HEC Paris facts for kids
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École des hautes études commerciales de Paris
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The château at HEC Paris
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| Motto | Apprendre à oser |
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Motto in English
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Literal: Learn to dare Non-literal: The more you know, the more you dare |
| Type | Grande école de commerce et de management, École consulaire; (Private research university Business school) |
| Established | 4 December 1881 |
| Founder | Gustave Emmanuel Roy |
| Accreditation | Triple accreditation: AACSB; AMBA; EQUIS |
| Endowment | €100 million (2022) |
| Budget | €205 million (2024) |
| Chairman | Jean-Paul Agon |
| Dean | Éloïc Peyrache |
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Academic staff
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160 resident professors: 96% PhD.; 30% female; 64% international |
| Students | 5,453 (postgraduate); 8,000 (executive) |
| Location |
Paris (Jouy-en-Josas), France;
Doha, Qatar |
| Admission rate | 7% (2024) |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Affiliations | Conférence des grandes écoles; CEMS; Polytechnic Institute of Paris |
| Website | www.hec.edu |
HEC Paris is a famous business school in France. Its full name in French is École des hautes études commerciales de Paris, which means "Paris School of Advanced Business Studies". It is located in Jouy-en-Josas, a town near Paris.
HEC Paris offers many different study programs. These include programs for Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degrees. It also has special programs for people who are already working.
Contents
History of HEC Paris
HEC Paris was started in 1881 by Gustave Emmanuel Roy. He was the president of the Paris Chamber of Commerce. The school began with 57 students. Its goal was to be a top school for business and management, much like other famous schools for engineering.
In 1921, HEC Paris started using the case-based method for teaching. This method, used by schools like Harvard Business School, helps students learn by solving real-life business problems. In 1938, the main program at HEC was made longer, lasting three years.
By the late 1950s, French companies wanted more modern business education. So, HEC Paris used the case-based method even more. They also created a special one-year class to help students prepare for the tough entrance exam.
In 1964, the French President Charles de Gaulle opened a new, large campus for HEC Paris. It was built on a 250-acre wooded area in Jouy-en-Josas. In 1967, the school started offering programs for working professionals.
A big change happened in 1973: women were allowed to study at HEC Paris. Before this, there was a separate school for women called HECJF. When HEC Paris became co-ed, HECJF closed. Its former students are now officially considered HEC Paris graduates. One famous graduate is Édith Cresson, who became the first female Prime Minister of France.
The school started its PhD program in 1975. This allowed students to earn a doctor's degree directly from HEC Paris.
HEC Paris has also built strong connections with businesses. Companies like Deloitte and EDF help fund special teaching positions. The HEC Foundation, started in 1972, helps grow these links and get funding from companies.
In the 1990s, the school added more specialized courses, like finance and entrepreneurship. Many graduates started working abroad, especially in England. By 2006, about a third of graduates found their first job outside France.
HEC Paris has also joined important networks. In 1988, it helped create the CEMS network with other top schools. In 2008, it became a founding member of ParisTech and later Paris-Saclay University.
In 2016, HEC Paris changed its legal status. It became a public-private partnership, meaning it gets a lot of funding from the public Paris Chamber of Commerce.
More recently, in 2017, HEC Paris launched new dual degree programs. These allow students to earn two degrees from different universities, including Yale School of Management. The school also started an online program for innovation and entrepreneurship with Coursera.
In 2020, HEC Paris helped create Hi! PARIS, a research center for artificial intelligence. In 2023, the school announced a new Bachelor of Arts program. This program focuses on data, society, and organizations, and is offered with Bocconi University in Italy.
School System and Quality Checks
HEC Paris degrees, like the Master in Management, are officially recognized in France. They are approved by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles and the Ministry of National Education.
HEC Paris also has a special "triple accreditation." This means it has been checked and approved by three important international groups: the European Foundation for Management Development (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the Association of MBAs (AMBA). This shows that HEC Paris meets high standards for business education around the world.
HEC Paris is also one of the schools that started CEMS. This is a global group of top business schools.
International Rankings
| Business school rankings | |
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| Worldwide overall | |
| QS | 6 |
| Worldwide MBA | |
| Financial Times | 9 |
HEC Paris is often ranked among the best business schools in the world. These rankings look at different programs, like the Master in Management or the MBA.
For example, the Financial Times often ranks HEC Paris as one of the top European Business Schools. Its Master in Management program has also been ranked very high globally by both the Financial Times and QS. The school's Master in Finance and MBA programs are also highly rated.
Programs Offered
In France, higher education degrees are usually organized into three levels: the Licence (Bachelor's), Master's, and Doctorate degrees. This makes it easier for students to study in different countries. HEC Paris has offered a bachelor's degree since October 2023.
Master in Management - Grande École Program
This is a very popular program at HEC Paris. It is called the Programme Grande École (PGE). When students finish this program, they earn a Master's in Management (MiM) degree. Besides the PGE, students can also get other master's degrees, like an MBA or a PhD.
Bachelor in Data, Society and Organisations
This new Bachelor of Arts program started in October 2023. It is a partnership with Bocconi University in Italy. The program teaches about data science and social sciences. Students spend the first three semesters in Italy and the last three in France, at the Jouy-en-Josas campus.
MSc in International Finance (MIF)
The Master of Science (MSc) in International Finance program is highly ranked. It has been ranked #1 worldwide for programs for students who don't have much work experience.
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
The MBA program at HEC Paris started in 1969. It is a 16-month program. Students spend 8 months on main courses and 8 months on special topics they choose. They can also do exchange programs or projects.
A typical MBA class has about 250 students. Most of them (90%) come from other countries, representing over 52 different nationalities. To get into the program, students need good grades, work experience, and a desire to learn. Knowing French is not required to apply, but students are encouraged to learn some French. HEC Paris also has exchange programs with about 40 other business schools around the world.
Executive Education
These programs are for people who are already working and want to improve their skills.
Executive MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This is an online program created by HEC Paris. It is offered partly through Coursera. It takes 18 months to complete, and students can do it entirely online. The first students started this program in March 2017.
Executive MBA
The HEC Executive MBA is for experienced professionals. It helps them prepare for top management jobs. Students usually have at least 8 years of work experience. This program is offered in different locations, including Paris, Beijing, St Petersburg, and Doha. It combines theory, case studies, and leadership training.
TRIUM Global Executive MBA
HEC Paris also offers the TRIUM Global Executive MBA. This program is a partnership with Stern School of Business of NYU and the London School of Economics. It has six parts that are held in different international cities over 16 months.
How to Get In
Getting into HEC Paris programs can be quite competitive. For example, for the Grande Ecole (Master in Management) program in 2018, only about 6% of applicants were accepted. For the MBA program, about 17.5% of applicants were accepted.
Online Courses
HEC Paris also offers online courses called MOOCs through Coursera. This allows more people to learn from HEC Paris from anywhere in the world.
Research and Entrepreneurship
HEC Paris has several centers where professors and students do research. They also support new business ideas and startups.
- HI! PARIS CENTER: This center works with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris. It studies how digital changes affect companies and society. It brings together many researchers from both HEC Paris and IP Paris.
- Society & Organizations Institute: This group of over 60 professors researches and teaches about sustainability and being fair to everyone.
- GREGHEC: This is a research lab focused on economics and management in France.
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute: This institute has many partnerships and supports hundreds of projects each year. It helps students and alumni start their own businesses.
The school has offered a degree in entrepreneurship for over 40 years. Many graduates from HEC Paris start their own companies. In 2007, HEC Paris created Incubateur HEC Paris, which helps new companies started by alumni. Since 2017, this incubator has been part of Station F, a very large startup campus in Paris.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute
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| Established | 2007 |
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| Director | Inge Kerkloh-Devif |
| Location |
Jouy-en-Josas
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| Campus | Jouy-en-Josas & Station F |
| Website | Official website: https://www.hec.edu/en/faculty-research/centers/innovation-entrepreneurship-institute |
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The HEC Paris Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute helps promote new ideas and starting businesses at HEC Paris. It has locations in Paris and Jouy-en-Josas. About 500 students take classes here each year. The institute works with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris and Coursera.
The institute offers many programs for students and teachers. These programs help raise awareness about starting businesses and new ideas in the community and across the country.
Events and Activities
The institute organizes many events and activities to support new businesses. These include:
- Accélérateur ESS
- Post incubation
- HECTAR Accelerator L'Oréal Beauty Tech
- Meta X L'Oréal Accelerator Icade startup studio
- Incubateur HEC Paris
- Data for Managers
- HEC Startup Launchpad HEC Challenge +
- HEC Challenge + Afrique
- Igniting Innovation
- CDL - Creative Destruction Lab
- HEC Stand Up
- MOOCs
- Entrepreneurship & Digital Innovation
- HEC–TUM Summer Program
- Startup Sprint
Student Life
Campuses
France
HEC Paris has a large campus in Jouy-en-Josas, which is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of central Paris. The campus is built around a beautiful 19th-century castle, the Château de Jouy. This castle is now used for executive education classes. Students can get to the campus using the Parisian suburban train (RER) and local buses.
Qatar
HEC Paris also has a campus in Doha, the capital of Qatar. This campus is located in the “Tornado Tower” in the city's financial center. HEC Paris in Qatar offers several programs, including an Executive MBA.
United Kingdom
The HEC UK House opened in March 2023 in London, near Covent Garden. This campus is a place for alumni (former students) to connect and for conferences. It also has a library and a creative lab.
Alumni Association
The Association des diplômés HEC Paris is the group for former students of HEC Paris. It was started in 1883. This association connects graduates from all the different HEC Paris programs. In 2017, The Economist magazine ranked the HEC Alumni network as the 2nd most powerful business school alumni network in the world.
See also
In Spanish: HEC Paris para niños
- List of HEC Paris people
- Education in France
- Grandes écoles
- CEMS
