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The Ecole Polytechnique

Founded in 1794, the École Polytechnique, a state supported institution of higher education and research, is the most prestigious engineering Grande Ecole in France. The École trains the scientific, industrial and economic elite of the nation. The higher education system in France comprises universities and other institutions called the 'Grandes Écoles'.

The Grandes Écoles are the main channel for education in Engineering, Management and certain scientific fields such as life sciences. Entry into a "Grande Ecole" is not achieved the same way as into other higher education institutions. They recruit students in a very selective manner at a national level. It involves the passing through one of the 200 preparatory courses lasting at least two years after successfully passing the baccalaureat (national high school leaving exam). The exam is very selective. The entry competition exam includes written and oral tests on scientific and humanities matters. The vast majority of chief executives in France's large firms are graduates of the Grandes Écoles.

Exceptional scientists, many of whose names are now attached to fundamental laws and concepts, have walked the halls of the Ecole Polytechnique as students or professors over the last two centuries. Today the Ecole has 1902 students in the 4 year "Polytechnicien" level; 474 students in the doctoral school; 460 professors; 10 departments and 21 laboratories, and is settled on a campus covering 445 acres and about 4200 people. Today, graduates of the Ecole Polytechnique follow careers in just about every field of endeavor.

Polytechniciens are especially prominent as corporate executives in France and abroad, heads of national administrations and institutions, researchers and academics. They play a particularly important role in the French economy, occupying top executive positions in the industrial and service sectors (Alcatel, Arianespace, Axa, Electricité de France (EDF), Total, Lafarge, Paribas, Peugeot, Renault, Saint-Gobain, Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer français (SNCF), Thomson, LVMH and others).

Of the fifty most important and best-performing corporate enterprises in France, nearly half are headed by a Polytechnicien.  In addition, Polytechniciens occupy high-ranking posts in most of France's prestigious scientific institutions, such as the CEA (Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique), the CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales), the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), the INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale), the Institut Pasteur and others.

Their rigorous training in the various fields of modern science has prepared Polytechniciens for the important roles many of them play in large advanced-technology projects. These include such French and European programs as the development of the Ariane rocket launchers, the nuclear reactor system (which generates 82% of the electricity produced in France), the Airbus family of airliners, and the high speed train called the TGV.

This is a full academic year program only and applications are due by the end of February. This means, of course, that you must have all your appropriate Columbia authorizations in place before that deadline.

 

Ecole Centrale de Paris

In 1829, the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures was created by four persons with a particularly open minded approach to the development of Industrial Sciences. Twenty years after its creation, the young engineering graduates of Ecole Centrale occupied leading positions in industry, where they attracted attention by their sense of innovation, their team spirit, and their competence as managers. Every major industrial sector was launched and developed under the impulse of Centraliens.  The Portrait Gallery of the Alumni  BLÉRIOT (1895), EIFFEL (1855), LATECOËRE (1906), LECLANCHÉ (1860), MICHELIN (1877), PEUGEOT (1895), SCHLUMBERGER (1907)... all left their mark in the history of industrial development at the end of the 19th century, and today are considered as references for creativity and success.

The École Centrale Paris awards the following degrees: "Centralien" also known as "Ingénieur Diplomé de l'École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures" or "Ingénieur École Centrale Paris". The educational program is based upon an integrated multidisciplinary approach that harmoniously blends basic scientific and technical education, technological education, and a solid initiation to the economic, social and human realities of industry.Beyond the acquisition of knowledge and methodologies, which is the nucleus of the educational program, particular attention is given:

  • To the development, by each student, of his / her personal project: knowledge of the outside world, especially that of companies, and knowledge of oneself, leading each student to carefully consider the field of activity or profession which he / she chooses at the time of his / her first work experience
  • To learn initiative, and team spirit, the ability to work in a group through specific training, through varied project work, through sport, and through involvement in the extracurricular activities of the Campus
  • To the development of creativity, through work in laboratories, projects and specific studies
  • To an international outlook through the study of foreign languages and cultures, through mandatory periods of work experience abroad, and through innovative exchange programs.

All of the teaching activities are organized in collaboration with industry, especially those within the framework of original industrial partnership operations. This educational program is overseen by 180 teaching staff who are either tenured or under contract, assisted by 1,100 part time lecturers from industry (80 percent) and from the university and scientific community (20 percent). This multidisciplinary approach is the guarantee of the program's modernity: the Centralien's ability to adapt to change, to master the complexity of organizations, and to understand and adapt the new technologies that are still in their infancy or as yet unknown

The application deadline is Oct. 15 for Spring and April 1 for the Fall Semester. This means, of course, that you must have all your appropriate Columbia authorizations in place before those deadlines.

 

University College London

Just 180 years ago, the benefits of a university education in England were restricted to men who were members of the Church of England; UCL was founded to challenge that discrimination. UCL was the first university to be established in England after Oxford and Cambridge, providing a progressive alternative to those institutions’ social exclusivity, religious restrictions and academic constraints. One of the highest ranked universities in the UK and in the in the top 10 universities worldwide, it is ranked third in the UK for world leading research, (RAE 2008), has 20 Nobel Prize winners from our former students and academic staff; boasts of a high quality education which includes the latest research and innovative approaches to learning and UCL places an emphasis on small-group teaching, with an overall staff-student ratio of 1:9.

UCL is located on a compact site in the heart of London with extensive academic facilities on campus.  It has proximity to unparalleled resources such as the British Library, museums, archives, cultural institutions and professional bodies and is situated at the centre of one of the world’s most vibrant and exciting cities.

University teaching in Britain is very different at both undergraduate and graduate levels from that of many overseas countries.  An undergraduate degree program consists of a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials and, in science and engineering subjects, laboratory classes, which in total account for about 15 hours per week. In most cases, students will take a series of lecture courses which run in parallel at fixed times each week, and may last for one or two academic terms. Associated with each lecture course are seminars, tutorials and laboratory classes which draw upon, analyze, illustrate or amplify the topics presented in the lectures.

Lecture classes can vary in size from 20 to 200 students, though there will be fewer large lecture classes after the first year, when students have more options available. Seminars and tutorials are much smaller than lecture classes. UCL is proud of its tradition of carrying out teaching in small groups in this way. Students are normally expected to prepare work in advance for seminars and tutorials and this can take the form of researching and presenting a topic for discussion, writing essays or solving problems.

Lectures, seminars and tutorials are typically one hour in length, while laboratory classes last two or three hours. In addition to these timetabled activities much emphasis is placed on private study and students are expected to spend at least as much time studying by themselves as being taught. Each student has a tutor who can be consulted on any matter, whether academic or personal. Although the tutor can help, motivation for study is expected to come from the individual student.

Applications are due at UCL by March 31 for the full academic year and by Sept. 30 for the Spring term only.  This means, of course, that you must have all your appropriate Columbia authorizations in place before those deadlines.