Engineering at ESPCI Paris - PSL

ESPCI
Program type Initial Training
Degree Master's
Graduate program(s) Engineering (ISAI)
Domain(s) Engineering
Discipline(s) Chemistry, Entrepreneurship, Physics, Health - Medecine, Engineering Science, Life Sciences
Teaching language(s) French
Place Paris

PSL host school

Presentation
Admissions

Since 1882 ESPCI Paris - PSL has been educating 90 innovation engineers per year who are capable of inventing the future and solving the world鈥檚 great challenges of tomorrow.
The "dipl么me d鈥檌ng茅nieur鈥 engineering degree is unique to France and is synonymous with first-rate education. At the international level, students can build on this degree through a PhD. ESPCI Paris - PSL, one of France鈥檚 finest schools of engineering, offers a 4-year course of study blending theory and practice that equips student engineers to pursue a PhD in engineering, for competitive standing in the international market.
The engineering program at ESPCI - PSL is a comprehensive 4-year course of study that blends multidisciplinary scientific coursework, close interaction with research, and international exposure to industry.
The program boasts small class sizes and frequent contact with teaching faculty, who are regularly on campus conducting research. This encourages informal and enriching relationships between faculty and students.

This program is part of

Learning outcomes:

Nowhere else can students receive as comprehensive an education in science as at ESPCI Paris - PSL. Students discover the rigorous concepts of physics and biology alike, and learn the unique approaches adopted in the field of chemistry.
This multidisciplinary physics/chemistry/biology approach is further bolstered by even distribution between theory and practice. 50% of class time is spent conducting experiments. The daily experience at ESPCI is to confront each discipline through a real-life lens, and to learn by doing. Student engineers become familiar with the full set of experimental techniques, from spectrometry to chromatography, laser optics to microfluidics.
As a complement to its physics/chemistry/biology cross-disciplinary approach, ESPCI Paris also provides student engineers the opportunity to take an active role in their education:

  • through laboratory work
  • through sessions with a mentor, an innovation introduced by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, during which students work in groups of four to reflect on a topic presented by a professor. Topics for discussion must be inspired by research and reach beyond the scope of the corresponding classroom session.

Curriculum:

This is a three-year course of study, with an optional fourth year. During the first two years, all students take core courses providing fundamentals in physics, chemistry, and biology, plus courses in socio-economics and foreign languages. Fifty percent of class time is spent conducting practical exercises, to familiarize student engineers with a maximum of experimental techniques. Students begin to specialize in their third year of study, choosing from tracks dominated by chemistry, physical chemistry, physics, or biotechnology. Students begin the third year with a four- to six-month corporate internship. Following the internship, students dedicate four months to their chosen field of specialization, followed by a laboratory research project of at least eight weeks.  
Options for the fourth year are broad, with the option to continue one鈥檚 studies in France or abroad. Students can opt to pursue a dual degree (Agro ParisTech, MINES Paris - PSL, ISAE-SUPAERO, IOGS, HEC, ESSEC) or, as a majority of students do, pursue a Master鈥檚 in Research. Approximately 70% of ESPCI graduates continue on to a dissertation. Some students travel abroad to continue their PhD studies, at universities such as Imperial College, MIT, Harvard, or Cambridge.

This program is accredited by the CTI (Commission des Titres d'Ing茅nieur) which is the French body in charge of carrying out evaluation procedures that lead to the award of the engineering degree 鈥渢itre d鈥檌ng茅nieur dipl么m茅鈥.

Who should apply?

Two-thirds of ESPCI Paris students are admitted following competitive entrance exams taken after their second year of PC-track preparatory classes for Grandes 脡coles (common entrance exam with 脡cole Polytechnique) and following review of their written exam essays through the 脡coles Normales Sup茅rieures (ENS). A few spots are reserved for students recruited from the A PC BIO competitive entrance exam (BCPST track).
ESPCI Paris also practices degree-based admissions (2nd year CPES, MP or PSI CPGE, DUT, L2, L3). These are based on applications, oral exams, and interviews, and for some, on internal ranking of students from preparatory classes through the F茅d茅ration Gay-Lussac.

Several tracks are open to international students.

Laboratories: 

The engineering program intersects with 9 Joint Research Units: Physics and Materials Research; Soft Condensed Matter & Chemistry; Soft Condensed Matter Science & Engineering; Chemistry, Biology & Innovation; Brain Plasticity; Biology and Proteomics Mass Spectroscopy; Gulliver; Heterogeneous Media Physics & Mechanics; Institut Langevin; Waves and Images.

International mobility:

Through its network of academic and scientific partners, ESPCI Paris offers its students numerous opportunities for pursuing dual degrees and/or academic exchanges. Students can pursue a dual degree with Agro ParisTech, MINES Paris - PSL, ISAE-SUPAERO, IOGS, HEC or ESSEC. ESPCI Paris maintains partnerships with other schools as well, such as Polytechnique and IFP, and provides access to prestigious Master鈥檚 degrees in research. All student engineers complete at least one long-term stay abroad, and can study abroad through a dual degree program, academic exchange, or corporate internship.
One week in the third year of study is reserved for intensive training at a participating school of the ATHENS (Advanced Technology Higher Education Network/SOCRATES) network. 

1/ Admission en premi猫re ann茅e

- Classes Pr茅paratoires aux Grandes 脡coles, fili猫re PC : recrutement sur le avec l鈥櫭塩ole polytechnique et en banque d鈥櫭ヽrits avec les 脡coles normales sup茅rieures.
- Classes Pr茅paratoires aux Grandes 脡coles, fili猫re BCPST
- Classes Pr茅paratoires aux Grandes 脡coles, fili猫res MP et PSI
   Sur .
- Classes pr茅paratoires int茅gr茅es de la

Fili猫res universitaires
Une dizaine de places en :

  • aux niveaux L2, DUT et L3, pour les candidats issus des universit茅s fran莽aises ;
  • 脿 partir de la 2e ann茅e de licence pour les 茅tudiants inscrits dans des universit茅s 茅trang猫res. 

2/ Admission en deuxi猫me ann茅e

Quelques places en admission sur titre apr猫s 茅preuves orales au niveau M1 pour les candidats fran莽ais.
Gr芒ce 脿 ses , auxquels s鈥檃joute , l鈥橢SPCI Paris int猫gre en deuxi猫me ann茅e des 茅tudiants 茅trangers issus des fili猫res d鈥檈xcellence de leur pays d鈥檕rigine (脡tats-Unis, Chine, Japon, Br茅sil, Russie, etc.), au parcours acad茅mique exemplaire et ayant d茅montr茅 des aptitudes scientifiques larges.
 


Registration institution: ESPCI Paris - PSL
Diploma delivered: Engineering diploma

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