A grande école ( French: [ɡʁɑ̃d ekɔl] ; lit. ' great school ' ) is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other previous French colonies such as Morocco and Tunisia . Grandes écoles are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream French public university system , and take the shape of institutes dedicated to teaching, research and professional training in either pure natural and social sciences , or applied sciences such as engineering , architecture , business administration , or public policy and administration .
51-628: The École des Mines de Nantes , or École nationale supérieure des mines de Nantes (Mines Nantes) was a French engineering school ( grande école ), part of the Institut Mines-Télécom . The school was based in Nantes , in the west of France . On 1 January 2017, it merged with Télécom Bretagne to form the IMT Atlantique . The school offers 10 majors: The EMN has also signed agreements with Audencia Business School to offer
102-555: A " Programme Grande École " or "PGE" (generally translated into English as " Master in Management ", or "Grande École program"), which delivers a state-accredited diploma that is considerably more prestigious than a French master's degree in management delivered by university schools of management (IAE) or management faculties in the mainstream French university system. In France, only public Grandes écoles and universities can award licences, masters and doctorates. For example,
153-871: A beginning for executive careers in public administration or business. Many French Nobel Prize and Fields Medal laureates were educated at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Lyon or Paris-Saclay. There are four ENS: 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. Normaliens from France and other European Union countries are considered civil servants in training (unless they were recruited by parallel admission), and as such are paid
204-502: A biennial event in 2011. The town is also home to the world headquarters of UNIMA as well as the International Puppetry Institute (French: Institut International de la Marionnette), which is housed in a historic building featuring a giant automaton of a puppeteer who performs a puppet show every hour on the hour. The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette (ESNAM), a college which offers
255-708: A case-based approach to sciences that places students in front of industry-inspired puzzles and develops students' analytic skills and intellectual curiosity. The EMN is also a partner of "La main à la pâte" ("Hands in the dough"), an innovative initiative to teach sciences in primary courses supported by Georges Charpak , who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1992. EMN offers four Master of Science programs fully taught in English: 47°16′56″N 1°31′15″W / 47.28222°N 1.52083°W / 47.28222; -1.52083 Grande %C3%A9cole Similar to
306-416: A contractual form. Visiting professors are teaching staff which hold a chair along another activity, e.g. a consultant or entrepreneur giving lectures once or twice a week. Guest professors are international professors who take part in special lectures, classes or programme. Grandes écoles can be classified into following broad categories: These schools train researchers and professors and may be
357-526: 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 magazine L'Étudiant noir , are in 2023 the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSA Toulouse) and École des Mines de Douai (IMT Nord Europe). However,
408-554: A higher education in puppetry, is also situated in Charleville-Mézières. The poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891) was born in Charleville. The Rimbaud museum [ fr ] is located in the old water mill ( Le Vieux Moulin ) to the north of the town. Charleville served as the starting location for two seasons of the travel competition show Jet Lag: The Game . The local network of public buses within
459-476: A joint degree in management of information technologies. The school depend on the French minister of industry . Although it offers a fairly typical education for an engineering school, the EMN strives to give its graduate a practical, pragmatic approach to the technical and business skills it teaches. Manifestations of this philosophy include programs such as the "Apprentissage par l'action" ("Learning through action"),
510-712: A large public library, and a museum of natural history. The inhabitants of Mézières were known as Macerians ( Macériens or Macériennes ). By the mid-19th century, the two towns were linked by a suspension bridge . It was occupied by the German Empire in the First World War and by Nazi Germany in World War II - the town served as the center of the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL) for 26 days during World War I. The present commune
561-441: A monthly salary in exchange for agreeing to serve France for ten years, including those years spent as students. 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,
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#1732791233028612-424: A short growing season . In the table and graph below, data for 1962 and earlier refer to the old commune of Charleville, before the merger with Étion, Mézières, Mohon and Montcy-Saint-Pierre. Puppetry is an important part of the cultural life of Charleville-Mézières, which is called the "World Capital of Puppetry Arts". An international puppet festival has been held there every three years since 1961, and became
663-459: 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
714-456: 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 in universités only, or architecture in écoles only. The grande école (and "prépa") system also exists in former French colonies, Switzerland, and Italy (Napoleon, as king of Italy for ten years, established
765-598: 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: Charleville-M%C3%A9zi%C3%A8res Charleville-Mézières ( French pronunciation: [ʃaʁləvil mezjɛʁ] ) is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department , Grand Est . Charleville-Mézières
816-578: Is a non-profit organization. It uses a broad definition of grande 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. 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
867-553: Is also common, which results in strong cold snaps compared to the oceanic climates further west. This results in overnight temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F) happening during most winters as the cold air descends at night. Similar patterns replicate year round, causing Charleville-Mezières to have cooler summer nights than Nordic coastal areas near the Arctic Circle . The intermittent frosts in May and September also result in
918-583: Is located on the banks of the river Meuse . Charleville and Mézières were originally separate communities on opposite banks of the Meuse , about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) from one another. Charleville was founded by Charles Gonzaga , the 8th duke of Mantua , in 1606. Its inhabitants were known as Carolopolitans ( Carolopolitains or Carolopolitaines ). It was prosperous from the 17th century, although its fortifications were dismantled under Louis XIV in 1687 and it passed into French hands in 1708. It
969-513: 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,
1020-581: The Central School of Arts and Manufactures produced 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 of grandes écoles expanded, enriched by the Ecole des Eaux et Forêts at Nancy in 1826,
1071-470: The Ecole des Arts industriels at Lille in 1854, the Ecole centrale lyonnaise in 1857, and the National 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 of Ecoles d’Arts et métiers , of which
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#17327912330281122-607: The French Revolution , when the National Convention created the École normale supérieure , the mathematician Gaspard Monge and Lazare Carnot created the École centrale des travaux publics (later the École polytechnique ), and the abbot Henri Grégoire created the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers . The model was probably the military academy at Mézières , of which Monge
1173-625: The Grandes écoles award an " Diplôme d'Ingénieur ", similar to a Master of Engineering degree. This engineer's degree , required to use the engineer title in France, is strictly protected and can only be awarded by state-accredited Grandes écoles , via the Engineering Accreditation Commission (CTI). In France, the majority of business schools are private or semi-private. For their programs, business schools that are Grandes écoles (like HEC or ESCP ) offer
1224-951: The Ivy League in the United States, Oxbridge in the UK, and C9 League in China, Grandes écoles are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process. Grandes écoles primarily admit students based on their national ranking in written and oral exams called concours , which are organized annually by the French Ministry of Education . While anyone can register for concours , successful candidates have almost always completed two or three years of dedicated preparatory classes ( classes préparatoires ) prior to admission. As they are separate from universities, most of them do not deliver
1275-462: The Köppen-Geiger climate classification , Charleville-Mézières features a temperate oceanic climate ( Cfb ) with strong continental influences ( Dfb ). The climate is vastly affected by the low mountain Ardennes range nearby. The proximity results in moisture being trapped and excessive precipitation occurs as a result when compared to other parts of northern France. Temperature inversion
1326-582: The piston engine , one of the centrepieces of the Industrial Revolution ): 3. Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) network is the largest engineer training group in France, with 16,700+ students, administered by the French Ministry of National Education . It consists of grandes écoles distributed throughout mainland France: 4. National Polytechnic Institutes ( INP ) 5. Réseau Polytech schools of engineering ,
1377-462: The 17th century in France, such as the école 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 as Pierre-Simon Laplace , Charles Étienne Louis Camus , Étienne Bézout , Sylvestre-François Lacroix , Siméon Denis Poisson , Gaspard Monge (most of whom were later to form
1428-591: The European Bologna system . In 2007, the OECD remarked 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". However, some Grandes écoles have decided to adopt the standard, European Bologna system of diplomas recently in order to better integrate themselves in
1479-681: 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 the Polytechnique in 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
1530-683: 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. There is no standard definition or official list of grandes écoles. The term grande école is 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. The Conférence des grandes écoles (CGE) ( Grandes Écoles Conference)
1581-414: 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 a lump sum workload 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
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1632-462: 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. The French Grandes écoles mostly do not fit into the international, Anglo-American framework regarding their diplomas, nor in
1683-961: 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. 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, including Rouen Business School ( NEOMA Business School ) in 1871, Sciences Po Paris in 1872, École nationale supérieure des télécommunications in 1878, Hautes Études commerciales in 1881, École supérieure d'électricité in 1894, Ecole des hautes Etudes commerciales du Nord in 1906 , Ecole Supérieure des Sciences économiques et commerciales in 1907, and Supaero in 1909. Since then, France has had
1734-413: 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 of prépas : 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
1785-503: The international academic competition. In their 2008 book European 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'". For their engineering programs,
1836-567: The pedagogic continuous improvement of the School. Prominent professors: according to L'Etudiant , a prominent professor is permanent professor, holding a PhD from a French or foreign Higher Education Institution which is AACSB - or EQUIS -accredited and ranked amongst the Shanghai 2019 top 500 ranking . Adjunct Professors hold chair in another Higher Education Institution . Their teaching conditions are various, but not always stipulated in
1887-603: 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 the Bachelor'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
1938-494: 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
1989-453: 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. 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
2040-577: The schools of the following first four groups train the so-called 'generaliste' engineers: 1. ParisTech alliance (it is an alliance of the best French engineering schools in Paris. Some of these schools are now part of collegiate universities such as Paris-Saclay University, PSL University or the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. Also some of these schools teach only a specific area): 2. Centrale Graduate Schools of engineering ; its students are commonly known as pistons (a reference to
2091-518: 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. The prépa years 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
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2142-547: The semi-private ESCP Business School has signed a partnership agreement to award a PhD in management from Panthéon-Sorbonne University . The semi-private school HEC has done the same, along with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris (a public research university which consists of six public grandes écoles ). Full-time faculty researchers to assume their responsibility as teaching staff by giving lectures, accompanying students in their projects, participating in
2193-413: The seven schools composing the Institut 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 three Universités de Technologie . It is also possible to join these schools in third year after a preparatory class or university and then
2244-772: The teaching corps of École Polytechnique during the Napoleonic era). In 1802, Napoleon created the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr , which is also considered a grande 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 as École nationale supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne in 1816, École supérieure de Commerce de Paris (today ESCP Business School , founded in 1819), L'institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement (Agro ParisTech) in 1826, and École centrale des Arts et Manufactures ( École centrale Paris ) in 1829. Between 1832 and 1870,
2295-403: 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
2346-418: 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
2397-836: The undergraduate degree of the Licence (the bachelor's degree in France) but deliver master's grande école degrees such as the Engineer's Diploma and the Accredited Diploma (for example, delivered with a Programme Grande École in business schools). Admission to the grandes écoles is extremely selective. Grandes écoles are generally publicly funded and therefore have limited tuition costs. Some, especially business schools ( Écoles de commerce ), are organised privately and therefore have more costly tuition. The term grande école originated in 1794 after
2448-590: 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. Classes préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE), or prépas (preparatory classes for grandes écoles), are two-year classes, in either sciences, literature, or economics. These are
2499-778: 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 term grande école , which dates to 1794. Their forerunners were schools aimed at graduating civil servants, such as technical officers (École d'Arts et Métiers, renamed Arts 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 and graduate schools of artillery were established in
2550-464: Was established in 1966, the year after another commune, Le Theux , had been merged into Mézières. The entire resultant commune has a population of about 51,000. With an annual average of 10 °C (50 °F), Charleville-Mézières is generally the coolest city of France. Winters are long, cold and gloomy while summers are interchangeably warm or hot but sometimes, even in the middle of July, night temperatures can drop below 5 °C (41 °F). Under
2601-519: Was plundered by the Prussians in 1815. France's royal armaments factory was formerly located there and gave its name to the Charleville musket , before being relocated and divided between Tulle and Châtellerault . In the 19th century, the city continued to produce arms through private firms, as well as nails, hardware, wine, spirits, coal, iron, and slate. It boasted a spacious port, a theatre,
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