École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC)

The École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales, known as ESSEC Business School, is a French grande école founded in 1907 in Paris by Jesuits. Its main campus has been at Cergy, northwest of Paris, since the 1970s, with additional sites at La Défense, in Singapore, and in Rabat. It is a specialist business school rather than a comprehensive university, built around management education and research.

Departments cover accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and public policy. The school is known for its Grande École Master in Management, specialized MSc degrees, an MBA, and a PhD. Research groups in finance, luxury, and public policy operate from Cergy, with executive education also at La Défense.

ESSEC enrolls about 6,000 students across degree and executive programs, with a high share of international students and a student body drawn from around 100 countries. Faculty numbers a few hundred professor-researchers. Alumni include former Accenture chief executive Pierre Nanterme, former French minister Fleur Pellerin, and former minister Cédric O.

Graduate work follows the French grande école and Bologna pattern: a two-year Master in Management, one-year specialized master's degrees, an MBA, and a research PhD with seminars and a dissertation. The academic year is organized in terms, and internships are built into the Grande École track. Scholarships and apprenticeships (alternance) are the main funding routes for master's students; doctoral candidates receive contracts. Cergy is a planned new-town campus; students also spend periods in Paris La Défense, Singapore, or on exchange.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC) lists 10 graduate programs across 5 subjects: 8 master's programs and 1 doctoral program, with the widest choice in business & management, data science & business analytics and finance & financial economics.