Classes Preparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles in Morocco Explained
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Mar 15, 2026 • Education Planning
Morocco's CPGE is a two-year track after the Bac that prepares students for the Concours National Commun (CNC), the exam that decides entry into the country's top engineering schools.
🎓 Main filieres: MPSI, PCSI and TSI for science and engineering, ECS/ECT for economics and commerce
CPGE runs two years, split into a first and second year within each filiere
MP, PSI and TSI second-year students sit the Concours National Commun (CNC) for engineering school entry
The CNC has a written stage for eligibility and an oral stage for final admission
Results and rankings are published each year on cpge.ac.ma
What CPGE Means
Classes Preparatoires aux Grandes Ecoles (CPGE) is Morocco's two-year intensive track for students who finish the baccalaureat with strong science or economics results and want to compete for the country's top engineering and business schools. Instead of starting a Licence at a university, you join a CPGE class hosted inside a public lycee, where you follow a demanding schedule built around mathematics, physics or economics, depending on your filiere .
CPGE does not award a degree by itself. It exists to prepare you for the Concours National Commun (CNC) and other national entrance exams that decide admission into Morocco's grandes ecoles d'ingenieurs and top business schools.
The Filieres Explained
| Filiere | Focus | Typical bac background |
|---|---|---|
| MPSI | Mathematics, Physics, Engineering Sciences | Sciences Mathematiques |
| PCSI | Physics, Chemistry, Engineering Sciences | Sciences Mathematiques or Physiques |
| TSI | Technology and Industrial Sciences | Sciences et Technologies (Electrique or Mecanique) |
| ECS / ECT | Economics and Commerce | ECS from Sciences Mathematiques or Economiques, ECT from Sciences Economiques et Gestion or Technique |
In the first year, you pick MPSI, PCSI or TSI on the science and engineering path, or ECS/ECT if you target business schools. Second year narrows further: MPSI splits into MP or PSI depending on results and preference, while PCSI, TSI, ECS and ECT generally continue under the same track name into their second year.
Life Inside a CPGE Class
CPGE weeks run heavier than a typical university course load, with long class days, weekly graded tests called "devoirs surveilles", and oral practice sessions called "colles" in some schools. Class sizes stay small, and teachers track each student's ranking closely, since that ranking feeds directly into how you place at the concours.
Boarding options (internat) exist at several public CPGE lycees, and many students who come from outside the host city rely on them to manage the workload without a long commute.
The Concours National Commun
Second-year students in the MP, PSI and TSI filieres sit the Concours National Commun (CNC), a centralized exam that ranks candidates for admission into Morocco's public engineering schools, including the ENSA network, EMI, ENSAM and INPT among others. Business-track ECS/ECT students sit separate concours aimed at schools like ENCG and ISCAE rather than the CNC.
The CNC runs in two stages. The written stage tests mathematics, physics and engineering sciences, and results decide who becomes admissible to the oral stage. The oral stage adds interviews and further technical tests, and your combined score across both stages sets your final national ranking.
You use that ranking to list your preferred engineering schools in order, and a national allocation process places each candidate into a school based on rank and available seats, similar to how a concours works for other Francophone African grandes ecoles.
After the CNC
If your ranking does not reach your top-choice school, you still get placed according to your preference order and the seats left once higher-ranked candidates make their choices. Some students who are unhappy with their placement repeat the second CPGE year to sit the concours again, though repeating comes with its own risk, since your existing ranking gives no guarantee of a better result the second time.
CPGE graduates who complete an engineering school afterward typically finish with an engineering degree (diplome d'ingenieur d'Etat) recognized across Morocco and, through CAMES and bilateral agreements, in parts of the wider Francophone African region.
Choosing the Right Filiere
Base your filiere choice on your strongest subjects in the final bac years, not on which track sounds more prestigious. MPSI suits students strong in pure mathematics and theoretical physics, PCSI fits students who lean toward chemistry and applied physics, and TSI is built for technical bac holders who already have a foundation in electrical or mechanical systems. ECS and ECT split along similar lines between a more mathematically intensive economics track and a more applied, management-oriented one.
Talk to your lycee's orientation counselor and check your target grandes ecoles' past admission thresholds by filiere before you commit, since some schools favor specific filieres over others for certain specializations.