There are around 250 grandes écoles in France, offering degrees in business, engineering, political science and other specialized fields. The grandes écoles are members of the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles (CGE, website in French only).

The basic degree offered in the grandes écoles is equivalent to a Master’s degree, and generally takes five years to complete. It may be a Master of Science (MSc), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or a Mastère Spécialisé (Ms – which requires one additional year of study following the grande école degree).

The traditional path through grandes écoles requires completing a competitive entrance exam after two years of preparatory classes at a préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE), directly after secondary school. Accepted students would then complete three more years of increasingly specialized study. However many schools today offer alternative admission procedures, which allow international students to apply at different stages of their academic careers.

Depending upon whether they are public or private, the grandes écoles’ annual tuition fees range on average from €500 to €10,000.

The Campus France global site holds short profile descriptions of many of the major grandes écoles in France.