The grandes écoles (French for great schools) of France are higher education establishments outside of the mainstream framework of the public universities. They are generally focused on a single more or less broad topic, have a moderate size, and often are quite selective on the selection of their students. They are often regarded as prestigious, and form the channel most French managing directors and executives come from.

Preparatory classes

Often, 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 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 Louis-le-Grand and Henri IV in Paris, are famous in their own name.

There are four main categories of prépas:

• mathematics and physics (plus computer science and engineering as minors) known as mathématiques supérieures (1^st year; familiarly called hypotaupe) and mathématiques spéciales (2^nd year; familiarly called taupe);
• biology, geology and mathematics (agro);
• humanities (hypokhâgne and khâgne);
• mathematics and economics known as prépa HEC or épice (2 years preparatory class for business schools).

There is some specific jargon in those classes. For instance, the students in mathématiques spéciales are called taupins (which could be roughly translated as the "moles") because they often wear glasses and never go out. Hence, the year of mathématiques spéciales is called the taupe, which could be translated in the context as the "mole hole". One integrates a school when one succeeds in passing the competitive exam to that school. If you integrate a school after two years of prépa, you are 3/2; if you repeat a year, you are 5/2. Indeed, the most prestigious engineering school 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) is 3/2, and the integral between 2 and 3 is 5/2. Public preparatory classes do not admit 7/2s, outside of exceptional cases (illness...).

Categories

Grandes écoles can be classified into several broad categories:

Écoles normales supérieures

They train researchers, professors and may also be a starting point for high administrative careers. There are four of them:

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

Their competitive entrance exams are about the most selective. They recruit mostly from taupes, biology prépas and khâgnes.

The normaliens, as the students of the several ENS are known, keep a 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 studies.

Engineering schools

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 engineering schools include :

• the École Polytechnique, nicknamed X, which trains engineers and prepares its students (the polytechniciens) for high-level graduate studies or high-level administrative careers;
• the École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris (ENSMP or the Mines de Paris);
• the École Centrale Paris (ECP or Centrale or Piston), whose graduates are centraliens;
• the École Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec or ESE);
• the École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (SUPAERO), the first air and space engineering school ever in the world;
• the École nationale supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA);
• the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (National School of Bridges and Roads, ENPC or the Ponts);
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers (ENSAM) whose graduates are Gardz'art;
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST or Télécom);
• the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne (ENST Bretagne);
• the Institut d'Informatique d'Entreprise (IIE)
• the Institut National des Télécommunications (INT);
• the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG);
• the École nationale supérieure des Mines de Nancy (ENSMN or the Mines de Nancy);
• the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique (ENSAE);
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique, et de Télécommunications (ENSEEIHT);
• the École Nationale Supérieure d'ingénieurs en Informatique Automatique Mécanique Énergétique Electronique (ENSIAME);
• the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA);
• the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Physique de Strasbourg (ENSPS);
• the Université de Technologie (UTC - UTBM - UTT);
• the Ecole d'Ingénieurs des Technologies de l'Information et du Management (EFREI).

To confuse things even more, schools with similar curricula as the Parisian ones have been established; thus there is, for instance, an École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne in Brittany. They are generally less prestigious than their elder sisters. Other schools include:

• the École Centrale de Lille (ECLi);
• the École Centrale de Lyon (ECL);
• the École Centrale de Nantes (ECN).

The École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (civilian air academy) also recruits taupins.

Biological and agricultural engineering

• Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (INA-PG);
• École Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires (ENSAIA).

Business schools (Écoles de commerce)

French business schools are privately run, often by the regional chambers of commerce. Among the most prestigious are:

• the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC);
• the École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC);
• the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP);
• the École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen (ESC Rouen);
• the Grenoble École de Management (Grenoble-EM);
• the ICN Graduate Business School (ICN GBS).

Military officer academies

While École Polytechnique is run by the Minister of Defense and its French students reserve officers in training, it is no longer a military academy and few of its students embrace a military career afterwards.

• 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 foremost military academy;
• the École Navale is the Naval Academy;
• the École de l'Air is the Air Force Academy.

Political and Administrative schools

These schools train students for certain civil service and other public-sector positions. However, many students who undertake studies in these schools do end up working in the private sector. It should be noted that some of the above engineering schools have special curricula for civil service training.

• École nationale d'administration (ENA), whose alumni are known as énarques and generally take up high-level positions in government;
• Institut d'études politiques de Paris (more widely known as Sciences Po), offering a broad and rigorous education for students destined to careers in many fields, but most prominently international public affairs (international relations, economics, political philosophy, sociology, and many others). Most students who enter the École nationale d'administration first completed up to 5 years of education at Sciences Po, whose students and alumni are referred to as sciences-potistes.
• Institut d'études politiques de Rennes is Brittany's only Sciences Po.

See also:

• Education in France
• List of universities in France

External links

• Graduate Schools