ENSAE Paris is the French Grande École for Economics, Data Science, Quantitative social sciences, Finance and Actuarial science
Created 80 years ago, ENSAE Paris is a leading engineering school for quantitative economics and sociology, statistics and data science, finance and actuarial science. ENSAE’s strength and originality lie in its historical pedagogical project combining applied mathematics, economics and quantitative social sciences, in a rigorous yet open-minded manner. ENSAE graduates are unique in their ability to model economic and social phenomena and harness the most advanced methods to make sense of data and inform the decisions of companies and public institutions.
In today’s digital society, the massive and complex data available has potentially great value for firms and public institutions. If interpreted “smartly”, data can be used for evaluation, prediction and decision-making purposes. This is what ENSAE Paris graduates are trained to do: to make sense of data.
As an international student, you need to understand who we are, what is our ambition, what kind of education we offer, what kind of lifestyle you would have access to and what kind of career you can expect.
The distinctive French Ingénieur program
Earn a graduate engineer degree from a French top-ranked school of engineering and applied sciences
Features of the French Ingénieur Program :
- Grants graduates the “Titre d’Ingénieur” (Master of Science in Engineering) and confers the European degree of Master recognized worldwide
- Highly selective admissions
- Elite education
- Exciting and successful careers
- Multidisciplinary programs
Within Institut Polytechnique de Paris, ENSAE Paris has a very distinctive identity, with a program combining at a demanding level :
- Advanced Mathematics
- Statistics and Data science
- Economics
- Finance and actuarial science
- Quantitative Social Sciences
- Business and management skills
- Humanities (Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics)
- Internationalization Skills (Foreign Languages, Cross-cultural Management, Geopolitics)
- Soft Skills (communication, critical thinking) and global perspectives
- Strong ties to companies (education, research, management)
- Rich opportunities for internships, mandatory in the curriculum
- Access to research laboratories associated with Doctoral Schools
- Opportunities to pursue a PhD after graduation
Why choose ENSAE ?
For 80 years, ENSAE Paris has been one of France’s leading institutions for Statistics and Economics, under the direction of such distinguished scientific personalities as Edmond Malinvaud. ENSAE’s scientific program is pluridisciplinary, combining three main fields of education and research:
- Data science, Statistics and Machine Learning
- Quantitative Economics and Sociology
- Finance and Actuarial Science
In each of its fields of excellence, ENSAE’s unique approach is to put a strong emphasis on mathematical modeling as well as empirical approaches based on data. ENSAE’s pedagogical project is also a combination of state of the art quantitative methods and advanced field-knowledge.
What makes ENSAE’s curriculum special is that it is based on a dialogue between Economics and Statistics (with a strong core of Applied Mathematics) and on a dialogue between Theory and Data-based approaches. Few schools offer such a grounded approach at this level of command of mathematical tools.
This special blend is ENSAE’s take on “data science”, and reaches out to the vast domain of “Artificial Intelligence”. Within AI, ENSAE’s contribution has a strong focus on mathematical foundations (since statistical learning is the beating heart of the AI revolution) and on decision-oriented applications. It comes as no surprise that two-thirds of our students specialize in Data Science and Statistical Learning.
All our courses are academically demanding and built on close links with major industry professionals. The rhythm of study is intense but definitely worth it !
Our graduates make sucessful careers in a variety of domains, ranging from academic research, tech companies, banks, insurance companies, consultancy firms, but also government or international organizations. ENSAE Graduates earn among the highest salaries for “Grandes écoles” graduates, which says a lot about how keenly theirs skills are sought after.
You should seriously consider joining ENSAE Paris if...
- You have a taste for Maths and Computer science and you want to apply them to make decisions in the real world → become an ENSAE Data scientist
- You enjoy Maths, Computer science and/or Economics, and you are attracted to financial careers → become an ENSAE Financial engineer or Actuary
- You have a passion for Economics or Social sciences, you want to understand the world and make a difference to change it → become an ENSAE Economist, Sociologist or Social Data scientist
- You like both Maths and Economics and you are looking for a rigourous scientific training to make a career in Business strategic decision → become an ENSAE Strategist-economist data scientist
- You are not sure about which career you want to embrace but you love Science, Applied Math (whether to Economics, Physics or any other field), and are looking for a challenging program with many possibilities → join ENSAE Paris, you will acquire a strong and large scientific basis and excellent skills in mathematical modelling. Our school and committed staff and academics will help you construct your own track within and across our specialization fields so as to open numerous doors and careers in virtually all industries.
- You are attracted to research → join ENSAE Paris, you will acquire large and advanced scientific skills which provide a robust basis for continuation to our PhD programs, within our research center CREST or another IP Paris lab.
Program description
ENSAE Paris offers a three-year degree program in Applied Mathematics and Economics. As all French Engineering programs, our program confers the grade of Master. The ENSAE Paris program can thus be viewed as an intellectually challenging double major Master program providing a large and strong scientific basis, combined with effective professional skills, and leading to a wide range of specialization tracks and careers (see the details below). As an international student, you will access directly the second year. However, it can happen that an international student is invited to integrate our program at the first year level, depending on his or her academic background. Through courses, student projects and internships, the program delivers transversal skills which, today, are in great demand.
Courses at ENSAE Paris aim to give you very solid scientific foundations in a wide range of applied mathematics methods (optimization, probability theory, statistics, economic analysis, econometrics, machine learning…). You will be expected to acquire a strong command of these tools before applying them to various domains. Apart from theoretical and applied “classroom” courses, you will acquire these skills through individual or collective projects as well as internships – one every year, either in private firms, government organizations or research labs. This powerful pluridisciplinary basis is a strong asset for your future career : you will be able to innovate, to adapt, to collaborate within diverse teams and work environments, to manage complex projects and pluridisciplinary teams. You will also benefit from this sound scientific basis all your life, because it will allow you to keep pace with technological and scientific innovation : methods may evolve at a frenetic pace, but their mathematical foundations remain basically the same, so that you will be able to update your knowledge constantly and keep an edge.
The first year harmonizes student skills in Maths, Applied Maths, Economics and Computer Programming. Those students entering at this level, who have studied Economics beforehand, will need more Maths. Those who have studied Maths may need a better understanding of Economics. Courses start early September.
The second year is dedicated to the acquisition of advanced scientific skills. This is when specialization begins. To be admitted to ENSAE Paris, a strong knowledge of Maths is necessary. For international students directly admitted into the second year, work begins with some challenging theoretical probability. Courses start early September.
During the third year, students are free to choose one amongst the six specialized tracks offered:
In the 3rd Year, half of all our courses are offered in English. In the 2nd year, all core courses are offered in English, as many electives (check the detailed programs).
Within all these tracks, students have the possibility of combining elective courses, chosen among a set of 150 courses from the third year catalogue enabling them to tailor their personal pathway.
Moreover, the specialized track chosen can be combined with an IP Paris Research Master in Economics, Statistics or Finance for those interested in furthering their education to PhD level.
L’Institut des Actuaires also allows students in Actuarial Sciences to prepare for Actuary accreditation by the end of their course.
Furthering to PhD level
For those interested in engaging in Research beyond the Engineering diploma, the specialized engineering track chosen during the third year at ENSAE Paris can be combined with an IP Paris Research Master in Economics, Statistics or Finance.
High-potential students with an ambitious research project in mind will be able to apply for entry, the following year, into the Institut Polytechnique de Paris PhD Track. This selective 5-year program is designed to allow post graduate students to gradually develop their thesis topic under personalized supervision by an academic. Students are immersed in cutting-edge research laboratories, giving them the tools and skills to successfully complete their future scientific work and be awarded a PhD Degree. The best candidates are eligible for excellence scholarships.
Second year students of the Ingénieur ENSAE Program at ENSAE Paris admitted in a IP Paris PhD Track. Our graduates carrying on to a PhD do so either at our research center, the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST, a joint research unit between ENSAE Paris, the National Center for Scientific Research and Ecole Polytechnique), within another IP Paris lab, or abroad (usually in the US or Europe). ENSAE Paris-CREST and IP Paris offer excellent research environments and PhD funding opportunities.
Candidates
Every year, thousands of students enroll in training programs at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris: why not you? IP Paris offers a wide range of programs, from Bachelor's degrees to PhDs, as well as Master's degrees and PhD tracks. Join a vibrant community in a flourishing study and research environment.
Within IP Paris, ENSAE Paris has a strong identity and a strong involvement in promoting both Engineering programs ans Masters for international students.
International students and candidates
Everything you need to know about studying at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris