ESSEC Business School

ESSEC Programs Overview

Accreditations

In 1997, ESSEC became the first business school outside of North America to be accredited by the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

In 2003, ESSEC also received accreditation for all its programs from EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System).

ESSEC is accredited by the French Ministry of Education.

Rankings

The "Top 70 Masters in Management Programs" annual ranking published by the Financial Times ranked ESSEC Business School’s Master in Management 3rd worldwide in its overall global ranking in 2016, 2015 and 2014. According to the same ranking, ESSEC is first in Europe as Career progress of its student. In France, ESSEC Business School was ranked 1st for recognition by companies and 2nd for academic excellence by L'Etudiant in 2012 and 2011.

Master of Science in Management

ESSEC's postgraduate programme is its Master of Science in Management, designed for students with no professional experience (instead of managers with 3–5 years of experience like US or UK MBA programs). It is the flagship program of the school, and is ranked 3rd Master of Science in Management in the world by the Financial Times in 2016.

Admission process

The ESSEC MSc in Management is designed for candidates who have completed French preparatory classes after high school diploma and passed a very competitive entrance examination known as the concours, or have a university degree (Bachelor or Master). Application is also open to non-French students: students with a university degree of 3 years or more received outside of France can also apply.

Students from classe préparatoire will basically spend 2 to 3 years after Baccalauréat only to prepare for the national entrance examination of Grandes Ecoles which includes a written part (lasting 3 weeks) as well as an oral part (1 to 4 days for each Grande Ecole). It is commonly considered as the most prestigious path after High School in France (only 5% of a generation will be admitted to a prépa) with Law and Medecine, and consists in intensive courses in Mathematics, History and Geography, Economy, Literature, Philosophy, and 2 foreign languages.

In 2015, among more than 20 000 students enrolled in classe préparatoire (business section), 5 614 applied to ESSEC concours (considered as one of the most difficult), only 890 were invited to oral examination and 380 were eventually admitted.

Curriculum

The diploma is only delivered upon completion of a given number of courses, months spent abroad and internships.

After one year learning fundamental courses (for students coming from classes préparatoires) and a completion of 8 core courses, students can choose and structure their own curriculum - ESSEC was the first French institution to offer an à la carte program - whether following courses at ESSEC or at a partner institution, going abroad or focusing on an associative project... etc., the teaching method being to help students understand and decide themselves what kind of career they truly want to pursue.

For example, students can choose to spend a semester abroad in one of ESSEC partner institutions : Berkeley University, University of Chicago, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Seoul National University, Keio University, National University of Singapore, IIM Ahmedabad, IE Business School, University of Mannheim, among many others. They can also do a dual degree program with more than 15 institutions in France and abroad, which will enable them to get both diploma.

Another example and specificity of ESSEC is that it offers its students the opportunity to do an apprenticeship within a company, which will cover 100% of the tuition fees. Around 30% of students will choose to do a 2-year apprenticeship within a company (2 x 6 months spent in the company and the other half at school, 4 x 3 months or on a weekly basis, depending on how they decided to structure their curriculum).

After ESSEC

In 2012, 60% of ESSEC MSc in Management graduates found a job before graduation and 95% within three months after graduation, with an average annual salary equal to $81,712. It has been ranked joint first in 2015 for salary among French business schools by Le Point. According to a survey published by Emolument in 2014, ESSEC graduates working as finance analyst in London earn on average more than graduates from Oxford University or Cambridge University (respectively €89,000 against €86,000 and €84,000).

ESSEC graduates were hired in the following companies, among others: Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Amazon.com, Google, etc.

In Choiseul's 2015 French top 100 executives under 40 ranking, 16 graduated from ESSEC, the highest number among all French Business schools.

ESSEC Global BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)

The undergraduate program was initially created in 1975 by ESSEC Group to prepare students to meet the needs of French firms launching operations on the international market. It was formerly known as EPSCI, "École des Practiciens du Commerce International", and is now referred to as "ESSEC Global BBA".

The Global BBA is designed for high-achieving candidates graduating from high school (in France "Baccalauréat"), and lasts for four years. The ESSEC BBA is ranked #1 post-secondary program in France, e.g. #1 in 2015 ranking of French news magazine Le Point for the 7th consecutive year, and was the first to obtain AACSB and Equis accreditations.

With a network of top-tier international partners, the ESSEC Global BBA offers its students wide international opportunities. At the end of the program, each student will have completed a minimum of 12 months of coursework abroad (each student will do 2 exchange programs abroad), a one-month humanitarian project and between 11 and 18 months of professional experience, which may also take place abroad.

ESSEC M.S. Advanced Masters

The Advanced master's degrees are accredited by the "Conférence des Grandes Ecoles" in France. These programs are short, intensive, professional, and specialized to allow students finishing their studies or young professionals to complete their initial training (usually scientific or engineering) by acquiring complementary expertise fully recognized in the market. To follow these programs, students must speak French fluently. Some of them are now entirely taught in English. One of ESSEC's advanced master's, the M.S. in Strategy and Management of International Business was ranked 5th in the Financial Times 2009 Masters in Management ranking in addition to being ranked 1st for seven consecutive years in France.

List of ESSEC M.S. Advanced Masters Programs:

Admission to ESSEC Advanced Masters programs

Students applying for the "ESSEC M.S. Advanced Masters" Programs can choose to take either Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the French equivalent Tage Mage in addition to specific language examinations such as TOEFL or IELTS for English and TEF for French.

Global MBA

The Global MBA at ESSEC Business School is a 12-month, full-time MBA program with an emphasis on emerging markets and experiential learning preparing post-experience students for an international career. It offers six Majors allowing students to specialize in the following area: Luxury Brand Management, Hospitality Management, Strategy and Management, Digital Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

PhD in Business Administration

The PhD trains future professors, researchers and consultants at the highest international level. The goal is to prepare students not only to master methodologies, but also to advance knowledge and play an active role in the international academic community. Before starting their dissertation work, students must follow a two-year program of courses and seminars that ends with Preliminary Examinations and a Dissertation Proposal. The curriculum starts with an intensive period of interdisciplinary training common to all students. This is followed by rigorous research training for the chosen field of specialization.

ESSEC Executive Education

More than 5000 managers participate in ESSEC Exec Ed programs every year, primarily at La Défense campus, located in the heart of Paris’ financial district, but also at ESSEC’s Singapore campus and at ESSEC’s partner institutions – located on all continents - throughout the world.

ESSEC & Mannheim Executive MBA

ESSEC and Mannheim Business School launched their common Executive MBA Program in 2004. Building on the excellent reputation as one of the first established Executive MBAs in Europe by ESSEC since 1994 several modules are proposed in Mannheim, Paris, Singapore and various other locations worldwide in renowned partner business schools.

EQUIS and AACSB accredited program.

Graduates have access to the alumni organisation of both schools.

ESSEC Executive MBA Asia-Pacific

Launched in Singapore in October 2014, the ESSEC Executive MBA Asia-Pacific is a modular programme designed to address the ever-changing demands on senior management operating in the Asia-Pacific region. With residencies in China and USA, the programme aims to provide participants exposure to an excellent global network of contacts and new insights from a strong faculty team to support them in developing their vision and strategy for Asia. "

Executive Master in Strategy & Management of International Business

Professionals working or wishing to work internationally in the following fields: commercial (business engineer, import/export manager, etc.), financial (financial engineer, business analyst, etc.), marketing (international product manager, marketing manager, research manager, etc.), consulting (risk-management consulting, international development consulting, etc.), management (office manager, foreign subsidiary manager, project manager, etc.).

Advanced Certificates et General Management Programs

Advanced Certificates:

General Management Program:

Executive workshops in Singapore: Addressing a wide range of topical and intriguing issues, the series is designed on a modular structure that allows the combination of separate workshops in a consistent path to fit specific needs of the individual. A certification may be obtained after the successful completion of three different modules.

ESSEC's campus in Singapore

In 2006, ESSEC set up a campus in Singapore. For Master students, this program lasts 3 to 6 months and focuses on Asian business issues in the areas of finance, marketing and business strategy. The campus is located on the 9th and 13th floors of the National Library.

In 2014, ESSEC built a new campus in Singapore located in One North, a strategic area regrouping universities (such as the National University of Singapore), incubators (such as Block 71) and high-tech companies. The construction phase began in February 2013 and ended in December 2014. This new campus enables the school to triple the student body and staff in Asia.

ESSEC's international partnerships

ESSEC has developed partnerships with top universities all over the world for exchange and double degree programs, including Berkeley University, University of Chicago, Dartmouth College, Brandeis University, Cornell University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Seoul National University, Keio University, National University of Singapore, IIM Ahmedabad, IE Business School, University of Mannheim, King's College London, Fundação Getúlio Vargas' EAESP, among many others.

Together with Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Keio Business School in Tokyo, the School of Management of Fudan University in Shanghai, the Fundação Getúlio Varga in Brazil and the Business School of the University of Mannheim in Germany, ESSEC forged an alliance of leading business schools from all parts of the world in 2010 called "Council on Business and Society". The Council on Business & Society convenes a biennial forum that combines the expertise of faculty members from each of the partner schools with that of representatives of business, government, and non-governmental organizations from around the world. The inaugural forum, held in Paris in November 2012, focused on Corporate Governance and Leadership. The 2014 forum was hosted by Keio Business School in Tokyo and focused on Health Care Delivery. The next edition will be hosted by Dartmouth in Boston and will focus on energy and environment.

International Aspects of The Community

30% of ESSEC professors come from outside France. The ESSEC community of 5,200 students includes about 1,200 foreign students, representing over 70 nationalities.

Several student clubs unite people from same countries to promote their culture at ESSEC. Such clubs include "ESSEC India", "ESSEC Liban" (Lebanon), "ESSEC Chine" (China), and many more.

Clubs such as "Melt" or "World Wide Welcome" promote interaction between people from different countries, by organizing welcome parties for incoming international students, and various social events along that line.

Student societies

There are more than 100 student clubs at ESSEC—sports-related, entrepreneurial, humanitarian, and cultural. They include:

Notable alumni

With a current network of more than 46,000 alumni, ESSEC is one of the most influential business institution in France. Among former students, many have reached top positions in the business world,-including in Fortune 500 companies-, and in politics.

The following list is non exhaustive