Grandes écoles

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The Grandes Écoles (French: elite schools) of France are higher education establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public universities. They are generally focused on a single subject area, such as engineering, research, business or administration, have a moderate size, and are highly selective in their admission of students. Some of them (École Polytechnique, Écoles Normale Supérieure, École Centrale, École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ponts et Chaussées and Supélec, École Nationale d'Administration, HEC, ESCP-EAP, ESSEC...) are highly prestigious, providing similar status to their graduates in France as Oxbridge in the UK or the Ivy League schools in the US. They are truly elitist: About 0.5% of French high school students nationwide are accepted, less than 4,000 students graduate from them every year. This dozen of schools, which the French praise for being "généralistes", i.e., interdisciplinary, have traditionally produced most of France's high ranking civil servants, politicians, executives, scientists and philosophers.

Some of them like ESSEC (Paris, Singapore), ESCP-EAP European School of Management (Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Torino), or the Écoles Centrales (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Marseilles, Beijing) go beyond French borders and have established campuses internationally thus gaining global recognition.

Please note that many students from these schools are very touchy about the following lists and debate hotly about their ranking. In this article, they are given as an indication; not as a fixed hierarchy

[edit] Preparatory Classes

The Lycée Louis-le-Grand, in Paris, is one of the most famous lycées providing classes for preparing for grandes écoles. (Here, on the right side of the rue St Jacques; on the left, the Sorbonne.)

In most cases, Grandes Écoles recruit students not after the end of their high school, but after two or more years of initial higher education. For the most part, this education takes place in special preparatory classes, known as Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE) or Prépas, that dispense undergraduate university-level education at an accelerated pace. Prépas are located in a number of select high schools throughout the country; some of them, such as Henri IV, Louis-le-Grand, Lycée Saint-Louis, Lycée Stanislas, Lycée Janson de Sailly, Lycée Charlemagne or Condorcet in Paris, Lycée Privé Sainte-Geneviève in Versailles, Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly-sur-Seine and Lycée du Parc in Lyon are famous in their own right.

There are five main categories of Prépas:

• Mathématiques Supérieures (1^st year; familiarly called Math Sup or Hypotaupe) and Mathématiques Spéciales (2^nd year; familiarly called Math Spé or Taupe). These prepare for the engineering schools and teach mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technology. They are broken down in four sub-categories according to the emphasis of their teaching.
• biology, geology and mathematics (Agro);
• humanities (1^st year Hypokhâgne and 2^nd year Khâgne);
• history, archival science and library science, known as Prépa Chartes from the name of the school.
• mathematics and economics, known as Prépa HEC or Épices (2 years preparatory class for business schools).

There is some specific jargon in these classes. Hence, the year of Mathématiques Spéciales is called Taupe, which stems from the French name for moles because, according to the stereotype, they are short-sighted (like the little burrowing animal) and hardly ever go out. The students themselves are called Taupins. You integrate a school when you succeed at that school's competitive entrance exam (generally one week of written exams for each applicant, followed by one week of oral exams by invitation only based on the results of the written exams – schools team up into "Exam Banks" which enable candidates to apply to several schools at the same time; students would typically sit for three or four of these exam banks).

If you first attempt to enter a scientific school, you are a called a 3/2; if you are unhappy with the school you were admitted to after the exams, you have the option to do another "Math Spé" and try again the following year, you then become a 5/2. The story behind those names is the following: one of the most prestigious engineering schools in France is the École Polytechnique, often dubbed X, as the unknown variable in mathematics. The integral of X between 1 and 2 (the numbers representing years of study between which you are likely to "integrate" the school) is 3/2, and the integral between 2 and 3 is 5/2.

For "épices" and "khâgne", other terms are used: 3/2 becomes "carré" (square - also written "kharré") and 5/2 becomes "cube" (also written "khûbe").

Grandes Éécoles can be classified into several broad categories:

[edit] Écoles Normales Supérieures

These schools train researchers, professors and may also be a starting point for executive careers in the public administration or business. There are four of them:

• the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, rue d'Ulm (sciences and humanities);
• the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in Lyon (sciences);
• the École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines in Lyon (humanities).
• the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan in Cachan, a suburb of Paris (applied sciences, engineering, social sciences, economics and management, foreign languages)

Their competitive entrance exams are considered to be extremely selective, specially the École Normale Supérieure. They recruit mainly from Taupes, biology Prépas and Khâgnes, even though a small number of their students (less than 10 each year) are recruited separately on the basis of highly selective exams.

Unlike most of the other Grandes Écoles, the Écoles Normales Supérieures (ENS) do not award any specific diplomas (students who have completed the curriculum they agreed to with the office of the Dean upon arrival are entitled to be known as "ENS Alumns" or "Anciens Élèves de l'École Normale SUpérieure"), but encourage their students to obtain university diplomas in partner institutions whilst providing extra classes and support. In the future there could be diploma after 4 years in the school. Many ENS students obtain more than one university diploma.

The Normaliens, as the students of the several ENS are known, attain a high level of excellence in the various disciplines in which they are trained. Normaliens from France and other European Union countries are considered civil servants in training, and as such paid a monthly salary, in exchange for an agreement to serve France for 10 years, including those of their studies.

[edit] École Nationale des Chartes

The school's main purpose is to provide archivists and paleographers, but students are also trained to become academic and other professional historians, library curators and, more broadly, high-level executives of the Ministry of Culture.

The competitive entrance exams are about the most selective as the school typically enroll less than 30 students each year, making it the Grande École with the smallest number of students. The competitive entrance exams are split into two ways sorting the students by their speciality between the classical A way focused on medieval history and modern history and for which students are trained in Prepa Chartes, and the modern B way focused on modern and contemporary history and which is open to student in Khâgnes.

The students, known as Chartistes, are granted a diploma of Archivist-Paleographer at the end of their 4 years of training, along with the other university diploma that most of the student acquire during their training. The Chartistes keep a level of excellence in History, Archival science and Library science. Their reputation is so broad that many alumni of the École des Chartes are found serving in as archivist in foreign countries or in international organizations. The school also train a small number of foreign students each year.

Quite like Normaliens the students at the École Nationale des Chartes are considered civil servants in training, and as such paid a monthly salary, in exchange for an agreement to serve France for 10 years.

[edit] Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieurs (Engineering Schools)

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

There is a broad spectrum of engineering schools, many recruiting after taupes. Things may be a bit confusing since many schools have a lengthy official name (often beginning with École Nationale Supérieure), a shortened name, an acronym and, for the most famous, a nickname (and often a nickname for their students).

• the École Polytechnique, nicknamed X, which prepares a large portion of its students (the Polytechniciens) for high-level administrative careers. It is considered to be the best engineering Grande École in France;
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (ENSMP or the Mines de Paris);
• the École Centrale Paris (ECP), one of the most prestigious and whose graduates are centraliens;
• the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (National School of Bridges and Roads, ENPC or the Ponts);
• the École Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec);
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST or Télécom Paris);
• the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (National School of Aeronautic and Space, Sup'Aero, specialized in aeronautics), which is located in Toulouse;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM), nicknamed les Arts. Most of the students who graduate from it are called Gadz'Arts (as in "Gars des Arts");
• the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), leading the 5 year school model;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA or Techniques Avancées);
• the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique (ENSAE), specialised in statistics and designed as a training ground for INSEE;
• the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (ESPCI), nicknamed PC or physique-chimie Paris;
• the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (INA P-G or the Agro Paris);

Other Grandes Ecoles (non-exhaustive list)

• the other "Mines": the Mines de Nancy, Mines de Saint-Étienne (the "grandes" mines) and Mines de Douai, Mines de Nantes, Mines d'Ales, Mines d'Albi (the "petites" mines);
• the other "Centrales": the École Centrale de Lyon, École Centrale de Lille, École Centrale de Nantes;
• the four other "INSA": INSA Rennes, INSA Rouen, INSA Strasbourg, INSA Toulouse;
• the other Écoles Nationales Supérieures Agronomiques;
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne (ENST Bretagne or Télécom Bretagne);
• the École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (civilian air academy) also recruits Taupins.
• the Institut National des Télécommunications, (Télécom INT);
• the École Spéciale des Travaux Publics du Batiment et de l'Industrie or ESTP
• the Institut Catholique des Arts et Métiers (ICAM Lille, ICAM Nantes, ICAM Toulouse);
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique pour l'Industrie et l'Enterprise (the renamed IIE);
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques de Nancy;
• the École Supérieure de Chimie Physique Électronique de Lyon or CPE Lyon;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et de Physique de Bordeaux;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Mulhouse;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes;
• the École Européenne de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux or ECPM;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Électrotechnique, d'Électronique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications or ENSEEIHT;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, Informatique et de Radiocommunications de Bordeaux;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Électricité et de Mécanique;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique et de Radioélectricité de Grenoble;
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Constructions Aéronautiques;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs Électriciens de Grenoble;
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées de Grenoble or ENSIMAG;
• the École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d'Aérotechnique;
• the École Supérieure des Techniques Aéronautiques et de Construction Automobile or ESTACA;
• the Institut Superieur d'Electronique de Paris or ISEP;

[edit] Grandes Écoles de Commerce (Management Schools )

Most French business schools are semi-privately run, often by the regional chambers of commerce.

The most prestigious and selective Management schools are the three "Parisiennes" [[1]], [[2]], [[3]], located in the Paris Metropolitan area. There has been talk of merging the three schools in order to give them a higher international visibility [FinancialTime]. Other schools are found outside Paris, some highly selective, and sometimes compared to the three parisians (such as Lyon):

The "Parisiennes"

• the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC)
• the École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC)
• the ESCP-EAP European School of Management

Outside Paris (non-exhaustive list)

• the École de Management de Lyon (EM Lyon)
• the École de Hautes Études Commerciales du Nord (EDHEC)
• the Audencia Nantes Ecole de Management (Audencia )
• the Bordeaux École de Management (Bordeaux-EM)
• the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Reims (ESC Reims)
• the École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen (ESC Rouen)
• the Grenoble École de Management (Grenoble-EM)
• the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse (ESC Toulouse)
• the Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management (Euromed Marseille)

[edit] Grandes Écoles without Preparatory Classes

Some schools are accessible after a competitive entrance exam directly after the Baccalauréat. They remain highly selective and extremely prestigious in French society, with most former students holding high-ranking positions in the public and private sectors. Often, students of these schools will go on and enter an administrative school, for which they are better prepared than the former university students. These schools include (non-exhaustive list):

• the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, nicknamed Sciences Po Paris, for a generalist program centred around Political Sciences, History, Sociology and Economics ( FNSP / IEP Paris Website );
• the Instituts d'Etudes Politiques ("IEP" [4]), located in Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Toulouse (they are nicknamed Sciences Po [5] followed by the name of the city they are based in);
• the École du Louvre, offering a generalist program based on Archaeology, History of Art and Anthropology ( [6] );
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, best-know as "les Beaux-Arts", for fine-arts ( [7] );
• the Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales ("EHESS"), delivering a training in the Social Sciences ( [8] );
• the INSA Lyon (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées), a leading engineering school in 5 year;

[edit] Administrative Schools

These schools train students for certain civil service and other public-sector positions. However, some students who undertake studies in these schools do end up working in the private sector. All theses schools are very selective. As an example, the most selective one is the Ecole Nationale du Patrimoine, which enrolls about 1.5% of its candidates (who already hold a minimum of a master's degree). The ENA is certainly the most famous one, with a large cohort of alumni joining the government and cabinets. On top of their initial studies, most students follow a one year dedicated training course to succeed (IEJs - Instituts d'Études Judiciaires, see french law schools -, IEPs - Instituts d'Étude Politiques see Sciences Po - or dedicated programs)

• École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), whose alumni are known as énarques and generally take up high-level positions in government;
• École Nationale de la Magistrature ( ENM ), which trains magistrates;
• École Nationale des Impôts ( ENI ), which translates as "National Tax School";
• École Nationale du Patrimoine ( [9] ), which trains curators;
• École Nationale de Police ( ENSP ), ie national police force school;

[edit] Military Officer Academies

While École Polytechnique, also known as X is run by the Ministry of Defence and its French students are reserve officers in training, it is no longer formally denominated as a military academy. A small number of its students do however embrace a military career afterwards. A large proportion of its students end up working for the State's technical administrations.

• The École Spéciale Militaire de St Cyr (it used to be located in Saint-Cyr l'École but is now in Coëtquidan in Brittany) is the Army Academy.
• The École Navale is the Naval Academy, located in Brest.
• The École de l'Air is the Air Force Academy, located in Salon de Provence.

[edit] Grandes Écoles de Journalisme (journalism schools)

These are one of the 12 schools accredited by the French journalism profession. Some of them are privately run (ESJ, CFJ...), others are part of public universities but are highly autonomous (CELSA, CUEJ...).

• The École supérieure de journalisme de Lille (ESJ Lille)
• The Centre de formation en journalisme de Paris (CFJ Paris)
• The École des hautes études en sciences de l'information et de la communication (CELSA Paris)
• The Institut pratique du journalisme (IPJ Paris)
• The Centre universitaire d'enseignement du journalisme de Strasbourg (CUEJ Strasbourg)
• ...

[edit] See also

• Education in France
• List of universities in France
• List of public universities in France by academy
• Grands établissements

[edit] External links

• Research and higher education institutions in France
• Graduate Schools
• La Conférence des Grandes Ecoles, which is an association of directors of grandes écoles.
• "Understanding the Grandes Ecoles"
• [10] , the class for preparation to Ecole Nationale des Chartes