École Polytechnique (France)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

(, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''
grande école A (; ) is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other countries such as Morocco and Tunisia. are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream List of public universities in Franc ...
'' located in
Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Palaiseau was a royal doma ...
, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the
Polytechnic Institute of Paris The Polytechnic Institute of Paris () is a Public university, public technological university located in Palaiseau, France. It consists of six engineering ''grandes écoles'': , ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, École des ponts ParisTech, Télécom Paris ...
. The school was founded in 1794 by mathematician
Gaspard Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. Dur ...
during the French Revolution and was militarized under
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
in 1804. It is still supervised by the French Ministry of Armed Forces. Originally located in the
Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...
in central Paris, the institution moved to Palaiseau in 1976, in the Paris-Saclay technology cluster. French engineering students undergo initial military training and have the status of paid
officer cadets Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. The ...
. The school has also been awarding doctorates since 1985, masters since 2005 and bachelors since 2017. Most Polytechnique engineering graduates go on to become top executives in companies, senior civil servants, military officers, or researchers. Its alumni from the engineering graduate program include three
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winners, a
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
ist, three
presidents of France President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...
and many CEOs of French and international companies. The school has produced renowned mathematicians such as
Augustin-Louis Cauchy Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy ( , , ; ; 21 August 1789 – 23 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist. He was one of the first to rigorously state and prove the key theorems of calculus (thereby creating real a ...
,
Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis (; 21 May 1792 – 19 September 1843) was a French mathematician, mechanical engineer and scientist. He is best known for his work on the supplementary forces that are detected in a rotating frame of reference, le ...
,
Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré (, ; ; 29 April 185417 July 1912) was a French mathematician, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosophy of science, philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathemati ...
,
Laurent Schwartz Laurent-Moïse Schwartz (; 5 March 1915 – 4 July 2002) was a French mathematician. He pioneered the theory of Distribution (mathematics), distributions, which gives a well-defined meaning to objects such as the Dirac delta function. He was awar ...
and
Benoît Mandelbrot Benoit B. Mandelbrot (20 November 1924 – 14 October 2010) was a Polish-born French-American mathematician and polymath with broad interests in the practical sciences, especially regarding what he labeled as "the art of #Fractals and the ...
, physicists such as
Henri Becquerel Antoine Henri Becquerel ( ; ; 15 December 1852 – 25 August 1908) was a French nuclear physicist who shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Marie and Pierre Curie for his discovery of radioactivity. Biography Family and education Becq ...
,
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (; 1 June 1796 – 24 August 1832) was a French people, French military engineering, military engineer and physicist. A graduate of the École polytechnique, Carnot served as an officer in the Engineering Arm (''le ...
,
André-Marie Ampère André-Marie Ampère (, ; ; 20 January 177510 June 1836) was a French physicist and mathematician who was one of the founders of the science of classical electromagnetism, which he referred to as ''electrodynamics''. He is also the inventor of ...
and
Augustin-Jean Fresnel Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Isaac Newton, Newton's c ...
, and economists
Maurice Allais Maurice Félix Charles Allais (31 May 19119 October 2010) was a French physicist and economist, the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization ...
and
Jean Tirole Jean Tirole (born 9 August 1953) is a French economist who is currently a professor of economics at Toulouse 1 Capitole University. He focuses on industrial organization, game theory, banking and finance, and psychology. In particular, he focus ...
. French
Marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...
Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...
,
Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and French Academy of Sciences, Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander ...
,
Émile Fayolle Marie Émile Fayolle (14 May 1852 – 27 August 1928) was a French general during World War I and a diplomat, elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France. Early life Marie Émile Fayolle was born on 14 May 1852, in Puy-en-Velay, at ''9 ...
and Michel-Joseph Maunoury were also notable Polytechnique engineering graduates.


Name

Founded in 1794 as the (Central School of Public Works), the school initially provided teaching limited to technical knowledge. In 1795, the school was renamed the "" (Polytechnic School). The neologism , appearing for the first time in a document published by Claude Prieur at the beginning of 1795, means "many arts", referring to the plurality of applied arts, sciences, technology, engineering and other academic subjects taught at the school. Under the Restoration and the
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...
, the school was officially renamed the "École royale polytechnique". Under the First and the Second Empire, it was renamed the "École impériale polytechnique". The students, alumni, and graduates were called "Polytechnicians". The school was often simply called "Polytechnique". The school has been nicknamed "l'X" or the "X" since the middle of the 19th century. Two explanations have been put forward. One points to the two crossed cannons on the school's badge. The other attributes it to the preeminence of mathematics in the training of Polytechnicians. According to ''L'Argot de l'X'', published in 1894: "It is from the very importance given to the teaching of ''ana''
analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
], the whole language of which is made up of x and y, that the nickname X came, universally accepted to designate Polytechnicians. Not all of them are mathematicians, but all have sufficient knowledge of differential and integral calculus for public service applications. Let us further say that in troubled times, such as 1830 and 1848, this knowledge particularly helped them to avoid being confused with all the individuals who disguised themselves as Polytechnicians to give themselves the appearance of defenders of order. When they were encountered, they were asked the differential of sin x or log x, and if they did not answer, they were immediately locked up." However, in the 1994 edition, the origin of the nickname was again reported to be the crossing of the canons on the coat of arms. The nickname "X" also applies to Polytechnicians. Female Polytechnicians are sometimes nicknamed "Xettes" or "X7", which is pronounced . In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the school and its students and alumni were nicknamed "pipo". In the early 20th century, the school was also nicknamed "Carva".


History


Foundation and early years

After the Revolution of 1789, the royal engineering schools were closed. The First Republic faced a shortage of engineers and military officers. Jacques-Élie Lamblardie,
Gaspard Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. Dur ...
and
Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refor ...
, the founding fathers of the School, were charged with organizing a new "" (Central School of Public Works) which was officially created on 7
Vendémiaire Vendémiaire () was the first month in the French Republican calendar. The month was named after the Occitan word ''vendemiaire'' 'grape harvester'. Vendémiaire was the first month of the autumn quarter (''mois d'automne''). It started on the d ...
, Year III (September 28, 1794) and opened to students on 1 Nivôse, Year III (December 21, 1794)., The aim of the school was to train civil and military engineers. The school quickly welcomed 400 students of different levels. During the first three months, "revolutionary courses" were given in
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
, after which they took exams to see if they could enter the civil service directly, or if they should continue their studies. The school was renamed the "" a year later. The change of name reflects the change of vocation of the school, which now prepares students for other specialized schools such as the
École des mines École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
and the
École des ponts et chaussées École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
. The curriculum lasted 3 years, the "regular courses" replaced the "revolutionary courses" and there were only 120 new students each year. The school was placed under the supervision of the Ministries of War and the Interior., A ''Journal Polytechnique'' (former name of "''Journal de l'École polytechnique"'' ) was created in 1795. In 1799, the course was reduced from three to two years. In 1805, Emperor
Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...
I transferred the school to
Montagne Sainte-Geneviève The Montagne Sainte-Geneviève () is a hill overlooking the left bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was known to the ancient Romans as .Hilaire Belloc, ''Paris (Methuen & Company, 1900)'' Retrieved June 14, 2016 Ato ...
in the of central Paris to become a military academy and gave it its motto: (For the Nation, Science, and Glory). In 1804, after the militarization of the school, its atmosphere changed significantly from a rather free spirit to a meticulous bureaucracy. Militarization was motivated by Napoleon's favorable opinion of Polytechnicians who had contributed to the Egyptian expedition and by his admiration for
Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Pelusium, Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geom ...
and
Laplace Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French polymath, a scholar whose work has been instrumental in the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and philosophy. He summariz ...
. Militarization was accompanied by a specialization of teaching towards mathematics. In 1814, students participated in the fighting to defend Paris against the
Sixth Coalition Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, ...
. After the restoration of 1816, the number of students was reduced to about seventy-five and the 'military arts' course was abolished. In 1817, King Louis XVIII demilitarized the and placed it under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior. In 1830, fifty students participated in the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
. Various decrees were issued until 1832. Above all, the school came under the administration of the Ministry of War, thus regaining its military status. The republican ideal prevailed at the school, as shown by the active participation of students in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848.


The French Second Empire

Because of the tension between revolutionary ideas and the service of the state, the republican ideal gradually disappeared after 1851. Polytechnicians even found themselves on the side of the Versaillese when the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
was crushed in 1871. During the years 1871–1872, the number of students admitted per year doubled from 140 to 280. The Polytechnicians sought above all to strengthen their position in the spheres of power to compensate for their loss of influence in the technical field. While they could have turned to an engineering profession associated with industry, the Polytechnicians instead reinforced their sovereign vocation by joining the "state nobility" of the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
, whose origins, interests and convictions they gradually shared. The years 1860–1870 marked an important evolution since the school became more of a "conservatory of sciences" than a center of research and innovation, while extending its hold on the management of the industrial apparatus.


The World Wars

During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the students were mobilized and the school building was transformed into a hospital. No national entrance exam was held in 1915. More than eight hundred students died during the war. In 1921, students of foreign nationalities were allowed to take the entrance exam for the first time. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the was transferred to Lyon in the free zone, lost its military status, and its Parisian buildings were given to the Red Cross. More than four hundred students died during the war (
Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
,
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
, Nazi camps).


From post-war to today

In 1944, the School was again placed under the administration of the Ministry of War. In 1970, the School became a state-sponsored civilian institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence. The first female students were admitted in 1972. One woman, Anne Chopinet, was class
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
. In 1976, the School moved from the center of Paris to
Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Palaiseau was a royal doma ...
, in the southern suburbs. In 1985, it began awarding doctoral degrees. In 1994, the bicentennial celebration was presided over by President
François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
. In 1995, a new entrance exam was set up for international students and in 2000, the ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' program was extended from 3 to 4 years.


Locations


Early locations

In 1794, was first housed in the
Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Rive Gauche of the Seine across from the Place de la Concorde. The offi ...
. A year later, it moved to the Hôtel de Lassay, a in the
7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is known for being, along with the 16th arrondissement and the ''commune'' of Neuilly-sur-Sein ...
.


Montagne Saint-Geneviève (1805–1976)

In 1805, when he placed the School under military administration, Napoleon transferred it to the , in the former premises of the colleges of Navarre, Tournai and Boncourt, now the
Ministry of Higher Education and Research The Minister of Higher Education and Research (formerly Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation or ) is a French government ministers, cabinet position in the Cabinet of France, French Government overseeing university-level educatio ...
. The Paris campus was located near the
Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...
, at 5 rue Descartes, and was nicknamed "Carva" by the students.


Palaiseau (from 1976)

Located in the suburbs of Paris, about from the city center, École polytechnique is a campus-based institution. It offers teaching facilities, student housing, dining and hospitality services, and a range of sports facilities dedicated to the 4,600 people who live on campus. The nearest regional train station is
Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...
( line B, zone 4 of the RER network). Several buses also connect École polytechnique to the Massy-Palaiseau RER station and Massy TGV station. The campus is close to other scientific institutions in Saclay (
Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA ( French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and sec ...
), Orsay (
Université Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...
) and Bures ( Institut des hautes études scientifiques and some laboratories of the
Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
).


Organization and administration


Specific status

École polytechnique is an institution of higher education under the supervision of the French Ministry of Defence, through the General Directorate for Armament (administratively speaking, it is a national public establishment of an administrative character). It has a dual status, being an engineering school that trains civilian engineers and scientists, but also officers for the three French armies. The aim is to provide the French state with a scientific and technical elite. The number of graduates becoming civil servants and officers has weakened since 1950: today, only 10 to 20% of the school's students join the ranks of the administration or the army, while 20% go into research and the rest into engineering or management. The school is headed by a general officer (since 2012, by a Senior General Engineer of Armament, whereas previous directors had all been generals of the
French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...
), and employs military personnel in leadership, administrative, and sports training positions. French undergraduate Polytechnicians, both male and female, are
cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...
s and have to go through a period of military training before beginning their studies. However, the military dimension of the school faded over time, with a reduced period of preliminary military training, and fewer students choosing a career as an officer. Since the abolition of the 'internal uniform' in the mid-1980s, students no longer wear uniforms on campus. On special occasions, such as the military parade on the
Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...
on
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...
, conferences, ceremonies, and other events on campus, Polytechnicians wear the 19th-century-style '' Grand Uniforme'', including a
bicorne The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
.


Activities and teaching staff

École polytechnique has a general engineering curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as a doctoral school. In addition to the faculty coming from its local laboratories, it employs many researchers and professors from other institutions, including laboratories such as
CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
, CEA, and
INRIA The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name French Institute for Research in Comp ...
, as well as from the
École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...
and nearby institutions such as the Institut d'Optique, and the
Université Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...
, thus creating a varied and high-level teaching environment. Contrary to French public universities, the teachers at École polytechnique are not civil servants () but contract employees. In addition to full-time professors who conduct research and have full teaching duties, there are part-time professors who have only a partial teaching load. Part-time teachers are often recruited from research organizations (CNRS, CEA, INRIA, etc.) that carry out their activities on the school's campus, in the Paris region, or sometimes even in the provinces.


Academic programs


The ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' program

The ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' ("Polytechnician Engineer") program awards the prestigious ''
diplôme d'ingénieur The ''Diplôme d'Ingénieur'' (, often abbreviated as ''Dipl.Ing.'') is a postgraduate degree in engineering ''(see Engineer's Degrees in Europe)'' usually awarded by the '' Grandes Écoles'' in engineering. It is generally obtained after five to ...
'' degree, and is selective upon entry. The subjects covered often go beyond the student's specialty, and the course is focused on generalized education allowing cross-fertilization between different fields. In addition to 2,000 ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' students (500 students per year), the institution has approximately 439 master's students and 572 doctoral students, for a total of 2,900 enrolled.


Admission

There are two ways to enter the ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' program. The first way is through a very selective competitive examination that requires at least two years of intensive preparation after high school in '' classes préparatoires''. The second way is to do undergraduate studies at another university. There is a week of written exams in the spring, followed by oral exams in the summer. About 400 French students are admitted to the school each year. Foreign students who have completed a ''classe préparatoire'' can also enter through the same competitive examination. In total, there are about 100 foreign students admitted to this cycle each year. Foreign students from European or American universities can also be admitted as part of an exchange program for a semester or a year.


Curriculum

Four years of study are required for the engineering degree: one year of
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...
(for French nationals only) and a scientific "common curriculum" (eight months and four months, respectively), one year of multidisciplinary studies, and one year of specialized studies ("majors"). Since the reform of the curriculum in 2000, students complete a fourth year of study in a partner institution. ;First year The curriculum begins with eight months of mandatory military service for students of French nationality. In the past, this service lasted 12 months and was compulsory for all French students; the abolition of
draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
in France made this requirement of Polytechnique somewhat anachronistic, and the service was reformulated as a period of "human and military training." All French students spend a month together at La Courtine in a military training center. By the end of this month, they are assigned either to a civilian service or to the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
or
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
. Students who are assigned to military service undergo two months of military training at French officer schools such as Saint-Cyr or
École Navale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
. Finally, they are assigned to a wide range of units for a five-month tour of duty in a French military unit (which may include, but is not limited to, infantry and artillery regiments, warships, and air bases).  p. 74 While French students remain under military status during their studies at Polytechnique, and participate in various ceremonies and other military events, such as national ceremonies like Bastille Day or the anniversaries of the
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
s of the
World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...
s, they do not undergo actual military training after completing their first-year service. They receive at the end of the first year the
full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...
, which comprises black trousers with a red stripe (a skirt for females), a coat with
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
buttons and a belt, a
small sword __NoTOC__ The small sword or smallsword (also court sword, Gaelic: or claybeg, French: , lit. “Sword of the court”) is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier (''espada ropera'') o ...
and a
cocked hat The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
(officially called a ''
bicorne The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
''). French-speaking foreign students perform civil service. Civil service can, for example, consist of being an assistant in a high school in a disadvantaged French suburb. Then begins a four-month period during which all students take the same five courses: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science and Economics. ;Second year The second year is a year of multidisciplinary studies. The set of disciplines covers most of the scientific fields (mathematics, applied mathematics, mechanics, computer science, biology, physics, chemistry, economics) and some areas of the humanities (foreign languages, general humanities...). Students must choose twelve courses in at least five different disciplines. ;Third year In the third year, students must choose a specialization (''programme d'approfondissement''), which often focuses on a discipline or sometimes an interdisciplinary subject. This year ends with a research internship (four to six months). Students also earn a Master's degree in engineering, science and technology in their third year. ;Fourth year The fourth year is the beginning of more specialized studies: students who do not enter a State Corps must enter either a Master's degree or a doctorate, a partner college or institute such as the
École des mines de Paris École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
or ENSAE, or a specialization institute such as Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (SUPAERO) in Toulouse or ENSPM in Rueil-Malmaison. The reason for this is that the generic education provided at Polytechnique is more focused on developing thinking skills than on preparing students for the transition to a real engineering career, which requires more advanced technical training.


Class rank and career path

The grades of the second year of the curriculum are used to rank the students. Traditionally, this individual exit ranking was very important for the French students of the École polytechnique, and certain peculiarities in the organization of studies and ranking can be attributed to the need for equity among students. For French nationals, this ranking is part of a government recruitment program: a certain number of places in civil or military Corps, including elite civil servant such as the
Corps des Mines The () is the foremost technical Grand Corps of the French State (). It is composed of the state industrial engineers. The Corps is attached to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its purpose is to entice French students in mathematic ...
or
Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests The ''Corps des Ingénieurs des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts'' (, in English "Corps of the Engineers of Bridges, Waters and Forests") is a technical Grand Corps of the French State ( grand corps de l'État). Its members, called ''ingénieurs des ...
, are open to students each year. These specific corps of civil servants, which provide the senior executives of the public administration, are open only to students of the École polytechnique and to rare students of the Ecole Normale Supérieure. At some point in their studies, students make a list of the corps they wish to enter in order of preference, and they are enrolled in the highest corps according to their ranking. The next step for French Polytechnicians is to join one of the four technical schools of the civil service:
École des mines École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
,
École des ponts et chaussées École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
, Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (SUPAERO), Télécom ParisTech,
ENSTA Paris The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées (; ), is a French graduate school of engineering (''école d'ingénieurs''). Founded in 1741, it is the oldest ''grande école'' in France. It is located in Palaisea ...
or ENSAE, thus joining one of the civil service bodies known as '' grands corps techniques de l'État''. Those who follow this path are called as X-Mines, X-Ponts, X-SUPAERO, X-Télécoms and X-INSEE respectively. Since the X2000 reform, the importance of rank has diminished. With the exception of the corps curriculum, the universities and schools where Polytechnicians complete their training now base their acceptance decisions on the transcripts of all grades. Of the 47% of graduates who decide to pursue a professional career in the private sector, the majority (58%) are based in the Greater Paris area, 8% in the rest of France, while 34% are based outside France. Only 12% of the cohort work under a non-French employment contract. École polytechnique students earn an average of €44,000 per year after graduation.


Tuition and financial obligations

French students admitted to the École polytechnique do not pay tuition fees and receive a salary as officer cadets. Through the student board, they redistribute part of this sum to foreign students. There is no particular financial obligation for students who complete the program and then enter an application school or graduate program accredited by the École polytechnique.


Bachelor program

The Bachelor is a three-year program fully taught in English which opened in 2017. Either French nationals or international students are eligible. Applications are opened to final year high school students. Selection is made through an online application file and an oral interview. During the first year of the programme, students follow a pluridisciplinary curriculum based on mathematics.


Master's program

École polytechnique offers various master's programs, alone or in association with other schools and universities, on a wide variety of subjects that are more specialized than the ''Ingénieur polytechnicien'' program. The school offers programs in AI, computer vision, economics, finance, environmental science, energy, and data science. Some degrees in entrepreneurship are delivered in partnership with
HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...
.


Doctoral program

The school also has a doctoral program open to students with a master's degree or equivalent. Doctoral students generally work in the school's laboratories; they may also work in external institutes or institutions that cannot or will not award a doctorate. About 40% of doctoral students come from abroad.


Research centres

École polytechnique has many research laboratories operating in various scientific fields (
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
, mathematics,
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, economics,
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
, etc.), most operated in association with national scientific institutions such as
CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
, CEA,
Inserm The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...
, and
Inria The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name French Institute for Research in Comp ...
.


Student life

Students are represented by a board of 16 students known as "la Kès", elected each November. La Kès manages the relationships with teachers, management, alumni and partners. It publishes a weekly students paper, ''InfoKès''.


Sports

Sports are an important part of student life, as all students are required to play 6 hours of sports per week. There are competitive and club sports ranging from skydiving and judo to circus and hiking. There are two swimming pools, dojo and fencing rooms, and an equestrian center on campus. The "Jumping de l'X" is an international show jumping competition organized by the school.


Notable people

Many École polytechnique graduates hold important positions in government, industry and research in France. Its alumni include three Nobel prizes winners, three presidents of the French Republic, and several business and industry leaders. Researchers at the
French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...
have found that most business executives in France are traditionally alumni of École polytechnique.


Rankings


General rankings

In international rankings, École polytechnique is ranked as part of the
Polytechnic Institute of Paris The Polytechnic Institute of Paris () is a Public university, public technological university located in Palaiseau, France. It consists of six engineering ''grandes écoles'': , ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, École des ponts ParisTech, Télécom Paris ...
.


Research performance

In 2020, the
Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities The Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (NTU Rankings) is a ranking of world universities compiled by National Taiwan University annually since 2012. This publication ranks world universities by a certain criteria of s ...
ranked the university at 475th globally with its "Engineering Subjects" placed at 451–500th in the world. In 2020, it is ranked 509th in the world by the
University Ranking by Academic Performance The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) is a university ranking developed by the Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. Since 2010, it has been publishing annual national and global college and university ranking ...
.


Other rankings

In the 2015 Times Higher Education Small Universities Rankings, École polytechnique ranks third, after
Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...
and
École normale supérieure (Paris) The – PSL (; also known as ENS, , Ulm or ENS Paris) is a ''grande école'' in Paris, France. It is one of the constituent members of Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL). Due to its selectivity, historical role, and influence within F ...
. The Mines ParisTech : Professional Ranking World Universities, which looks at the education of the Fortune 500 CEOs, ranks École polytechnique seventh in the world in its 2011 ranking (1st being Harvard University), second among French institutions behind
HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...
.


Criticisms

The French , including the École polytechnique, are criticized for their "elitism" and lack of diversity. INSEE has found that the children of executives and teachers are more likely to enter the ''écoles'' than children from lower-income families. A more recent report found that children of employers are 50 times more likely to enter the Ecole polytechnique than the children of workers.


Gallery

Image:Polytechnique logo.png, The arms of the École polytechnique Image:Ecole Polytechnique France seen from lake DSC03389.JPG, The main hall seen from the lake File:0119-14juillet preview ecran.jpg, Polytechnique cadets at the
Bastille Day Military Parade The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of , is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of Bastille Day, 14 July, each year in Paris since 1880, almost with ...
File:Bicorne hat Ecole Polytechnique.jpg, The Polytechnique
bicorne The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
hat


See also

*
Traditions of the École Polytechnique The traditions of the École polytechnique, École Polytechnique mostly originated during the militarization of the school by Napoleon, Napoleon I in 1804. They are constantly evolving, except for the loss of some traditions between 1968 and 1985 ...
*
Grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician * Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
*
Higher education in France Education in France is organized in a highly centralized manner, with many subdivisions. It is divided into the three stages of primary education (''enseignement primaire''), secondary education (''enseignement secondaire''), and higher educat ...
* LULI


References


Bibliography

* * *
"In France, the Heads No Longer Roll"
''The New York Times'', Sunday, 17 February 2008


External links


Official websiteOnline alumni community

Polytechnique OnlineÉcole Polytechnique Scholars Program – description of the École Polytechnique on Caltech websitePrésentation au drapeau Polytechnique
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecole Polytechnique 1794 establishments in France Educational institutions established in 1794 ParisTech Technical universities and colleges in France Universities in Île-de-France