University in France
Palaiseau, Île-de-France, France
University profile
École Polytechnique, known as l'X, is a French grande école of engineering, science and technology founded in 1794 and based at Palaiseau on the Plateau de Saclay, south of Paris. It combines education, research and innovation, with about 3,700 students, 40% of them international, and 23 laboratories. It is one of the five engineering schools that make up Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), created in 2019 with ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Télécom Paris and Télécom SudParis.
The school is unique among French grandes écoles in keeping a military status. French students of the Ingénieur Polytechnicien programme serve as officer cadets under the authority of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and receive a salary, while international students follow the same curriculum with a civil status. The school's motto, granted in 1804, is "Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire".
Teaching is organised around eleven academic and research departments: Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Humanities and Social Science, Computer Science, Languages and Cultures, Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Mechanics, Physics, and Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship. Degree offers include the three-year English-taught Bachelor of Science, the four-year Ingénieur Polytechnicien programme (a master-level engineering degree), the Master of Science and Technology (MSc&T) specialisations, PhD programmes and Executive Master and Executive Education courses.
Research is carried out in 23 laboratories, most of them joint units with national research organisations, including CMAP (applied mathematics), CMLS, CPHT (theoretical physics), CREST (economics and statistics), LIX (computer science), LLR (particle physics), LadHyX (hydrodynamics), LOA, LULI (intense lasers), LPP (plasma physics), LMS (solid mechanics), the Institut photovoltaïque d'Île-de-France (IPVF) and the interdisciplinary laboratory LINX. The Drahi-X Novation Center, the X-UP deeptech incubator and the X-FAB prototyping space support entrepreneurship, and the school cites 770 start-ups created since 2010.
Student life centres on the campus: about 2,000 dwellings, 1,836 of them reserved for students, 16 sports offered through the CXS club, an on-site medical centre and almost 250 student associations known as binets, in which over three quarters of students take part. The school counts more than 100 nationalities on campus, runs a welcome desk (BasiX) for international students and researchers, and has been awarded the highest status of the "Bienvenue en France" label.
Bachelor of Science: €15,900 per year for EU/EEA students and €19,600 per year for non-EU students, constant throughout the programme. An annual administration fee of €1,500 is due from all students. Fees are separate from living costs.
Ingénieur Polytechnicien: for non-French students entering from 2019, €19,000 over three years for EU students (Year 1 €3,500, Years 2 and 3 €7,750 each) and €38,000 over three years for non-EU students (Year 1 €7,000, Years 2 and 3 €15,500 each); Year 4 fees are paid to the host institution. Reductions are available on request according to family income, decided by a dedicated committee. French students serve under military status, are paid, and pay no study costs provided they serve in the civil service for at least 10 years within 20 years of graduating; otherwise they repay €21,000 (Year 4 in a government body) or €31,000.
MSc&T: €15,500 per year for most specialisations (€12,500 for IP Paris students and École Polytechnique Bachelor graduates in some), €19,200 for AI for Markets and Quantitative Investment, €28,950 and €28,850 for the first year of the two X-HEC specialisations, and no fees plus a salary for the work-study Extended Cinematography programme. The application fee is €95.
Admission is need-blind, and aid is merit-based or need-based. Excellence Scholarship: €4,800 per year for three years for candidates admitted with honours. Women in Science Scholarship: €4,800 per year for three years for admitted female candidates. International Olympiad medallists: full scholarship (tuition waived apart from the €1,500 administration fee, plus living allowance) up to €87,900 for a non-EU/EEA student and €78,750 for an EU/EEA student, for medallists in the two years before enrolment. Awards are paid in ten instalments from September to June, and applicants for aid are encouraged to apply in early rounds. Need-based aid includes CROUS grants for eligible students, and zero-interest loans funded by the École Polytechnique Foundation for a limited number of students.
Tuition waivers are granted on request after admission on financial need, with partial waivers for double-degree and some partner-university students. Foundation awards include the full ride (€800 per month for 36 months plus a tuition waiver, very limited), Fulgence Excellence Scholarships (€800 per month for 36 months, about 20 per class), the Polytechnician solidarity aid (€290 per month for 31 months, about 26 per class, from 2026), the CMA CGM Excellence Fund (€800 per month; half reserved for Lebanese nationals) and a fourth-year project grant. Eiffel Excellence Scholarship applications are submitted by the school in December. CROUS need-based aid is open to eligible students (EU/EEA nationals meeting integration conditions, and refugees).
Admitted candidates are automatically considered for Foundation Excellence Scholarships (€8,000 per year, applied after validating the first year), the CMA CGM Excellence Fund (€7,500 per year) and industrial partner scholarships (€4,000 to €15,000 per year). Rounds 1 and 2 applicants are prioritised. CROUS scholarships are not available for MSc&T programmes.
Official pages: Bachelor aid, Ingénieur Polytechnicien aid, MSc&T aid.
École polytechnique Bachelor of Science Olympiad Medallists Full Scholarship →
École polytechnique MSc&T Foundation Excellence Scholarship →
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View scholarships for École polytechnique →Applicants must be studying for, or hold, a secondary-school leaving certificate recognised internationally or in their home country (French Baccalauréat, OIB, International Baccalaureate, Swiss maturité, European high-school certificate), or a scientific university entrance certificate. Selection is holistic: strong results especially in mathematics and science, at least one advanced science course, and non-academic achievements. Entry is to Year 1 only; transfers into Years 2 and 3 are not accepted. Applications go through the school's own online system or through Parcoursup, but not both in the same year. Applications through Campus France are not examined and no Campus France pre-registration is needed. Required documents: official transcripts, personal statement, CV, ID, photo, two referees and the application fee of €105. Shortlisted candidates have a remote interview of about 50 minutes in English. Rounds for 2026 entry: Round 1, 17 September to 20 October 2026; Round 2, 21 October 2026 to 6 January 2027; Round 3, 7 January to 8 February 2027.
Level C1: TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS 6.5 with at least 6 in each skill, or Cambridge Advanced/Proficiency (B, 176, at least 169 per skill). Results must be less than two years old; IGCSE is not accepted. Native English speakers or applicants who completed the last two years of schooling entirely in English may be exempted.
Entry is by a two-stage competitive examination (admissibility and admission) with two routes: the CPGE route (classes préparatoires) and the university route, each with French and international tracks. French candidates must be French nationals, aged at least 17 on 1 September and under 23 on 1 January of the competition year, hold the baccalauréat or equivalent and meet the physical fitness conditions set by the Ministry of Defence; dual nationals must register as French. International candidates must not hold French nationality, be under 25 on 1 January of the competition year, meet the same fitness conditions and not have sat the competition more than twice. For the 2026 competition, 431 places were offered to French candidates and 140 to international candidates (45 through CPGE routes, 95 through the university route).
Programmes are open to applicants for the first year (M1; a Bachelor degree, ideally in mathematics, computer science or related fields, with strong linear algebra, probability, optimisation and programming) or second year (M2; a master's degree or M1 level, i.e. a bachelor with 240 ECTS or more, with a solid background in machine learning, statistics and optimisation). Applications are made online with an application fee of €95. For the 2027 intake, applications open on 16 September 2026, in four rounds: Round 1 to 12 October 2026, Round 2 to 11 January 2027, Round 3 to 8 March 2027 and Round 4 to 13 April 2027; only Rounds 1 and 2 are considered for scholarships. A non-refundable deposit of €3,200 is deducted from tuition. Data Science and AI for Business and Double Degree Data & Finance applications are handled by HEC Paris.
TOEFL iBT 95, IELTS Academic 7.0 or Cambridge Advanced (C1); scores less than two years old. English may be waived for native speakers or holders of a degree taught entirely in English. No French is required; non-francophone students are tested on arrival and may take introductory French as part of the degree.
PhD students are enrolled through the IP Paris Doctoral School and work in the school's laboratories.
Palaiseau campus (Plateau de Saclay, Essonne). The school's single campus, at Route de Saclay, hosts all programmes and the 23 laboratories, next to other IP Paris schools.
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