FAQ

A business school is a higher education institution that trains students in management, administration and business, with courses ranging from the baccalaureate to bac+5. Most often private, this type of institution nevertheless has its qualifications recognised by the State through a specific mechanism: the visa, the university grade, and listing on the National Register of Professional Certifications (RNCP).

Yes, but the recognition applies to the qualification, not to the institution's status. A business school qualification is recognised by the State when it combines three markers: the visa, which certifies the academic quality of the programme, the grade, which indicates the qualification's licence-master-doctorat level, and listing on the National Register of Professional Certifications, which confirms that the skills correspond to identified occupations. Each is verified independently.

An RNCP certification is a professional qualification listed on the Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles, the official register kept by France compétences, which records certifications recognised by the State. Before being listed, a certification is assessed and approved by France compétences, which checks that it meets genuine needs of the labour market. The listing therefore attests that the certified skills correspond to identified occupations.

There is no single ranking of business schools, but several, which compare neither the same schools nor the same criteria. Before reading a rank, you need to look at three elements: the scope (post-baccalaureate or post-CPGE, national or international), what is measured (a programme, the whole school, its societal responsibility or the student experience) and the year of publication.

From three to five years after the baccalaureate, depending on the qualification aimed for: a bachelor's degree, at Bac+3 level, takes three years to complete, while a Bac+5 qualification such as Excelia Business School's Master in Management (Programme Grande École) takes five. After a first higher education qualification, direct entry partway through the programme is possible at several levels.

A Bachelor in Business is a Bac+3-level qualification, taken in a business school over three years after the baccalaureate. It provides the fundamentals of commerce, administration and management, with a strong focus on internships and hands-on projects that ground learning in practice. A recognised Bachelor in Business is State-accredited and leads to a Grade de Licence.

A licence is a national qualification, awarded by the university over three years. A bachelor's is a school qualification, also completed over three years, whose recognition depends on the institution and the programme: it is verified through the visa, the grade and the RNCP registration. When a bachelor's brings together these three guarantees and confers the Grade de Licence, it stands at the same academic level as a licence.

The BTS is a national qualification at Bac+2 level, a short, specialised course lasting two years. A business school's bachelor's degree is a Bac+3 qualification, more general in scope: the Bachelor in Business at Excelia Business School, for example, is State-accredited and leads to a Grade de Licence. The choice depends on your project, and the two pathways complement each other, since a BTS opens up admission onto a bachelor's programme.

The choice between the Bachelor in Business and the BBA International depends first and foremost on your plans. At Excelia Business School, the Bachelor in Business is a three-year programme that trains operational profiles in commerce, management and administration, while the BBA International lasts four years, including an additional year entirely focused on international business. Both are State-accredited and lead to a Grade de Licence.

The Master in Management (Programme Grande École) is the flagship excellence programme in management that epitomises the French business school model, such as the one offered by Excelia Business School. It runs over five years and leads to a State-accredited qualification, which confers on its graduates the Grade de Master: a status that matters when they wish to continue their studies.

A Master's is a national qualification, awarded by a university. A Master of Science (MSc) is awarded by a school, such as Excelia Business School. At Excelia Business School, the Master of Science (MSc) programmes are state-recognised, listed at RNCP level 7 and lead to a Grade de Master. It's this grade that matters when you continue your studies, whatever institution awarded your qualification.

A double degree is a formal agreement between two higher education institutions, which allows you to obtain two distinct, recognised qualifications at the end of a single academic programme, a formula that is common in business schools. Part of the course takes place at each institution, often a first period in France and then with the partner. The second qualification is thus added to the first, without ever replacing it.

An Executive MBA belongs to the family of qualification programmes known as “executive” programmes, designed for executives and senior leaders already in post. Like a master's, it sits at level 7 of the qualifications framework, the level of Bac+5. It is aimed at professionals who want to develop their leadership and move into senior management roles, by studying without interrupting their professional activity.

Yes: you can join a business school after a BTS, a BUT or a licence, through direct entry, a route distinct from the post-baccalaureate or post-prépa competitive exams. The entry level depends on the qualification: a Bac+2 (BTS, or a DUT obtained at the end of a BUT) opens up entry into the first cycle; a Bac+3 (licence, BUT, bachelor's) opens up entry at master's level.

No, no English score is required to get into a business school. At Excelia Business School, admission is based on a motivation interview focused on your project, in which only one part is conducted in English, reserved for candidates who choose an English-language pathway. A higher level then matters for this type of pathway or for international mobility, and it is built up gradually, during your studies.

Business school is expensive: expect to pay from €27,000 to €72,350 for the whole cycle of the Master in Management (Programme Grande École), or around €16,000 a year on average, and around €41,000 on average for a Bachelor or a BBA, or around €12,000 a year. These amounts are market figures according to Diplomeo, not Excelia Business School fees.

The CROUS need-based scholarship, paid according to family income, also applies at a private school such as Excelia Business School: it ranges from €1,454 to €6,335 a year for 2026/2027, across eight levels. Work-study covers a large share of tuition fees. Other solutions, such as a student loan or family savings, can top this up depending on each family's situation.

Yes: the preparatory class is not the only gateway to a business school. It is the best-known route to a Master in Management (Programme Grande École), but many schools also recruit straight after secondary school, on programmes lasting three to five years, most often via Parcoursup and with tests specific to each school.

Yes: a student job can be combined with a demanding programme and is an experience worth highlighting. At Excelia Business School, it can enrich an admissions application or an internship application, just like a student society commitment. It also allows you to develop practical skills: independence, organisation, a sense of responsibility. Work-study goes further by building professional experience directly into the programme.

It all depends on your project and your budget. Work-study is an employment contract: you are an employee, paid throughout its duration, and your tuition fees are funded by the company and its skills operator (OPCO). An internship, on the other hand, remains a temporary period in a company, under student status, which leaves room for other experiences.

An internship cover letter should say why you're choosing this company, what you can bring to it, and what this internship brings to your career project. It's built in five stages: an opening line that grabs attention, the steps that prove your interest, the motivation linked to your project, your experiences, and then a conclusion that opens onto a conversation. It's personalised for every application.

Yes: a Master of Science (MSc) or the Master in Management (Programme Grande École), two bac+5-level qualifications, can be prepared on a work-study basis at Excelia Business School. Work-study takes the form of an apprenticeship contract or a professionalisation contract, with a 12- to 24-month immersion in a company. The qualification you obtain is the same as on the standard track: the same listing on the RNCP (France's National Register of Professional Certifications), the same Grade de Master.

During your studies at Excelia Business School, you can study abroad in three ways: on an academic exchange, a semester or a year at a partner university, on a double degree, or on an internship abroad. The departure is prepared with the school: wishes among the partners, placement according to your language level and the places available, and ECTS credits (the European Credit Transfer System) recognised there.

Becoming a manager means understanding management, finance, marketing and human resources all at once, so that you can weigh up these different functions within a single decision. This cross-disciplinary understanding is built through training: Excelia Business School's professionalising programmes develop it in line with businesses' real expectations, making it a genuine lever for their graduates' employability.

Artificial intelligence is transforming management careers by automating certain tasks, making data analysis easier and strengthening decision support. It therefore gives greater weight to human skills such as judgement, trade-offs, creativity, relationship-building and understanding of context.

Excelia Business School's continuing education is aimed at professionals who are working or changing career, whether they are executives, in a management function or running a business, who want to move into management roles. Entry requires at least five years of significant professional experience: a Bac+3 opens it directly, while a Bac+2, DUT, BTS or equivalent opens it through the validation of professional achievements (VAP) in management or project management.

Working in management is not limited to running a company: management careers cover project and team steering, business development, finance, marketing, human resources or supply chain. Roles evolve according to your level of qualification and experience: more operational at Bac+3, they become more strategic at Bac+5, and can then lead to senior management roles.

According to the 2025 survey by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE, class of 2024), 81.2% of business school graduates find a job within six months of obtaining their degree, most of them in under two months. The median gross starting salary for that same class is €40,000 a year, an amount that then varies depending on the sector chosen.

CSR, or corporate social responsibility, refers to an organisation taking account of the social, environmental and economic impacts of its activity. A company that commits to it begins by identifying the expectations of its stakeholders, before building an assessment and then a strategy that it implements with them and reports on.