Specialized Mastères

General information

MSs first opened their doors in 1986, as complementary, business-oriented, specialized education for engineering school graduates whose initial training was not specialized enough.

These high level programmes are being organized within engineering or management "Grandes Ecoles". They have close relationships to companies. Pedagogy is flexible and evolutionary, thanks to the use of small groups of students and quality in teaching.

MS is not a formal degree; it is a label given by the "Conference des Grandes Ecoles" (CGE) which accreditates specific graduate programmes organized by engineering or management "Grandes Ecoles". The use of this label is protected by law. The authorization to use the label is given by a special committee, composed of professional and academic representatives.

250 "Mastères" recruit in the year 1997-98, among which 180 in engineering schools.

Duration and programme :

MSs last at least 12 months, but they may last 18 months.

The curriculum includes :

• at least 350 hours of theoretical and practical courses,
• a personal study or research work, which lasts at least 4 months within a company ; this work leads to the submission of a professional thesis.

Admission requirements :

A French or a foreign engineering or management degree is required, of bac+5 level (in France, DEA or DESS are accepted). However, a few (up to 20 %) lower level (bac+4) positions may be accepted for applicants with several years of professional activity.

Information about how to apply may be obtained through the relevant schools.

Foreign students admission :

The initial higher specialization of foreign students allow them to get through MS the kind of education that corresponds to their countries' standards..

470 foreign students were studying in engineering MSs in 1994-95, i.e. 34% of the global students population.

International Mastères

Some of these Mastère programmes have been organized within international partnerships, e.g. :

• French-polish Mastère in Industrial Engineering : Ecole Centrale Lyon, Ecole Centrale Paris, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne with the Universities of Technology of Wroclaw and Szezcin.
• French-american Mastère in Energy Management and Policy : Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Pétroles et des Moteurs (ENSPM) with the University of Pennsylvania, USA, leading to double degree of MSc of Penn and ENSPM engineering degree or "Mastère Spécialisé" .
• Mastère in Rural and Agricultural Development , program of the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (INA-PG) extended to Brazilian and Vietnamese Universities: the University of Ijui Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and the Thu Duc University of Agronomy and Forestry at Ho Chi Minh Ville (Vietnam).
• Mastères in the field of Telecommunications network management and Information Systems (ENST Bretagne, INT Evry + USB Caracas, ITES Monterrey, UC San Salvador.

Cost of the MS studies :

The registration fees for engineering MSs varied last year through a large range, with 30 % of them around 40,000 FF, but in many cases fees were reduced through scholarships from various public origins, counties,towns, state ... Fees for individuals or for company employees are sometimes different.

Source : Conférence des Grandes Ecoles

revu le: 11/10/96.