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The Grandes Écoles ('') of France are higher education establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public Universities system. Unlike the French public universities which have an obligation to accept all candidates who hold a Baccalauréat within their territorial competence, ''Grandes Écoles'' recruit mainly on written and oral competitive exams among the students of dedicated extra preparatory classes. They have moderate size (3,000 students for the biggest) and are generally focused on a single subject area, mainly Engineering , Business or Humanities . They have traditionally produced most of France's high ranking civil servants, politicians and Executives and many scientists and philosophers. CLASSIFICATION AS ''GRANDES ÉCOLES'' Origins Before French Revolution First scientific competitive exam open for the incorporation in the technicals militarizes corps (Genie, Artilleries, Marine). Creation of many military schools ( Combat Engineering ). Most notably the '' École Royale Des Ponts Et Chaussées '' in 1747, foundation of what was to become the Ecole D'Arts Et Métiers by the Duke of Rochefoucauld-Liancourt in 1780, for the orphans of his regiment. '' École Des Mines De Paris '' in 1783. After French Revolution The « grandes écoles » expression came after the French Revolution , in 1794 with the creation of the École Polytechnique by the Mathematician Gaspard Monge and Lazare Carnot . In fact, the model was probably Méziers's military academy of which Gaspard Monge was an alumnus. It should be noted that some schools included in the category are older than the expression. For example the École Des Ponts Et Chaussées and the Arts Et Métiers were founded during the 18th century. Since then France has had a unique higher education system, where small and middle size specialized schools are totally cut off the university system yet fully integrated within the national educational system. Some study subjects are nearly exclusive to one system, like engineering for the grandes écoles or medicine for universities. Today There is no standard definition nor official list of ''Grandes Écoles''. The legislative and lawful texts refer mainly to the grandes écoles through " Classe Préparatoire Aux Grandes Écoles ". The term of grandes écoles is not employed in the Code of education, with the exception of a quotation in the social statistics. It generally employs the expression of "écoles supérieures" to indicate the higher educational establishments which are not universities. The term indicated at the beginning a small number of schools, their main goal was to provide personnel to the technical bodies of the State, ( École Polytechnique , École Nationale Supérieure Des Mines De Paris , École Nationale Des Ponts Et Chaussées , etc.. ) recruiting exclusively on a competitive exam. Thereafter, other schools were added whose entrance examinations are also very selective ( ENA , École Centrale Paris ,...). Now the term indicate a schools outside of university framework recruiting mainly on competitive exam after preparatory class. Its use is sometimes abusively extended to other establishments having a great diversity of levels and modes of recruitment. The ''Conférence des grandes écoles'' (Grandes écoles Confederation) is a commercial association (under the French law 1901). It uses a rather broad definition of the concept of "Grandes Écoles", not restricted to the schools selectivity or the prestige of the diploma. The list of the members of CGE does not draw up an "official" or even an "accepted" list of "Grandes Écoles". For example some "engineering school" member of the CGE cannot deliver state recognized engineering degrees. METHODS OF RECRUITMENT FOR THE GRANDES éCOLES The methods of recruitment are the main difference between grandes écoles and french universities. Public universities are forced by law to admit any student with the Baccalauréat and living within the university's area. The methods of recruitment may be very different from one school to another. Here are the main three scenarios: the preparatory classes to grandes écoles (CPGE) .)]] Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE) or ''Prépas'' literally ''Preparatory classes for the Grandes Écoles'' some time nicknamed the royal way, because it's the only way to get the most prestigious schools. The preparatory classes, either in literature, sciences or management of one or two years ( generally two or three) is the traditional way to enter the most prestigious grandes écoles. Most of them are in state high schools, there are a few ''private'' preparatory classes but they are expensive and generally aren't the best ( only unadmitted in public classes pay to come in). Admission in preparatory classes are based on a scholar report. Many students register in more than one class to maximize their chance of admission. Some of these classes are very selective and successful at placing students into the top schools. The rhythm of work is very high and competition between students are encouraged in the classes. It's psychologically harassing and stressful, few students can't get it and give up before the end of the classes. The goal of preparatory classes are to prepare the student to match the academic level expected to success the competitive exam of recruitment of the main Grandes Écoles. If the student don't manage to be admit in a Grande École, he or she often redo the last year of preparatory classes and retry the contest the next year. Preparatory classes don't give any degrees, if the student fail in admission contest or in preparatory class, he or she must start a university study from the beginning or try to get an arrangement with the university to jump over some years ( pretty common, bad CPGE student are often average university student). There are five main categories of ''Prépas'':
Recruitment at Baccalauréat level Some schools are accessible after a competitive entrance exam directly after the Baccalauréat. These schools include a two-year preparatory class directly in their program. Those years of preparation are highly focused on the school program so students have higher chance to success the admission exam or contest in their school but really lower their chances to success in the contest for other school. Parallel admission In some school is also the possibility of “parallel admission” to grandes écoles. Parallel admissions are open to university students or students from other schools. The ''Prépas'' years are not required to sit the entrance exams, provided that the candidates performed well in their previous studies. This method of recruitment is proving increasingly popular, with many students choosing to go first to university and then enrol in a grande école. Some Grandes écoles had dual diploma arrangement between them, student can switch establishment on the last year to get the diploma of both establishment. Many arrangement is possible between same level establishment, this why many alumni have two or more masters degrees . CATEGORIES ''Grandes Écoles'' can be classified into several broad categories: Écoles Normales Supérieures These schools train Researcher s, Professor s and may also be a starting point for executive careers in the public administration or business. Many french Nobel Prize or Fields Medal laureates come from them. There are four of them:
Their competitive entrance exams are considered to be extremely selective, especially for 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. Until recently and unlike most of the other ''Grandes Écoles'', the Écoles Normales Supérieures (ENS) did not award any specific diplomas (students who had completed the curriculum they had agreed to with the office of the Dean upon arrival were simply entitled to be known as "ENS Alumni" or "Anciens Élèves de l'École Normale Supérieure"), but they keep encouraging their students to obtain university diplomas in partner institutions whilst providing extra classes and support. 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. Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieurs (Engineering Schools) Most famous Engineering Schools There is a broad spectrum of engineering schools, many recruiting after scientific preparatory class. 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). Some of them are grouped in league, like ParisTech , Mines, UT, etc.
Other Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieur (non-exhaustive list)
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''"http://www.etudier-en-france.com/version_francaise/francais/partie_1/ecole_enseignement.php http://www.abelard.net/education.htm http://enseignement.nouvelobs.com/articles/p0016/0016_273.html , located in the Paris Metropolitan area. There has been talk of merging the three schools in order to give them a higher international visibility. Financial Times Other schools are found outside Paris, some highly selective, and sometimes compared to the three Parisians (such as EM-Lyon): The "Parisiennes" Located in Paris and its suburb:
The Best Outside Paris (according to rankings)
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):
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 École 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. To join ENA or ENM, 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'Études Politiques see Sciences Po - or dedicated programs)
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.
INFLUENCE IN FRENCH CULTURE Some Grandes Écoles are highly prestigious, providing similar status to their graduates in France as '' (Humanities), École Polytechnique , École Centrale (Paris) , École Des Mines (Paris) , Supelec , HEC Paris , Essec , ESCP-EAP, EM Lyon(Business), INSA-Lyon, École Normale Supérieure (research in science, humanities), École Nationale De La Magistrature (Law), and ENA (State administration). 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 and Executives and many scientists and philosophers. SEE ALSO
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