University in France
Écully, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
University profile
emlyon business school is a French management school founded in 1872 by the Lyon Chamber of Commerce at the initiative of silk entrepreneurs, making it one of the oldest management schools in Europe. It is a consular school and adopted the status of a mission-driven company (Société à Mission) in 2021. Its stated purpose is to provide lifelong training and support to enlightened people who change organisations to build a fairer, more solidary society that respects the planet.
The school has 9,865 students of 135 nationalities on three campuses: Lyon, Paris and Shanghai. The main campus, opened in 2024 at 144 avenue Jean Jaurès in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, covers 30,000 m2. The Paris campus (5,500 m2, boulevard Diderot, five minutes on foot from Gare de Lyon) hosts 1,090 initial-education students of 75 nationalities, and the Shanghai campus (emlyon business school Asia, founded in 2007) is used for study-abroad semesters and Asian programmes.
Initial-education programmes comprise the Global BBA (four-year post-baccalauréat bachelor conferring the grade de Licence, in French or English), the Programme Grande École (PGE, the flagship Master in Management conferring the grade de Master, entered after classes préparatoires, by Admission sur Titre with a French bac+3/4/5, or with an international degree), specialised Master and MSc programmes, Mastères Spécialisés and a fully funded five-year PhD in management. Executive Education serves more than 4,000 participants a year through the Executive MBA, International MBA, executive masters, certificates and short programmes.
The faculty numbers 189 permanent research professors of 40 nationalities. Research is organised in seven research centres and seven institutes, among them the Alternative Futures Institute, the Ethnography Institute, the Leadership Institute, the Institut Français de Gouvernement des Entreprises (IFGE) and the Artificial Intelligence in Management institute. The school reports 261 international academic partnerships, more than 260 partner universities for exchanges, and a community of 52,000 graduates in more than 130 countries.
Student life centres on the Lyon campus, with a library, a makers' lab, a trading room, an entrepreneurship space run by emlyon venture labs, a village of student associations and catering on site. The Global BBA has more than ten associations and over 600 events a year, and the PGE has 28 associations and four collectives.
emlyon holds the triple international accreditation of EQUIS (continuously since 1998, renewed in September 2024), AACSB and AMBA. Its Programme Grande École, Master in Finance, International MBA and other degrees carry the State-recognised grade de Master, and the Global BBA is visé bac+4 by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research with the grade de Licence.
emlyon is a private consular school and sets its own tuition; the CVEC (contribution vie étudiante et de campus) is a separate national contribution.
From the 2026-2027 intake the school covers 100% of tuition for new CROUS grant holders at levels 4 to 7 entering the Programme Grande École, from classes préparatoires or by AST. The Fondation emlyon gives EUR 5,000 a year to CROUS grant holders at levels 6 and 7 in the first year of the PGE. The trEMplin scheme offers mentoring, administrative support and coaching for grant holders, and a partnership with the INFINITE fund offers zero-rate student loans of up to EUR 45,000.
Erasmus+ mobility support is available, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region BRMIE grant supports study or internships outside Europe. Partner banks (LCL and CIC) offer student loans with preferential rates.
Details: Global BBA admission and funding, PGE tuition exemption for CROUS grant holders, partner bank loans.
emlyon PhD in Management Funded Doctoral Programme (tuition waiver, salary and scholarship) →
emlyon Foundation Social-Based Living Grants (Bourses Sociales) →
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View scholarships for emlyon business school →First-year entry for pupils in terminale or holders of the French baccalauréat is through Parcoursup (wishes from 18 January to 11 March 2027) and the Concours SESAME (registration fee EUR 315, written tests online on 7 April 2027, oral tests from 24 April to 13 May with the Signature test and an English oral). A minimum of 15/20 in the English oral is required for the English-taught track; the French-taught track has English support.
Applicants with a foreign diploma equivalent to the baccalauréat (IB, A Level, Bachibac, Abibac and similar) apply online: application file, three digital tests (cognitive, general knowledge, behavioural) and a video interview. Second-year entry requires 60 ECTS credits and third-year entry 120 ECTS credits with management prerequisites and good English (third-year entry does not give access to exchanges or double degrees). Years three and four are fully taught in English.
Three routes lead to the PGE: after classes préparatoires ECG, ECT, literary or scientific (BCE competitive exam; 2026 applications ran from 13 April to 1 June), by Admission sur Titre Français (AST) for holders of a State-recognised French bac+3 or higher diploma (a completed diploma is required, ECTS alone is insufficient; application fee EUR 180, free for CROUS grant holders and elite athletes; applications 19 October to 30 November 2026, with a remote session for candidates studying or living abroad), and by international admission for holders of a non-French university degree after at least two years of university study outside France (applications opened 13 October 2026). A candidate may apply once a year to a PGE route, up to three applications in total. Oral stages include a motivation interview (the card exercise) and an interview in English; an English test (TOEIC, TOEFL or IELTS) and a management aptitude score (TAGE 2, TAGE MAGE or GMAT) are part of the AST file.
Entry into year 1 requires a State-recognised three-year bachelor (bac+3, at least 180 ECTS) and into year 2 a four-year bachelor (240 ECTS) or a validated first year of a Master. Applicants may apply while in their final year. Applications ran from 6 October 2026 to 15 July 2027 on a rolling basis with an application fee of EUR 120. Required documents: CV in English, passport or identity card, certified degree copies, transcripts, proof of enrolment and an official English test (TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or Cambridge; native speakers and applicants with three years of higher education entirely in English are exempt). GMAT, GRE, TAGE MAGE or CAT scores, recommendation letters and a motivation letter are optional. A level equivalent to C1 is recommended. English tests are valid for two years. Admission then follows digital tests and a decision.
A five-year, fully funded programme taught entirely in English in Lyon, with an optional double degree with Université Lyon 3. Applications run from 1 November to 31 January and the programme starts on 1 September.
A visa is not needed to submit an application. Students are responsible for obtaining and keeping a valid visa or residence permit for the whole programme, and a student residence permit cannot be requested while holding an APS (temporary permit for job search or business creation).
The library serves Lyon (open to all) and Paris (emlyon community only): more than 40,000 books and e-books, more than 70 databases available 24 hours a day, and more than 80,000 journal and magazine titles on site and online.
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