France's Grandes Ecoles d'Ingenieurs: Entry Routes for European Students

Three doors into the same schools

French engineering grandes écoles fill their classes through more than one route. If you are finishing secondary school, follow the classic prepa-then-exam path.

If you already hold a bachelor's degree or are partway through university abroad, parallel admission is built for you. Several schools also run dedicated international tracks outside both of these systems.

Route 1: classes préparatoires (CPGE)

Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE) are 2-year intensive programmes, usually taken at a French lycée after the baccalauréat, that prepare students for the competitive entrance exams. The scientific track (prépa scientifique) is the standard route into engineering schools. It is open to strong students from outside France , though you generally need a solid level of French and a secondary qualification comparable to the baccalauréat to apply.

After the 2 years, you sit national competitive exams such as the Concours Commun Mines-Ponts , which grants access to 10 top-level engineering schools based on your rank. Registration for these exams runs through the SCEI platform from mid-December to mid-January, with the exams themselves in the following spring.

Route 2: parallel admission (admissions parallèles)

If you are studying, or have already finished, a bachelor's degree at a university, parallel admission is the more direct route. It skips the prépa entirely. According to Concours Commun Mines-Ponts, parallel admission accounts for more than 20 percent of engineering school students, and its university-title track (GEI-UNIV) is open to students at L3 (final bachelor's year) and M1 (first master's year) level across a network of 15 schools.

Entry usually combines your academic transcript, a written test or interview, and sometimes a written exam depending on the school and network. Each engineering school or consortium runs its own version, so timelines and required documents differ. Start by checking the admissions page of the specific schools or networks you are targeting.

Route 3: direct international admission

Grandes écoles that recruit internationally, including École des Ponts , CentraleSupélec and École Polytechnique, run separate application processes for students who did not come through the French prépa system. These tracks review your existing bachelor's degree, transcripts, language proficiency and sometimes a specific entrance test, and several schools teach part or all of an engineering master's in English for exactly this audience. CampusFrance is the starting point for finding out which schools offer this, since requirements are set by each school individually , not centrally.

Language requirements

CPGE and most parallel admission tracks teach entirely in French, so you generally need a strong French level, often around B2, before you start. Direct international tracks are more flexible: some run fully in English, others mix French and English depending on the specialisation. Confirm the language of instruction and any required language test before you apply, since this varies far more between schools than the academic content does.

Which route fits you

Choose CPGE if you are finishing secondary school, want the widest choice of top schools, and are ready for two demanding years before the payoff. Choose parallel admission if you already hold or are close to finishing a bachelor's degree and want to join a French engineering school without restarting your studies from scratch.

Choose a direct international track if you want an English-taught programme or your qualifications do not map cleanly onto the French L3/M1 system. In every case, start with the specific school's admissions page, since exact tests, deadlines and language requirements vary between schools and even between years.