The Grande Ecole

Technically speaking, the Grande Ecole is just the cornerstone of the French business school. The programme is typically equivalent to a Master’s degree and lasts three years. ESSEC, however, considers their programme to be equivalent to an MBA. The courses revolve around a combination of coursework, internships, and exams.

Specialised Masters

If you already have a Master’s degree in a discipline other than business, French business schools offer one-year master programmes designed to broaden your skill set. For example, someone with an engineering background may want a career that requires business knowledge. In this case, a specialised master from a business school is one way of quickly gaining a new perspective and opening up new opportunities in their career.

MBA

If after a few years of professional experience you would like to move into upper management, then an MBA is for you. French MBAs are similar to other MBA programmes around the world and are often compared against American, European, and Asian schools in the rankings. French MBAs typically do well in the FT rankings, and are certainly worth a look if you want to gain an international perspective and network. Most French MBAs are held entirely in English, but will still give you ample opportunities to practice your French!

Executive Education

These programmes are designed for those who already have 10-15 years’ professional experience and are either preparing to move into management or want to refresh their skills. Programs range from short, two-day courses all the way to an Executive MBA.

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1. France has a world-class education system. Students from all over the world have been coming to France for their education since the days when Latin was still the main language of education in Europe. Today, France has some of the top public universities in the world conducting top-class research, and the grandes écoles (the business and engineering schools) give professionally oriented training in specific fields that is second to none. In going to your classes you’ll be soaking up some of the best thinking in the world.

2. Take your network global. France is one of the world centers for foreign students: over 260,000 international students are enrolled in French higher education institutions (11% of all students in France are foreign), and France is home to thousands of foreign businesses, particularly in Paris. In France you’ll have the opportunity to connect with others from around the world, giving you huge travel, professional, and cultural opportunities.

3. France has an excellent student life. Paris, Rennes, Nantes, Lille, and Bordeaux are each major cities that have a large student population, with a large and varied lifestyle. While you’ll be spoilt for choice when looking for a bar, café, or nightclub to pass the time with your friends, each city offers a unique cultural experience that will broaden your horizons during the day.

4. Traveling is super-easy. France has an excellent rail and airway system that will whisk you to wherever you want: The TGV or high speed rail system radiates out from Paris and rarely takes more than three hours for most journeys within France, and then all over Europe, and its two main airports serve destinations all around the world.

5. You’ll never eat so good. France is known for its cuisine, and French food doesn’t mean tiny portions that cost a lot. Real French cuisine is rich in dairy, meat, and vegetables that are bought at the market. And in case French food isn’t your thing, successive waves of immigration have brought their own culinary traditions, so if you get a craving of Chinese, chances are you’ll find a Chinese restaurant near you.

6. Tuition is cheap cheap cheap, and the courses are shorter. Just in case one year abroad isn’t enough for you, you can sign up and study for an actual French licence (aka bachelor’s). It only takes three years and tuition averages around 300€ per year. So work hard at your French, and you could save yourself some serious cash.

7. Become fluent in French. Let’s face it, the best way to improve your French is to hop a plane and speak it with the natives. After six months of speaking French with your classmates, friends, and neighbors, you’ll be amazed at how you well can speak it. And for those days when you’re homesick and need some English (or German, or Chinese), chances are there’s someone around from your home country that you can talk to.

France offers endless opportunities for you to make the most of your study abroad in the way you want to: big cities, little villages nestled in mountains, towns that sprawl on the beach. However you want to spend your time here, it’s available in France: theatre, cinema, sports, museums, travels are all over in France.

Have you or are you already studying in France? What were your reasons for coming, and what did you enjoy most? Let us know in the comments.

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“LMD” = Licence, Master, Doctorat

French university degrees are based on how many years of study is needed after the Baccalauréat, the French equivalent of a high school diploma or A-levels. The French Licence, or Bac + 3, is the equivalent of Bachelor’s degree in Anglo-saxon countries. Bac + 5 is a Master, and Bac + 8 is a doctorat. In theory, no matter which university you get your degree from, it should be the same, although in practice this isn’t the case.

University vs. Grande Ecole

The French higher education system is in fact split into two systems: the universities and the grandes écoles. The universities are entirely publicly funded, and tuition fees are no more than 300€ per year. Universities each offer a wide range of programmes and are generally focused on theoretical knowledge and research, and anyone with a baccalaureate is accepted.

Grandes Ecoles, on the other hand, are specialised institutions that focus on one sole area, such as business or engineering. The Grandes Ecoles were originally founded under Napoleon to funnel France’s best and brightest into public employment. Grandes Ecoles have more autonomy and receive less funding from the state, and therefore have much more liberty to set tuition fees, which can be 10 000€ or more per year, depending on the program.

To get into a grande école, students must generally take two years of preparatory courses (although some French grandes écoles allow students to enter directly from the baccalaureate) and then follow three years of the Grande Ecole programme. They then graduate with a Master’s degree in their chosen field.

So how does this work for employment?

Generally, a grande école is more highly regarded than a university, although certain programs and certain universities are still very highly regarded. French students generally go on to get a Master’s. Stopping at a Licence is usually seen as having stopped half way through your studies, which isn’t the case for Anglo-saxon universities.

Universities have suffered from a lack of business links, which facilitate entry into employment by offering internships. There is a significant portion of students who still hope to end up a bureaucrat rather than working in the private sector. This is starting to change, however, with recent reforms (link in French) that have given universities more independence, private foundations to raise money from the private sector, and the inclusion of at least one business leader on the school’s governing body.

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