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Grandes Ecoles
France’s Grandes Ecoles (Great Schools) are a special form of that country’s academic education system. They co-exist with the main State University framework of the French Higher Education System.
While state-run Universities may award country-specific Level II degrees state-recognised Grandes Ecoles are entitled to award Level I degrees.
Furthermore, Grandes Ecoles select their students using a competitive admissions programme of written and verbal tests. French public universities, on the other hand, are under a legal obligation to admit all candidates from its catchment area, who have achieved their Baccalaureate. Candidates quite often start preparing two years in advance for the national Grandes Ecoles examinations by attending special preparatory classes.
Grand Ecoles usually specialise in a single field, such as Business Management, Public Administration, or Engineering. Many Grand Ecoles offering Business Management degrees are highly placed in global rankings of Business Schools.
Grandes Ecoles have traditionally graduated many if not most of the French top-ranking public officials, politicians and leaders as well as many scientists, writers and philosophers and business managers and entrepreneurs. This substantiates the high quality standards of this branch of education. The consistent practical relevance of the academic courses means graduates are highly rated by employers.
