Established byJesuits in 1907, ESSEC was created as a response to the opening ofHEC Paris. It operated independently until 1981, when it came under the governance of theVersailles Chamber of Commerce, which later became part of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of ParisÎle-de-France in 2013. ESSEC is currently a member of the CY Alliance (formerlyUniversité Paris-Seine), a group of academic institutions in the Paris region.
ESSEC was founded in 1907 under the Economic Institute by Ferdinand Le Pelletier inParis. Its creation followed the movement of other private business schools established underCatholic guardianship in the early 20th century, such as HEC Nord (which later becameEDHEC) by the Catholic Institute of Lille, andESSCA by the Catholic Institute of Angers.[7]
ESSEC was founded within a broader movement of Catholic higher education institutions established in France in the early 20th century. This followed legislative changes affecting religious education, especially betweenJesuits and the secular andRepublican ideology of the state.[9] The stated aim of the new institution was to "train leaders for a commercial and economic career, which requires competent men, imbued with Christian and human values".[10] The school was located at the École Sainte Geneviève (created by Jesuits in 1854) in theLatin Quarter. The first class had seven students, and studies lasted two years; in 1909, an optional third year was introduced.[11]
The school struggled during theFirst World War. In 1914, it had only four first‑year students and two second‑year students, and was temporarily closed before reopening in 1915. The optional third year was removed, and the school did not regain financial stability until 1920 when more than 50 students enrolled in the first year. In 1923, the Students' Association was created with a solidarity fund for war widows and orphans. In 1926, the first alumni directory was published, and three years later, the first courses inbusiness ethics were introduced. By 1930, enrollment had increased to 150.[9]
During theGreat Depression in the 1930s, ESSEC reduced the price of tuition to attract students who preferredpublic service or law studies. As the school's finances worsened, it accepted high‑school graduates, uncertified examiners, and freelance auditors who took non‑certificated courses.
In 1932, the Student Office was created, and in 1937, the firstscholarships were awarded, marking the start of asocial assistance policy.[8]
In 1939, the dean, Camille Donjon, reformed the curriculum and introduced entry examinations. A preparatory class for the examinations was set up in 1941.[8]
During this period, ESSEC declined to join the unified system ofécoles de commerce established by the decree of 3 December 1947, which formalized state support for preparatory classes.[8] WhileHEC andESCP joined the unified system, ESSEC positioned itself as a challenger and retained its own preparatory classes. To keep pace with its competitors, ESSEC increased the duration of study from two to three years in 1947. This continued until 1951, when ESSEC stopped offering its own preparatory classes and opened its examinations to candidates from public preparatory classes. In 1950, a three‑month compulsory end‑of‑study internship was added.[8][9]
Junior ESSEC Conseil logoLes Mardis de l'ESSEC logo
In 1960, Gilbert Olivier succeeded Camille Donjon as dean of ESSEC. His arrival, alongside competitive pressures, affected the school's Christian identity. He began a reform process by surveying students about course content andpedagogy. The survey indicated that only a minority of students were satisfied, and teaching was described as "scholarly, serious, and lacking in openness".[8]
In response, gradual reforms were introduced. Technical subjects such as chemistry and physics were dropped, course content was adapted to private‑sector needs, and courses insociology andhuman resources were added, followed by marketing in 1965. Teaching methods were diversified with conferences and formats similar to those atHEC Paris andSciences Po, and ESSEC adopted practices commonly used in U.S. business schools. Recruitment was broadened with the introduction ofadmission sur titre in 1966, which also marked the opening of the school to women, although preparatory classes remained closed to them.[8]
Student associations also expanded in the early 1960s with the creation of "ESSEC Tuesdays" in 1961 and the Junior Enterprise in 1967. ESSEC Tuesdays is a student forum that periodically invites speakers from the arts, sports, politics, and economics, and hosts debates led by two students from the association.[8]
The entrance examination was revised in 1969, eliminating chemistry and physics tests and updating the oral examination to assess candidates' logical reasoning rather than general knowledge.Psychometric tests and personality interviews were also introduced. Olivier also sought to reform the preparatory program to look more like commercial education, but abandoned the effort due to opposition from HEC and other business schools.[9]
With these reforms in place, the number of students grew, straining the school's facilities. The school occupied three amphitheaters at the ICP. In 1965, a commission was set up to consider moving the school to a new location. Projects were planned inBagneux, Hauts-de-Seine orGentilly, which were ultimately abandoned. On 5 July 1967, a decision was taken by ESSEC to move to a new site in the town ofCergy-Pontoise, where the current campus is located. In 1971, administrative services were moved to Raspail Boulevard.[12]
During this time, ESSEC separated from the ICP. In 1968, the latter recognized the financial and administrative independence of the school. In 1969, the ESSEC group was founded, consisting of the school, CERESSEC, a research center, and ISSEC (an institute for executives). ICP retained one-third of the seats on the board of directors, and the appointment of the school director still had to be approved by the ICP rector.[12]
The move toCergy-Pontoise polarized the community. It was less well received by students due to the lack of public transportation to the area. Some teachers opposed the move, fearing a potential replacement of faculty members. The new school extended and included a large amphitheater with 300 seats, eight small 80-seat amphitheaters equipped withclosed circuit television, a computer center, a largelanguage laboratory, alibrary, a sports hall, a restaurant and 48 classrooms. Its reception areas (foyers, cafeterias, and a chapel) were to be available to the public in Cergy. Student housing was made available nearby.[13]
Before 1971, ESSEC relied mainly on executives working in companies as its teaching staff. However, the school started to set up its permanent faculty. Grants awarded byFNEGE to finance studies of young professors or executives in theUnited States who wished to return to teaching to fill the French "management gap" allowed ESSEC to build a pool of qualified teachers. In 1972, nine out of twenty professors were former ESSECs who had completed their training in the United States. The arrival of FNEGEFellows, who had returned from the United States, stimulated a curriculum reform. A core curriculum was set up in the first year based on fundamentals while anà la carte curriculum was introduced from the second year and is still in effect today. The minimuminternship length was raised to 12 months. Application numbers grew from 700 candidates in 1960 to 2,800 in 1973.
The decision to move toCergy without the support of public funds resulted in heavy debt to theCaisse d'Epargne, ANFESP (the National Association for the Financing of Private School Equipment), and the Council General ofVal d'Oise. This resulted in an obligation to repay up to 4-5 millionfrancs yearly. This payment represented 11.7% of the ESSEC budget in 1975 (compared to 5% for INSEAD). The operating budget expanded from six million francs in 1972 to twenty-eight million in 1979. At one point, tuition fees increased until they doubled those of HEC. In 1979, thefinancial crisis erupted, exacerbated by an environment of high interest rates and an economic slowdown related to the oil shock, and the school hit a deficit of 10.4 millionfrancs that year. Funding was provided through the apprenticeship tax, the introduction of continuing education, and parent contributions. Other solutions considered included ESSEC's nationalization or joining a larger university.[14]
Dean Gilbert Olivier strongly opposed these options, seeing them as a failure of the initial project of the school to emancipate itself from the higher education system. Financial conditions ultimately improved, permitting the school to operate without taking such actions. The rescue was aided by theVersailles Chamber of Commerce, which injected 10 million francs to cover the deficit of ESSEC, bought 51% of ESSEC's ownership for 12 millionfrancs and committed to pay an annual subsidy of 6 million francs from 1982 to 1989. In exchange, ESSEC retained its legal autonomy (and did not become a part of theParis Chamber of Commerce likeHEC Paris andESCP), but had a governance system with a management board and supervisory board. This intrusion of supervision and the absence of representation of the students and professors in the general assembly triggered strikes and the launching of petitions against the plan. The agreement was finally signed on 6 April 1981. The fear of control of the school and its pedagogy ultimately proved unfounded.[8]
In 1999, the school decided to rename theGrande Ecole program as anMBA, anAnglo-Saxon standard reserved for executives with many years of experience. ESSEC intended to highlight its accreditation from theAACSB (American Accreditation Body) and the mandatory 18 months of internships for its students. The move was followed by other business schools, such asICN Nancy andESC Grenoble. ESSEC then reviewed its international agreements to bring the program to the MBA or Master's level.[15]
The renaming of the Grande École program generated debate within French business education circles and among peer institutions. Following this period, ESSEC clarified its degree structure, ultimately designating the program as a Master in Management (MiM), in line with international standards.,EM Lyon andUniversité Paris-Dauphine, so much so that Ali Laïdi in his book" Secrets of the Economic War" (2004) said that HEC Paris would have mounted a destabilization operation toward ESSEC by attacking its MBA position. The case led to the opening of an investigation and resolution by the Paris Chamber of Commerce.[16]
In 2005, ESSEC expanded its campus with the inauguration of theNautile building and further, in 2007, with the multipurpose room,the Dome, which has a capacity of 2,700 people, andthe Galion. The buildings were designed by Marc Seifert, son of Ivan Seifert who designed the original campus in 1973. In 2008, the library was expanded. Renovation of the restaurant area followed the following year.[17][18]
In March 2006, ESSEC Business School inaugurated its new campus in Singapore within theNational Library, the ESSEC Asian Center.[19]
In 2010, ESSEC presented its plan for 2010–2015. The program portfolio was repositioned: theEPSCI (post-baccalaureate program) became the bachelor of ESSEC, and the name of MBA was abandoned and replaced with MSc in Management. The group's communication was unified under the nameESSEC Business School. A fundraising strategy of 150 million euros was announced. The school also aimed to be one of the 20 best Business Schools in the world, to join the 10 best schools in Asia and to make it into the top 5 in Europe. The decision to exclude the MBA name from its Grand Ecole program was a strategy pushback for the school. As a result, this program disappeared from theFinancial Times's rankings of both Masters in Management and MBA because of its hybrid nature. The dean of the time, Pierre Tapie, however, did not regret this decision, because he believed that the school had gained a reputation. In fact, in 2007, theWall Street Journal ranked ESSEC Grande École program 7th in the world, ahead of HEC andINSEAD.[20]
In 2014,Jean-Michel Blanquer, the new dean of the school, announced the plan "ESSEC 3I 2020" (Internationalisation, Innovation and Involvement). The internationalisation went through, a new ESSECAsia-Pacific campus was established, which opened in 2015, an ESSEC Africa campus was opened in 2017, collaboration through an alliance withCentraleSupélec and involvement of students to create their own courses and mentorship programs, among other things. The school also launched its firstMOOCs, inaugurated itsstartup incubator,ESSEC Ventures and established an experimental research laboratory, K-Lab.[23]
ESSEC Business School is agrande école, a French institution ofhigher education that operates independently from, but in parallel with, the main framework of theFrench public university system.Grandes écoles are selective academic institutions that admit students through a competitive process, and many of their graduates occupy prominent positions in French society.[24][25][26] Similar to theIvy League in the United States,Oxbridge in the United Kingdom, and theC9 League in China, graduation from a grande école is often considered a key credential for positions in government, administration, and the corporate sector in France.[27][28]
The degrees offered are accredited by theConférence des Grandes Écoles[29] and awarded by theFrench Ministry of National Education.[30] Higher education business degrees in France are organised into three levels to facilitate international mobility:licence/bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctorates; the bachelor's and master's programmes are organised into semesters—six for the bachelor's and four for the master's.[31][32] These programmes include variousparcours (paths) based onunités d'enseignement (UE,modules), each carrying a defined number ofEuropean Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits, which are generally transferable; a bachelor's degree is awarded upon completion of 180 ECTS credits (bac+3), and a master's degree upon completion of an additional 120 ECTS credits (bac+5).[31][32][33] The Programme Grande École (PGE) concludes with the awarding of a Master in Management (MiM) degree.[32]
ESSEC is often mentioned alongsideHEC Paris andESCP Business School in discussions of French business education, reflecting their longstanding presence in national and international rankings and commentary.[27][28]
The school has eight research departments in different fields of human sciences: Accounting and Management Control; Business Law and Environment; Economy; Finance; Management; Operations Management; Marketing; Information Systems, Decision Sciences and Statistics.[34]
The ESSEC research centre, orCentre de recherche ESSEC business school (CERESSEC), created in 1969. Supervised byAERES since 2013, the research focuses on scientific area in partnership with theMinistry of Higher Education and Research.[32]
According to the HCERES report on 13 May 2019, CERESSEC is "a leading research laboratory at the national and international level, it is a leading French centre in the field of management and related disciplines." It supports the school's influence in national and international rankings. The research centre brings together 165 professors, on two sites inCergy and Singapore. The professors work on nine research themes: Accounting and management control; Economy; Finance; Information System; Law, Negotiation and Consultation; Management; Marketing; Management of Operations; and Statistics.[35]
ESSEC Iréné is the Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation in Europe created in 1996. The research focuses on several topics related to negotiation, mediation, stakeholder dialogue, and conflict resolution. The stakeholders involved include academics, senior civil servants, elected representatives, managers and employees of businesses,trade unionists, and social mediators.[36]
This institute is an interdisciplinary research platform which focuses on the study of human behaviour in a controlled environment. The study is mainly conducted in fields such asbehavioral marketing, behavioural management,behavioural andexperimental economics.[37]
ESSEC is anon-profit organisation. Its management consists of a Director General (School Dean), assisted by its executive committee, made up in particular of the deans of programs, professors and research body. They report to the board, which administers the association, and is made up of two representatives of theParis Ile-de-France CCI, a representative of the alumni association, and two qualified professionals.[38]
The supervisory board is made up of twenty-eight members, six representatives of the Paris Ile-de-France CCI, two members of the Institute Catholique de Paris, five former students, one member of the Confederation of SMEs, four students, five professors, including the dean of the professors, two members of the administrative staff of the school, and three qualified professionals.
The general assembly is the guarantor of the stability of the statutes of the association, and it is composed of the president of the CCI of Paris Île-de-France, a representative of the association of graduates, a representative of the Confederation of SMEs, the dean of professors, and the rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris (ICP).[38]
The main ESSEC campus is located inCergy. Inaugurated in 1973, the site is located in the city and open to the public, mixing students and inhabitants in the area. In 2007, two new buildings were constructed: the Dome and the Galion, both significantly increased Cergy campus grounds. The Dome, which acts as a multipurpose room, can accommodate up to 2,700 people. It is used for business forums (Career Fairs), conferences, exam site, and cultural and social activities. The Galion is an administrative and educational building. It houses 54 offices and meeting rooms, 8 amphitheatres, and 12 classrooms as well as open work spaces. At the end of 2018, the Campus 2020 project was announced, which intends to modernise the Cergy campus by 2023, for a total cost of 35 million euros (private and public funding). Among the main lines of this project are the construction of a sports centre of nearly 2,000m2, the redevelopment of the old gymnasium and the existing administration building into spaces intended for research activities.[70]
The ESSEC Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore was announced in October 2012, by Pierre Tapie shortly before his departure.[72] The new campus was inaugurated in May 2015, by Jean-Michel Blanquer.[73] ESSEC has been present inAsia since 1980 with a permanent office inJapan andSingapore since 2005 through the ESSEC Asian Centre located in the National Library Building.[74] After consideringTokyo,Shanghai andSingapore, among others, the school finally chose Singapore latter in 2005, in particular for its position as a gateway to Asia. Located in Nepal Hill, the campus spans five levels, 6,500m2, can accommodate 1,500 students per year and cost 24 million euros, fully funded by ESSEC. It was designed by Singaporean architect,Dr. Liu Thai Ker (former architect planning Singapore).[75][76][77]
The creation of this campus was announced in November 2015, by Jean-Michel Blanquer and was inaugurated in April 2017.[78]Morocco was chosen for the already effective presence of ESSEC's partnerCentraleSupélec, its proximity toFrance and the large number of Moroccan alumni.[79] Located 15 km fromRabat, the campus covers 6,000 m2 and has a capacity of 480 students. The campus is located right in theCasablanca -Rabat -Kenitra axis. The campus was built specifically for ESSEC by the Addoha real estate group to which the school pays rent (proportional to the number of students hosted during the first three years, then €360,000 / year beyond), with the possibility of purchasing the premises after nine years.[80][81] At its first school year, the campus had seventy students, including eighteen Moroccans.[82]
The undergraduate program was initially created in 1975 by ESSEC Group to prepare students to meet the needs of French firms launching operations on the international market. It was formerly known asEPSCI,"École des Practiciens du Commerce International", and is now referred to as "ESSEC Global BBA".
The Global BBA lasts for four years and is designed for candidates graduated from high school (in France "Baccalauréat").
At the end of the program, each student will have completed a minimum of 12 months of coursework abroad (each student will complete two exchange programs abroad), a one-month humanitarian project and between 11 and 18 months of professional experience, which may also take place abroad.
ESSEC's postgraduate programme is itsMaster in Management (also called "Grande École program"), designed for students with no professional experience (instead of managers with 3–5 years of experience like USMBA programs).[83] It is the flagship program of the school.
The ESSEC MSc in management has been historically designed for candidates who have completedFrench preparatory classes after getting ahigh schooldiploma and passing a competitive entrance examination known as theconcours, or have a university degree (Bachelor or Master). Applications are now open to non-French students: students with a university degree of three years or more received outside of France can also apply.[84] Students fromclasse préparatoire will spend two to three years afterBaccalauréat only to prepare for the national entrance examination ofGrandes Ecoles which includes a written part (lasting two weeks) as well as an oral part (one to four days for each grande école).[85] It is one of the traditional pathways pursued by students in France (only 5% of a generation will be admitted to aprépa) aiming for advanced studies in Law, Medicine. It also provides intensive courses inMathematics,History andGeography,Economy,Literature,Philosophy, and two foreign languages. In 2015, among more than 20,000 students enrolled in classe préparatoire (business section),[86] 5,614 applied to ESSEC concours (considered one of the most difficult), only 890 were invited to oral examination and 380 were eventually admitted.[87] This means an acceptance rate of 6.77%. Going outside during lesson time is also forbidden on school grounds.
ESSEC offer anà la carte program – whether following courses at ESSEC or at a partner institution, going abroad or focusing on an associative project etc.
TheMaster in Finance replaced the old MasterTechniques Financières in 2016. The Master in Finance is recognized by the French Higher Education and Research Ministry as master's degree.
FinTech & Analytics: Quantitative Asset and Risk Management, Data-based Market Making and Trading and Quant Hedge Funds (with a solid Math/Physics degree).
TheAdvanced master's degrees are accredited by the "Conférence des Grandes Ecoles" in France. These programs are specialised to allow students or young professionals to complete their initial training (usually science or engineering) by acquiring complementary knowledge.
The Global MBA at ESSEC Business School is a 12-month, full-time MBA program with an emphasis on emerging markets and experiential learning. It offers two Majors allowing students to specialise in the following areas: Luxury Brand Management, Strategy and Digital Leadership.[88]
The PhD trains future professors,researchers and consultants. Before starting their dissertation work, students must follow a two-year program of courses and seminars that ends with preliminary examinations and a dissertation proposal. The curriculum starts with an intensive period of interdisciplinary training common to all students. This is followed by research training for the chosen field of specialisation.
More than 5,000 managers participate in ESSEC Exec Ed programs every year, primarily at La Défense campus, located in the heart of Paris' financial district and ESSEC's Singapore campus.
ESSEC andMannheim Business School launched their joint Executive MBA Program in 2004. Building on the first established Executive MBAs in Europe by ESSEC since 1994, several modules are proposed in Mannheim, Paris, Singapore and various other locations worldwide in partner business schools.
The association of graduates of the ESSEC or ESSEC Alumni group was founded in 1923, representing more than 60,000 graduates of ESSEC.[89] It spans 75 countries and five continents and organizes more than a thousand events per year through its two hundred volunteers and employees.[90] The network partners with 60 corporations, consists of 17 regional clubs and 73 chapters around the world. The association publishes the alumni magazine,Reflets, five times a year.[91]
Since 2017, the association has maintained a physical office on the Cergy campus.[92] That same year, lifelong ESSEC Alumni membership became included in tuition fees.[93]
In 2020, its campus in Singapore came under intense controversy when one of its students, Louise Pizon-Hébert, made multiple posts onInstagram duringChinese New Year by making slit-eyed gestures and using the pejorative term "ching chong" as a caption while wearing thecheongsam. The school has claimed that its disciplinary committee was currently "looking into the situation". As of 2024, no results from the committee have been made public.[125][126][127]
^abMonique de Saint-Martin, « Les recherches sociologiques sur les grandes écoles : de la reproduction à la recherche de justice », Éducation et sociétés 1/2008 (No. 21), p. 95–103.lire en ligne surCairn.info