The ''Conférence des Grandes Écoles'' (CGE), French for "Conference of
Grandes Écoles", is a French national institution, created in 1973. It mainly acts as an association of ''Grandes Écoles'', providing representation, research and accreditation. A Grande école is a French institution of
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
that is separate from, but parallel and often connected to, the main framework of the
French public university system. Grandes écoles are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process, and a significant proportion of their graduates occupy the highest levels of French society. Similar to
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...
schools in the United States,
Russel Group in the UK, and
C9 League
The C9 League () is an alliance of nine universities in China, initiated by the Chinese Central Government to promote the development and reputation of higher education in China in 2009. Collectively, universities in the C9 League account for 3% ...
in China, graduation from a grande école is considered the prerequisite credential for any top government, administrative and corporate position in France.
[ Monique de Saint-Martin, « Les recherches sociologiques sur les grandes écoles : de la reproduction à la recherche de justice », Éducation et sociétés 1/2008 (), ]
lire en ligne
sur Cairn.info[Valérie Albouy et Thomas Wanecq]
Les inégalités sociales d’accès aux grandes écoles
(2003), INSEE
Not all Grandes écoles are members of the CGE. To be a member, Grandes écoles must be accredited for postgraduate education and apply