconstituted in 1876 after a fruitless attempt between 1848 and 1855. Finally, the training of the lower grades of staff, who might today be called ‘production engineers’, was assured to an even greater extent by the development ofEcoles d’Arts et métiers,of which the first was established at Châlons-sur-Marne in 1806 and the second at Angers in 1811 (both reorganized in 1832), with a third at Aix-en-Provence in 1841. Each had room for 300 pupils. There is no doubt that in the 1860s France had the best system of higher technical and scientific education in Europe.
— Mathias, Peter;Postan, Michael(1978).The Cambridge Economic History of Europe.Cambridge University Press. p. 313.ISBN9780521215909.
During the latter part of the 19th century and in the 20th century, more grandes écoles were established for education in businesses as well as newer fields of science and technology, includingRouen Business School(NEOMA Business School) in 1871,Sciences Po Parisin 1872,École nationale supérieure des télécommunicationsin 1878,Hautes Études commercialesin 1881,[11]École supérieure d'électricitéin 1894,Ecole des hautes Etudes commerciales du Nordin 1906,Ecole Supérieure des Sciences économiques et commercialesin 1907, andSupaeroin 1909.
Since then, France has had a unique dual higher education system, with small and middle-sized specialized graduate schools operating alongside the traditional university system. Some fields of study are nearly exclusive to one part of this dual system, such as medicine inuniversitésonly, or architecture inécolesonly.
The grande école (and "prépa" ) system also exists in former French colonies, Switzerland, and Italy (Napoleon, as king of Italy for ten years, established the French system there). The influence of this system was strong in the 19th century throughout the world, as can be seen in the original names of many world universities (Caltech was originally "Polytechnic Institute", as was ETH Zürich— "the Polytechnicum" —in addition to thePolytechniquein Montréal. Some institutions in China, Russia, the UK, and the US also have names of some French grandes écoles, adapted to their languages). The success of the German and Anglo-Saxon university models from the late 19th century reduced the influence of the French system in some of the English-speaking world.[according to whom?]
Today[edit]
There is no standard definition or official list of grandes écoles. The termgrande écoleis not employed in the French education code, with the exception of a quotation in the social statistics. It generally employs the expression of "écoles supérieures"to indicate higher educational institutions that are not universities.
TheConférence des grandes écoles (CGE)(Grandes Écoles Conference) is a non-profit organization. It uses a broad definition ofgrande école,which is not restricted to the school's selectivity or the prestige of the diploma awarded. The members of CGE have not made an official or "accepted" list of grandes écoles. For example, some engineering school members of the CGE cannot award state-recognized engineering degrees.
Admission tograndes écoles[edit]
The admissions process for grandes écoles differs greatly from those of other French universities. To be admitted into most French grandes écoles, most students study in a two-year preparatory program in one of the CPGEs (see below) before taking a set of competitive national exams. Different exams are required by groups (called "banques" ) of different schools. The national exams are sets of written tests, given over the course of several weeks, that challenge the student on the intensive studies of the previous two years. During the summer, those students who succeed in the written exams then take a further set of exams, usually one-hour oral exams, during which they are given a problem to solve. After 20 minutes of preparation, the candidate presents the solution to a professor, who challenges the candidate on the answer and the assumptions being made. Afterwards, candidates receive a final national ranking, which determines admission to their grande école of choice.
Preparatory classes for grandes écoles (CPGE)[edit]
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Classes préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles(CPGE), orprépas(preparatory classes for grandes écoles), are two-year classes, in either sciences, literature, or economics. These are the traditional way in which most students prepare to pass the competitive recruitment examination of the main grandes écoles. Most are held in state lycées (high schools); a few are private. Admission is competitive and based on the students' lycée grades. Preparatory classes with the highest success rates in the entrance examinations of the top grandes écoles are highly selective. Students who are not admitted to the grande école of their choice often repeat the second year of preparatory classes and attempt the exam again the following year.
There are five categories ofprépas:
- Scientifiques:These prepare for the engineering schools and teach mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technology. They are broken down in sub-categories according to the emphasis of their dominant subject: they are mainly focused on mathematics and either physics (MP), industrial sciences and technologies (TSI), physics and chemistry (PC), physics and engineering science (PSI), physics and technology (PT) and chemistry, physics and technology (TPC).
- BCPST:biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and mathematics. Commonly called "Agro-Véto", these classes prepare students primarily for agricultural and veterinary schools, but also for schools in geology, hydrology, and forestry, as well as for research and teaching careers via theÉcoles normales supérieures.
- Lettres:humanities,essentially for theÉcoles normales supérieures(students can also compete to enter business schools, but represent a small minority of those admitted). There are two main sub-categories: "Lettres", in either "A/L" (with Ancient Greek and/or Latin) or LSH (with geography), and B/L (with mathematics and social sciences).
- Économique et commerciale:mathematics and economics. These prepare for the entrance exams to the Frenchbusiness schools,and are subdivided between science (mathematics) and economics tracks - a third track also exists for students with a "technological", i.e. applied background.
- Chartes:humanities, with an emphasis on philology, history andlanguages,named after the schoolÉcole nationale des Chartes.By far the smallestprépain number of students.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Lyc%C3%A9e_Henri-IV_rue_Clovis.jpg/182px-Lyc%C3%A9e_Henri-IV_rue_Clovis.jpg)
Recruitment at baccalauréat level[edit]
Some schools are accessible after a selection based on the grades of the two last years of lycée (High school) and/or the baccalaureate (High school diploma) results. For example, in engineering, the most attractive and selective ones are the seven schools composing theInstitut National des Sciences Appliquées(INSA network), but there are dozens of selective and less selective engineering schools accessible directly after the baccalaureate. Some other famous highly selective engineering school are the threeUniversités de Technologie.[12]It is also possible to join these schools in third year after a preparatory class or university and then the recruitment is based on a contest or the student results.
Most of these five-year grandes écoles are public, with very low admission fees (between 601€ and 2,350€ per year), and are free for national scholarship holders. A few others are either private or public with very high admission fee (up to 10,000€ per year, without exoneration for scholarship holders). These are usually the least selective ones and offer five-year training to students who otherwise could not have enrolled in a five-year curriculum directly after High school.
The top three public engineering grandes écoles with standard admission fees (among 70), according to the French magazineL'Étudiant noir,are in 2023 theInstitut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon(INSA Lyon),Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse(INSA Toulouse) andÉcole des Mines de Douai(IMT Nord Europe).[13]However, the rankings may differ significantly between years, magazines, and the metric of interest (academic excellence, employability, diversity,...).
Most of them simply include the two-year preparatory class in their program while others like INSA Toulouse chose theBachelor's master's doctorate system(BMD or LMD in French) to start the specialization earlier. Most students choose to get their licence, master or doctorate close to home.
These years of preparation can be highly focused on the school program so students have a greater chance of succeeding in the admission exam or contest in their school if there is one, but they are not prepared to take the examinations for other schools so their chance of success in these other examinations is low.[citation needed]
The advantage is that instead of studying simply to pass the admission exams, the student will study topics more targeted to their training and future specialization. The main advantage is that students choose their speciality more according to their interests and less according to their rank. (Indeed, the rank obtained after standard preparatory classes determines a list of schools with their specialities).
On another note, the selection process during the first preparatory year is considered less stressful than in a standard first preparatory class, and the first year often offers broader scientific training since it does not specifically prepare students for competitions. Nevertheless, the selection percentage are often the same order as during standard preparatory classes. The top-ranking five year grandes écoles also recruit some of the best students who followed one or two years of CPGE, through parallel admission procedures.
Parallel admission[edit]
Theprépayears are not required to sit the entrance exams. Moreover, in many schools, there is also the possibility of “parallel admission” to a grande école. Parallel admissions are open to university students or students from other schools that decide not to take the entrance exams. This method of recruitment is proving increasingly popular, with many students choosing to first go to a university and then enroll in a grande école.
Some grandes écoles have a dual diploma arrangement in which a student can switch establishments in the last year to receive diplomas from both establishments.
Degrees awarded[edit]
The FrenchGrandes écolesmostly do not fit into the international, Anglo-American framework regarding their diplomas, nor in the EuropeanBologna system.In 2007, theOECDremarked in a report that "their diplomas do not fit easily into the increasingly standardised international nomenclature for academic study... Instead, students effectively study for five years and are then awarded a masters degree, with no intermediate diploma".[14]
However, someGrandes écoleshave decided to adopt the standard, European Bologna system of diplomas recently in order to better integrate themselves in the international academic competition.[14]In their 2008 bookEuropean Universities in Transition,Carmelo Mazza, Paolo Quattrone and Angelo Riccaboni underlined that "the vast majority of Grandes Ecoles do not give any degree" upon completion of undergraduate studies, but that "[i]n practice, for accreditation or student exchange purposes, they grant a certificate of 'equivalence to a bachelor's degree'".[15]
Faculty in Grande Ecoles[edit]
Full-time researchers and teaching faculty[edit]
Full-time faculty researchers to assume their responsibility as teaching staff by giving lectures, accompanying students in their projects, participating in the campus life and representing the school during symposia.
Their contractual number of working hours is defined at the beginning of each academic year in alump sumworkload timetable.
Full-time faculty/teaching are in charge of giving lectures, but also shoulder pedagogic coordination. As such, they are deeply involved in their respective campus' life and accountable for the teaching quality as well as the pedagogic continuous improvement of the School.
Prominent professors:according toL'Etudiant,a prominent professor is permanent professor, holding aPhDfrom a French or foreign Higher Education Institution which isAACSB- orEQUIS-accredited and ranked amongst theShanghai 2019 top 500 ranking.
Adjunct professors[edit]
Adjunct Professors hold chair in anotherHigher Education Institution.Their teaching conditions are various, but not always stipulated in a contractual form.
Visiting professors are teaching staff which hold a chair along another activity, e.g. aconsultantorentrepreneurgiving lectures once or twice a week.
Guest professors are international professors who take part in special lectures, classes or programme.
Categories[edit]
Grandes écoles can be classified into following broad categories:
Écoles normales supérieures[edit]
These schools trainresearchersandprofessorsand may be a beginning for executive careers in public administration or business. Many FrenchNobel PrizeandFields Medallaureates were educated at theÉcole Normale Supérieurein Paris, Lyon or Paris-Saclay.[16]There are four ENS:
- theÉcole Normale Supérieureof Paris, nicknamed "Ulm" from its addressrue d'Ulm(Ulm Street) (sciences and humanities);
- theÉcole Normale Supérieure de LyoninLyon(sciences and humanities);[17]
- theÉcole normale supérieure Paris-Saclay,near Paris (sciences, engineering, social sciences, economics and management, foreign languages).
- theÉcole Normale Supérieure de RennesnearRennes(sciences, engineering, social sciences, economics and management, sport).
Until recently, unlike most other grandes écoles,écoles normales supérieures(ENS) did not award specific diplomas. Students who completed their curriculum were entitled to be known as "ENS alumni" or "normaliens".The schools encourage their students to obtain university diplomas in partner institutions while providing extra classes and support. Many ENS students obtain more than one university diploma.Normaliensfrom France and otherEuropean Unioncountries are considered civil servants in training (unless they were recruited by parallel admission), and as such are paid a monthly salary in exchange for agreeing to serve France for ten years, including those years spent as students.
Engineering schools (grandes écoles d'ingénieurs)[edit]
Many engineering schools recruit most of their students who have completed their education in scientific preparatory classes (2 years of post-baccalaureat study). Many are also joint graduate schools from several regional universities, sometimes in association with other international higher education networks.
In France, the term 'engineer' has a broader meaning compared to the one understood in most other countries and can imply a person who has achieved a high level of study in both fundamental and applied sciences, as well as business management, humanities and social sciences. The best engineering schools will often provide such a general and very intensive education, although this is not always the case. Most of the schools of the following first four groups train the so-called 'generaliste' engineers:
1.ParisTechschools of engineering(however, some of these schools are now part of the newParis-Saclay University.Also some of these schools teach only a specific area):
- École polytechnique(l'X) – The most selective engineering school in France, administered by the French Ministry of Defense;
- Arts et Métiers ParisTech(École nationale d'Arts et Métierspreviously calledENSAMorles Arts et Metiersor "Les Arts", administered by the French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research)
- École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris(Chimie ParisTech)
- École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique(ENSAE ParisTech) – formed by theInstitut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques(INSEE: French Statistical Authority) and administered by the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance;
- École nationale des ponts et chaussées(École des Ponts ParisTech,administered by the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, nicknamedles Ponts) – founded in 1747
- École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées(ENSTA ParisTech) administered by the French Ministry of Defense
- École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris(MINES ParisTech,administered by the French Ministry for Industry) –
- École nationale supérieure des télécommunications(Télécom Paris,administered by the French Ministry of Industry) – part ofInstitut Télécom
- École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris(ESPCI ParisTech)
- Institut d'Optique Graduate School(IOGS, nicknamedSupOptique);
- Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement(AgroParisTech) - administered by the French Ministry of Agriculture
2.Centrale Graduate Schoolsof engineering;its students are commonly known aspistons(a reference to thepiston engine,one of the centrepieces ofindustrial revolution):
- CentraleSupélec,which is the result of the 2015 merger betweenÉcole centrale Paris(ECP or Centrale Paris) founded in 1829, andÉcole Supérieure d'Electricité(or Supélec) founded in 1894.
- École centrale de Lille(ECLi, EC-Lille or Centrale Lille)
- École centrale de Lyon(ECL, EC-Lyon, or Centrale Lyon) was founded in 1857 as theÉcole centrale lyonnaise pour l'Industrie et le Commerce
- École centrale de Marseille(ECM, EC-Marseille, or Centrale Marseille)
- École centrale de Nantes(ECN, EC-Nantes, or Centrale Nantes)
3.Institut National des Sciences Appliquées(INSA)network is the largest engineer training group in France, with 16,700+ students, administered by theFrench Ministry of National Education.It consists of grandes écoles distributed throughout mainland France:
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon– founded in 1957
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse– founded in 1963
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rennes– founded in 1966
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rouen– founded in 1985
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Strasbourg– founded in 2003
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Centre Val de Loire– founded in 2014
4. Instituts polytechniques
- theInstitut polytechnique de Grenoble:includes theGrenoble Institute of Technology,and theGrenoble INP(formerlyINPG) which has six departments (ENSIMAG,Ense3,Phelma,ESISAR,Génie Industriel,Pagora);
- theInstitut National Polytechnique de Lorraine:includes theEEIGM, the European School of Materials Sciences and Engineering,theÉcole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires(ENSAIA, the National School of Agronomy and Food Sciences),theÉcole Nationale Supérieure d'Électricité et de Mécanique(ENSEM, the National School of Electricity and Mechanics),theÉcole Nationale Supérieure de Géologie(ENSG), theÉcole nationale supérieure en génie des systèmes et de l'innovation(ENSGSI, the National School of Industrial Systems and Innovation),theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques(ENSIC, the National School of Chemical Industries),theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy(ENSMN, the National School of Mines of Nancy)and theÉcole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nancy(ENSA Nancy, the School of Architecture));
- thePolytechnic Institute of Bordeaux:includes theENSC,theENSEIRB-MATMECA,the ENSCBP, the ENSTBB, the ENSEGID, and the ENSPIMA;
- thePolytechnic Institute of Clermont-Auvergne:includes theÉcole polytechnique universitaire de Clermont-Auvergne,theInstitut d'informatique d'Auvergne,theSIGMA Clermont.
5.Réseau Polytechschools of engineering,is a French network of 15 graduate schools of engineering within France's leading technological universities. All schools in the Group offer Master of Engineering degrees in various specialities:
- Polytech Angers
- École polytechnique de l'université de Lorraine(Polytech Nancy)
- Polytech Grenoble
- Polytech Lille
- Polytech Lyon
- Polytech Marseille
- Polytech Montpellier
- Polytech Clermont-Ferrand
- Polytech Nantes
- Polytech Nice Sophia
- Polytech Orleans
- Polytech Sorbonne,in theSorbonne University
- Polytech Paris-Saclay,component of theParis-Saclay University.
- Polytech Savoie
- Polytech Tours
6.Écoles Nationales Supérieures d'Ingénieurs(ENSI),which encompasses approximately 40 grandes écoles:
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'électronique, d'électrotechnique, d'informatique, d'hydraulique, et de télécommunications(ENSEEIHT, nicknamedN7), considered the largest ENSI, with more than 400 graduates every year. It is one of the schools of theINP Toulouse;
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Caen(ENSICAEN);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Bretagne Sud(ENSIBS);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Poitiers(ENSI Poitiers);
- theÉcole d'ingénieurs ENSIL-ENSCI(ENSIL-ENSCI);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure en génie des systèmes et de l'innovation(ENSGSI);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure des arts et industries textiles(ENSAIT);
- theÉcole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Informatique Automatique Mécanique Énergétique Électronique(ENSIAME);
7.Institut Mines-Telecomschools of engineering
- École Nationale Supérieure des Mines Telecom Atlantique Bretagne Pays de la Loire(Telecom Bretagneand École des Mines de Nantes, merged 2017);
- École nationale supérieure des mines d'Albi
- École nationale supérieure des mines d'Alès
- École des Mines-Télécom de Lille-Douai (IMT Lille Douai)
- École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris(MINES ParisTech)(also member of ParisTech);
- École nationale supérieure des mines de Nancy
- École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne
- École nationale supérieure des mines de Rabat
- École nationale supérieure des télécommunications(TELECOM ParisTech)
- Telecom SudParis(ex - Telecom INT). On the campus ofTelecom & Management SudParis.
- Télécom Physique Strasbourg(ex - ENSPS)
- Institut Eurécom
8.École Nationale d'Ingénieurs(ENI)network is an engineer training group:
- theÉcole nationale d'ingénieurs de Brest(ENIB)
- theÉcole nationale d'ingénieurs de Metz(ENIMArchived2022-06-21 at theWayback Machine)
- theÉcole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne(ENISE)
- theÉcole nationale d'ingénieurs de Tarbes(ENIT)
9.Universités de technologie(UT) group:Compiègne(UTC),Troyes(UTT);Belfort-Montbéliard(UTBM)
10.Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
The following schools usually train each student for a more specific area in science or engineering:
11. Grandes écoles of Actuarial Sciences, Statistics and Econometrics
- theInstitut de Science Financiere et d'Assurances(ISFA);
- theInstitut de Statistiques de l'Université de Paris(ISUP).
12. Grandes écoles of Chemistry
- theÉcole supérieure de chimie physique électronique de Lyon(ESCPE, orCPE-Lyon);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de chimie de Rennes(ENSCR);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille(ENSCL);
- theÉcole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier(ENSCM);
- theÉcole européenne de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux de Strasbourg(ECPM);
13. Grandes écoles of Physics
- theÉcole supérieure de chimie physique électronique de Lyon(ESCPE, orCPE-Lyon);
- theInstitut d'Optique Graduate School(IOGS,nicknamedSupOptique);
- theÉcole supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris(ESPCI ParisTech);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de chimie et de physique de Bordeaux(ENSCPB);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques(ENSIACET,nicknamedA7), also part of theINP Toulouse;
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de l'électronique et de ses Applications(ENSEA);
14. Grandes écoles of Information Technology and Telecommunications
- TheÉcole Centrale d'Électronique(ECE Paris);
- theÉcole nationale des sciences géographiques(ENSG - géomatique);
- theÉcole supérieure d'informatique, électronique et automatique(ESIEA);
- theÉcole pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées(EPITA);
- theÉcole pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies(EPITECH);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'électronique, informatique et radiocommunications de Bordeaux(ENSEIRB);
- theÉcole supérieure angevine en informatique et productique(ESAIP);
- theÉcole supérieure d'électronique de l'Ouest(Groupe ESEO);
- theÉcole supérieure d'ingénieurs en génie électrique(ESIGELEC);
- theÉcole catholique des arts et métiers(ECAM Lyon - Groupe ECAM);
- theÉcole d'électricité, de production et des méthodes industrielles(EPMI - Groupe ECAM);
- theÉcole d'ingénieur généraliste en informatique et technologies du numérique(EFREI);
- theÉcole Internationale des Sciences du Traitement de l'Information(EISTI, now called CY Tech);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'informatique pour l'industrie et l'enterprise(ENSIIE, previouslyIIE);
- theInstitut supérieur d'électronique de Paris(ISEP);
- theInstitut Superieur de l'electronique et du numerique(ISEN);
- theInstitut d'informatique d'Auvergne(ISIMA);
- theInstitut des Sciences et Techniques des Yvelines(ISTY);
- Telecom Nancy(ex - ESIAL);
- Télécom Saint-Étienne.
15. Grandes écoles of Applied Physics and Technology or Civil and Industrial Engineering
- theÉcole des ingenieurs de la Ville de Paris(EIVP);
- theÉcole nationale de l'aviation civile(ENAC), French civil aviation University;
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de mécanique et d'aérotechnique(ENSMA, or ISAE-ENSMA, Mechanical Engineering);
- theÉcole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques(ENSMM, Mechanical Engineering);
- theÉcole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique(ESIEE Paris, Electrical & Computer Engineering / Industrial Engineering), administered by the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance - ESIEE Paris was established in 1904 and is part of the ESIEE network of graduate schools (Official website in English);
- theÉcole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique d'Amiens(ESIEE Amiens);
- theÉcole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État(ENTPE, nicknamedTPE,Civil Engineering);
- theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie(ENSSAT);
- theÉcole supérieure des techniques aéronautiques et de construction automobile(ESTACA or ISAE-ESTACA, Mechanical Engineering)
- theÉcole spéciale des travaux publics, du Bâtiment et de l'Industrie(ESTP, Civil Engineering);
- theInstitut polytechnique des sciences avancées(IPSA, Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering);
- theInstitut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace(ISAE-SUPAERO) - was formed by a merger of two institutes known asSUPAEROandENSICAinToulouse
- theInstitut supérieur des matériaux du Mans(ISMANS);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure de techniques avancées de Bretagne(ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA), training French military engineers (25%) and civilian engineers (75%);
- theInstitut Supérieur de Mécanique(SUPMECA, Mechanical Engineering);
- theSeaTech(Marine Engineering)
- theSIGMA Clermont(chemistry, mechanics)
16. Grandes écoles of Biology and other Natural Sciences
- theÉcole nationale supérieure agronomique(ENSA), Paris (AgroParisTech), Montpellier (SupAgro), Rennes (Agrocampus Ouest), Toulouse (ENSAT), Nancy (ENSAIA), Bordeaux (Sciences Agro);
- theÉcole supérieure de biotechnologie Strasbourg(ESBS);
- theÉcole Nationale Supérieure de Géologie(ENSG), whose graduates areGéoliens;
- theEcole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre(EOST), whose graduates areEostiens;
- theÉcole nationale du génie de l'eau et de l'environnement de Strasbourg(ENGEES);
- theÉcole de Biologie Industrielle(EBI), whose graduates areEbistes;
- theÉcole supérieure d'agricultures d'Angers(ESA);
- theÉcole d'ingénieurs de Purpan(EIPurpan), formerly École Supérieure d'Agriculture de Purpan (ESAP);
- theÉcole nationale supérieure d'horticulture(ENSH);
- theInstitut Sup'Biotech de Paris(Sup'Biotech).
17. Other private Grandes écoles offering multiple specialities
- theEPF School of Engineeringknown as "École Polytechnique Féminine", was only for women until 1994;
- theHEI - Hautes Etudes d'Ingénieurin Lille;
- theESTIA Institute of Technology(École supérieure des technologies industrielles avancéesinBiarritz), founded in 1985. A generalist engineering school, former IDLS;
- theÉcole Speciale de Mecanique et d'Electricitealso calledESME SudriainParissince 1905;
- theÉcole supérieure d'ingénieurs de recherche en matériaux et en InfoTronique(ESIREM);
- theCentre des études supérieures industrielles(CESI);
- theÉcole supérieure d'ingénieurs de Rennes(ESIR);
Business schools (grandes écoles de commerce)[edit]
Most French business schools are partly privately run, or managed by the regionalchambers of commerce.
Business schools recruiting students just after taking thebaccalauréat,most of them are private:
- ESSCA School of Management
- EDC Paris Business School
- ESCE International Business School
- ESDES School of Business and Management
- ESIEE Management
- European Business School Paris
- IESEG School of Management
- IPAG Business School
- ISG Business School
- PSB Paris School of Business
The below list contains French business schools that are officially part of theConférence des grandes écoles.
Business schools recruiting students from post-baccalaureatpreparatory classes,high selectivity rate:[18]
- Audencia Business School
- Burgundy School of Business(École supérieure de commerce de Dijon)
- École de management de Normandie(Normandy Business School)
- Groupe ESC Pau
- ESC Rennes School of Business
- EDHEC Business School(NGO - Association 1901)
- EM Strasbourg Business School(École de Management de Strasbourg)
- Emlyon Business School
- ESC Clermont
- ESCP Business School
- ESSEC Business School
- Excelia Business School
- ESC Troyes
- Grenoble École de management(GEM)
- HEC Paris
- ICN Business School
- INSEEC Business School(private)
- Institut supérieur du commerce de Paris(ISC Paris, private)
- KEDGE Business School
- Montpellier Business School
- NEOMA Business School
- Skema Business School
- Institut Mines-Télécom Business School
- ESC Toulouse School of Business
Business schools recruiting students with professional experience:
- INSEAD(Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires)
Grandes écoles without preparatory classes[edit]
Some schools are accessible after a competitive entrance exam directly after thebaccalauréat.Often, students of these schools will progress to an administrative school.
These schools include:
- École du Louvre,forarchaeology,history of artandanthropology;
- École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales(EHESS), trains researchers in Social and Human Sciences, forsociology,history,geography,anthropology,linguistics,statistics;
- École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs(part ofPSL University);
- École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts,best known as "les Beaux-Arts" (forfine arts) (part ofPSL University);
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts à la Villa Arson,
- École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle,
- École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon(ENSAL), forarchitecture;
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles(ENSAV), forarchitecture;
- École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Saint-Etienne(ENSASE), forarchitecture;
- Instituts Nationaux des Sciences Appliquées(INSA) inLyon,Rennes,Rouen,Strasbourg,Toulouse,Centre-Val de Loire(located inBloisandBourges) deliveringdiplôme d'ingénieurdegrees in five years including two preparatory years. The three remaining years are also accessible after selection for the best students graduating a first cycle university diploma, or from institutes of technology;
- Universités de Technologies(UTC, UTT, UTBM) inCompiègne,Troyes,Belfort,are also independent national schools deliveringdiplôme d'ingénieurand selecting students that graduated baccalaureat with top honours.
Universities that have joined theConférence des grandes écoles[edit]
In 2014, Paris-Dauphine University joined theConférence des grandes écolesand now has the status of university,grand établissement,and grande école.[19][20]
Schools for Political Studies, Social Sciences, Journalism and Communication studies[edit]
These schools train students in multidisciplinary fields of social and human studies. Students are prepared for civil service and other public-sector leader positions, but more and more of them do end up working in the private sector. Some of these schools are reserved for French orEEAcitizens only.
Institut d'études politiques(IEP, Sciences Po)
- Sciences Po(also known asSciences Po Paris,most prestigious and selective among all)
- Sciences Po Bordeaux(part of theUniversity of Bordeaux)
- Sciences Po Lille(part of theUniversity of Lille)
- Sciences Po Rennes(part of theUniversity of Rennes)
- Sciences Po Strasbourg(part of theUniversity of Strasbourg)
- Sciences Po Aix
- Sciences Po Lyon(part of theUniversity of Lyon Alliance)
- Sciences Po Grenoble(part of theUniversity of Grenoble-Alpes)
- Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye(part of theUniversity of Versailles)
- Sciences Po Toulouse(part of theUniversity of Toulouse-Capitole)
Grandes Écolesof Journalism and communication studies
- CELSA Paris(part ofSorbonne University);
- Centre de Formation des Journalistes(part ofAssas University);
- Sciences PoJournalism School (part ofSciences Po);
- Sciences Po RennesJournalism School (part ofSciences Po Rennes);
OtherGrandes Écoles
- Institut national du service public(INSP), (formerlyÉcole nationale d'administration)
- École Nationale de la Magistrature(Bordeaux) (ENM), which trainsjudicialmagistrates;
- École nationale supérieure des sciences de l'information et des bibliothèques(Lyon) (ENSSIB), which trains library and information managers (part of theUniversity of Lyon Alliance);
- École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique(Rennes) ([2]), trains managers of hospitals and other leaders and technical experts in public health and health care;
Military officer academies[edit]
Today, there are only 3 grandes écoles that are officially denominated asmilitary academiesof the French Republic.
- TheÉcole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr,formerly located inSaint-Cyr-l'Écolebut now inCoëtquidanin Brittany, is the Army Academy. NicknamedSaint-Cyr,its graduates and students arecyrardsbut are generally referred to assaint-cyriens;
- TheÉcole de l'Air(EA) is the Air Force Academy, located inSalon-de-Provence;
- TheÉcole Navale(EN) is nicknamedNavaleand its graduates and students areBordaches.It is located inBrest.
WhileÉcole polytechniqueis also under supervision of theFrench Ministry of Defence,it is no longer officially amilitary academy.Only a small number of its students progress to military careers, while between a fifth and a quarter choose to remain in France to work for the state's technical administrations.
There are also other specialized military "grandes écoles":
- TheÉcole de santé des armées,located in Lyon for the training of army doctors and pharmacists.[21]
- TheÉcole nationale de la sécurité et de l'administration de la merfor the military officers and civil servants of the French Maritime Administration[22]
- TheÉcole des commissaires des armées(ECA), training military officers in charge of all the support functions (management, purchasing, finance, human support, human resources, legal advice, decision support, logistics)[23]
Facts and influence in French culture[edit]
Altogether, grandes écoles awarded approximately 60,000 master's degrees in 2013, compared with 150,000 master's degrees awarded by all French higher institutions in the same year, including universities.[24]
Grande école graduates in 2013 represent 10% of the French population graduating from high school 5 years before (600,000 in 2008).[25]
Some grandes écoles are renowned in France for their selectivity and the complexity of their curriculum. In the press, they are usually called the "A+" schools, referring to the grade given by some rankings. These elite schools represent less than 1% of the higher education students in France.
Admission to a certain number of these institutions (e.g. l'Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature in Bordeaux) is reserved only to French citizens, raising questions relating to European mobility and institutional reciprocity.[26]
Since 1975, theComité d'études sur les formations d'ingénieurshas studied the questions of training and job placement for engineers graduating from grandes écoles.
Notable alumni[edit]
Of the 29 persons who have served asPresident of France,17 attended a Grande école.
Many winners of the Nobel prize attended a Grande école
See also[edit]
- Academic grading in France
- Commission des titres d'ingénieur
- Conférence des directeurs des écoles françaises d'ingénieurs (CDEFI)
- Conférence des grandes écoles (CGE)
- Education in France
- Grands établissements
- List of universities in France
- List of public universities in France
- Superior Graduate Schools in Italy
References[edit]
- ^"grande école | French education | Britannica".britannica.Retrieved2022-04-29.
- ^"C'est quoi une grande école?".Le Monde.fr(in French). 2011-02-11.Retrieved2022-04-29.
- ^"Le calendrier général des concours | Portail de la Fonction publique".fonction-publique.gouv.fr.Retrieved2022-04-29.
- ^"C'est quoi une classe préparatoire?".Cersa(in French). 2019-03-19.Retrieved2022-04-29.
- ^"Qu'est-ce qu'une CPGE (classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles)?".L'Etudant(in French).Retrieved2022-04-29.
- ^Lane, Philippe; Fraser, Maurice (2011-07-08).Franco-British Academic Partnerships: The Next Chapter.Liverpool University Press.ISBN978-1-78138-656-9.
- ^"France's educational elite".Daily Telegraph.17 November 2003.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-12.Retrieved5 February2019.
- ^Pierre Bourdieu (1998).The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power.Stanford UP. pp. 133–35.ISBN9780804733465.
- ^What are Grandes Ecoles Institutes in France?
- ^Michel Nusimovici,Les écoles de l'an III,2010.
- ^"HEC - History".hec.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2014.Retrieved5 February2019.
- ^"Les écoles d'ingénieurs préférées des bac S sur Parcoursup".grandes-ecoles.studyrama.24 May 2019.Retrieved18 March2021.
- ^"Comparatif 2023 des écoles d'ingénieurs en France".letudiant.fr.Retrieved21 December2023.
- ^abOECD (2007-06-27).OECD Economic Surveys: France 2007.OECD Publishing.ISBN978-92-64-03329-0.
- ^Mazza, Carmelo; Quattrone, Paolo; Riccaboni, Angelo (2008-01-01).European Universities in Transition: Issues, Models and Cases.Edward Elgar Publishing.ISBN978-1-84844-141-5.
- ^11-12 Nobel laureates and 10 Fields medalistswere educated at theÉcole Normale Supérieurein ParisArchived2011-06-15 at theWayback Machine(in French)
- ^TheÉcole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences HumainesinLyon(humanities), was merged in 2010 with theEcole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (Sciences)to create the current ENS Lyon.
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^L'étudiant, Journal (8 April 2014)."L'université Paris Dauphine rejoint le cercle des grandes écoles".L'étudiant(in French).Retrieved6 November2016.
- ^"Université Paris-Dauphine - Université Paris-Dauphine - Écoles - Conférence des Grandes Ecoles".cge.asso.fr.Archived fromthe originalon 29 May 2014.Retrieved17 January2022.
- ^"ESA Lyon-Bron".CGE(in French).Retrieved2020-12-13.
- ^"Article 2 - Arrêté du 16 mai 2018 portant organisation et fonctionnement d'un service à compétence nationale dénommé « Ecole nationale de la sécurité et de l'administration de la mer » - Légifrance".legifrance.gouv.fr.Retrieved2020-12-13.
- ^defense.gouv.frhttps:// defense.gouv.fr/commissariat/nos-ecoles/ecole-des-commissaires-des-armees.Retrieved2020-12-13.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-03-16.Retrieved2014-11-12.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Baccalauréat 2009, Tableaux statistiques (sources Depp)"(PDF).
- ^"L'Express palmarès 2018 des écoles d'ingénieurs"(in French).Retrieved2019-03-13.