ESSEC Business School

Global BBA, international high-school diploma (4-year programme)

Applicants hold, or are completing, a school-leaving diploma giving access to higher education such as the French baccalauréat, GCE A-Levels or the IB. Entry is by selection: online application, shortlisting by the admissions committee, then a 30-minute interview in English before two examiners. Starting campuses are Cergy, Singapore or Rabat; the campus choice is final once the application is submitted. The application requires transcripts for the last three years of high school, an enrolment certificate stating expected graduation, the diploma if already obtained, a one-page CV, two academic reference letters and the official English test score. Application fees are 100 euros (Cergy and Singapore) and 75 euros (Morocco), non-refundable. A non-refundable deposit of 5,500 euros (France and Singapore) or 25,000 MAD (Morocco) is paid after admission and deducted from tuition. A candidate may apply to the same programme at most twice.

Language requirements, Global BBA

English track (Cergy, Rabat, Singapore): TOEIC Listening and Reading 850, IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 90, Cambridge B2 First 175 or Duolingo 120 (Rabat only). French track (Rabat): TOEIC 780, IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 80, Cambridge B2 First, Duolingo 105, plus a French test at DELF or TCF level B2. Tests must be no more than two years old at the application deadline. The English test is waived if the last two years of schooling were entirely in English; the French test is waived for non-French speakers who completed at least two years of higher education in French.

Global BBA, French baccalauréat and parallel admission

Students preparing a French baccalauréat enter through the SESAME concours. Parallel admission to the third year is open to French and international students who have completed, or are completing, at least a two-year post-baccalauréat diploma or equivalent. Non-EU students need 12 months of prior presence in France to choose the apprenticeship option of the parallel route.

Master in Management (Grande École)

There are two routes. Students from classes préparatoires (ECG, ECT, ULM A/L, B/L) enter the first year through the BCE concours: registration on the Banque Commune d'Épreuves site (8 December 2025 to 12 January 2026 for the 2026 session), written tests, then for admissible candidates a half-day of logic and managerial-skills tests and a day of three oral tests (personality interview, two language tests) at Cergy. Admission results for 2026 were scheduled for 8 July 2026. Holders of a degree of at least three years from a recognised French or international institution apply through the admission-with-degree route, for the Flexible track (2 to 3 years, starting in France or Singapore) or the one-year Intensive track at Cergy for candidates with prior professional and international experience.

The degree route requires a management test (GMAT, GRE, TAGE MAGE, or CAT for Indian applicants) and an English test (TOEIC 850, IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 95 or Cambridge B2 First 175), the latter waived after at least three years of full-time study entirely in English. Documents: one-page CV, diplomas and authenticated transcripts, two recommendations (one academic, one professional), the test scores, passport or ID, a photograph, and for the Intensive track proof of employment. The application fee is 180 euros, non-refundable. Shortlisted candidates have a 45-minute interview in English by videoconference. The deposit is 6,000 euros (500 euros for CROUS or Cap ESSEC scholarship recipients), payable within two weeks of admission and deducted from tuition. French-language study is mandatory for those who do not speak French.

PhD programme

The four-year full-time PhD is taught entirely in English across nine concentrations (accounting and auditing, management control, economics, finance, data analytics, digitalisation and information systems, operations, management, marketing). Applicants submit an online application with statement of purpose and CV, official transcripts and diplomas, three letters of recommendation from faculty or research scholars, a GMAT or GRE score (taken within five years; not required for Data Analytics), and TOEFL or IELTS for non-native English speakers. The application deadline for the 2026 intake was 1 May 2026. No student is admitted without external or ESSEC funding; the supervisor is assigned during the second year. Knowledge of French is not required. The MS BAR (Mastère Spécialisé in Business Administration Research) is a two-year route towards the PhD.

International applicants

ESSEC holds the three-star Bienvenue en France label from Campus France and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research for its reception of international students. Documents must be in English or French, with certified translations for other languages.

• Paris Cergy (France), 3 avenue Bernard Hirsch, 95021 Cergy-Pontoise: the historic campus, in use since 1973, about 35 minutes from Paris and close to Cergy-Préfecture station (RER A, Transilien H and J). It has 101 lecture halls, classrooms and small-group spaces, a capacity of 6,000 students and 68,000 m2 of floor area, set in the 7-hectare François-Mitterrand Park. The Next Generation Campus, inaugurated on 30 September 2025, includes the renovated Grand Hall, the 3,000 m2 Pierre Nanterme Center for Responsible Leadership, the 2,700 m2 Sports and Recreation Center (multi-sports hall, climbing wall, fitness and dance rooms, rooftop tennis court), the Research Green Tower (housing the Metalab), a 500-seat Grand Amphitheatre and the Knowledge Lab (K-lab). Dining includes a coffee shop, a student food hall and access to subsidised CROUS restaurants in Cergy-Pontoise (meal price for students capped at 3.15 euros). Teaching here covers the Global BBA, the Master in Management, specialised Masters, Advanced Masters and the PhD.
• Paris La Défense (France), CNIT, 2 place de La Défense, 92800 Puteaux: the Executive Education campus, with 55 amphitheatres, classrooms and collaborative spaces over 5,000 m2, and the DECK virtual classroom of the Augmented Digital Campus.
• Singapore (ESSEC Asia-Pacific), Nepal Hill, one-north: established in 2005 and inaugurated in 2015, with 12 classrooms, 19 breakout and study rooms, 6,500 m2 of floor area, about 950 students a year, 21 permanent professors, a K-lab and a research library. Students start the Global BBA or the Master in Management here.
• Rabat (ESSEC Africa), Plage des Nations, Sidi Bouknadel, Morocco: open since 2017 on more than 6,000 m2 with 17 lecture halls, classrooms and work areas for 276 students at any one time, a gym, fitness studio and multi-purpose sports fields, catering, shuttles to Rabat city centre and two student residences. The Global BBA (French or English track) and Master in Management modules run here.