Higher Education Systems - France

Outsiders to the French system often miss its most distinctive characteristic and, when they discover it, find it baffling. That French exclusive is the coexistence between two components:

• Universities, as known in the rest of the world (and pioneered by France with the Sorbonne, the original University of Paris, from about 1150 on).
• Grandes Écoles (literally: great schools), some of them known more specifically as Écoles d’Ingénieurs (engineering schools).

The Grandes Écoles distinguish themselves from Universities through the following traits:

• They are ranked in the public mind according to a non-official but well-understood hierarchy.
• Those at the top of that hierarchy, particularly École Polytechnique and Écoles Normalse Supérieures (especially the Paris branch, but also those in Lyon, Saclay and Rennes) are extremely prestigious, and better considered than most universities. Polytechnique has been, since Napoleon used it to ensure that artillery would have competent engineers, the golden path to technocratic and administrative careers (complemented, for administration, by the École Nationale d’Administration). Normale Supérieure is the most prestigious path to research careers particularly in mathematics, physics and the humanities. Just behind them in the ranking and also very prestigious are CentraleSupélec, École des Mines, École des Ponts et Chaussées, Institut Mines Télécom and a few others.
• Part of the source of the prestige is the competitive nature of entrance to these schools. They only provide a set number of places every year, awarded on the basis of competitive examinations, some specific to a given school, some shared. In contrast, admission to universities (outside of specific subjects such as law and medicine) is not subject to a numerus clausus but dependent only on a high-school degree (baccalauréat).
• For most of these schools, preparation to the competitive examination takes place not in universities but in two-year special programs (classes préparatoires, preparatory curriculum) physically held in high-schools (lycées). These programs are extremely intensive, because of the specter of the competitions, in an atmosphere that is significantly different from universities, where students have considerable more autonomy.
• For those admitted after these two years (or three, since the second preparatory year may usually be repeated once in case of initial failure at the competitive exam), the program in the Grande École itself is generally three years. Those who fail to get the Grandes Écoles of their choice at their entrance exams can usually transfer to the third year of a University.
• The focus of the preparatory programs and the Grandes Écoles is on teaching and industry training rather than research. This observation applies less to those at the top hierarchy; Polytechnique, for example, has numerous research laboratories of excellent standing, and the four Écoles Normales Supérieures are at the forefront of French research. Outside of these exceptions, in the Grandes Écoles system at large the students get less exposed to research than they would in a Humboldt-style research university.
• Administratively, while universities are under the control of the ministry of education, some Grandes Écoles report to and get their financing from other departments. Polytechnique, for example, traditionally enjoys good funding though being formally a military school, managed by the department of defence.

The two systems, universities and Grandes Écoles, are not entirely disjoint, and efforts have taken place over recent years to establish bridges and build consortia. As an example of a bridge, paths exist for the best university students to transfer to a Grande École outside of the usual competition system; the other way around, many Grandes Écoles students take advanced degrees in universities, or pursue research there. The fundamental division remains, however, and the differences of prestige remain firmly anchored in the French mindset. (The French equivalent of the popular saying “This is not rocket science” is “This does not require a degree from Polytechnique”.)

While universities in general and Écoles Normales Supérieures have not encountered undue difficulties in moving to the Bologna system, the Grandes Écoles are having a harder time. The problem is in part the existence of the two-year preparatory system, which does not give students any degree (they are supposed to get into some Grande École, and those who fail can usually transfer to the third year of a University), and would be too short for a Bachelor’s anyway. Grande École degrees are usually positioned as equivalent to a Master’s degree.

Beside Universities and Grandes Écoles, the French system comprises short-term professional higher education programs offered by University institutes of technology (Institut Universitaire de Technologie, IUT) or Higher technical classes of high schools (Sections de Techniciens Supérieurs, STS). These programs generally cover 2 years after a high-school degree (baccalauréat) completion and lead to a university technology certificate (Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie, DUT) or advanced technical certificate (Brevet de technicien supérieur, BTS) respectively. Students successfully completed these programs may either enter the job market or continue their education which is preferred by most graduates [FR13]. For example, they can join a third year of a University Bachelor’s program (Licence or Licence professionnelle) in the similar field of study or be admitted to a first year of certain Engineering degree programs under special admission procedure. There is also an ongoing project to add a third year to the IUT programs in order to have them deliver a Bachelor's degree, hence putting them back in the Bologna process.

The data on French students and degrees shown in the menu "Statistics" takes into account the described above peculiarities of the French system of higher education, which are particularly relevant to education in Informatics.