Can you join a business school after a BTS, a BUT or a licence?

After a Bac+2: BTS or two years of a BUT

A Bac+2 qualification recognised by the school opens up entry partway through the first cycle. Two years of a Licence générale are generally not enough, but a BTS makes it possible. A BUT also makes it possible: this qualification is completed over three years and leads to a Grade de Licence, after 180 ECTS credits (the European Credit Transfer System) have been validated. However, it awards a DUT at the end of its second year, which opens the same door as the BTS, provided it is recognised by the school in question. Applying without waiting for the third year of the BUT is therefore not a problem in itself.

At Excelia Business School, candidates at Bac+2 level can notably join the Bachelor in Business, accessible in the second or third year, and the BBA International also welcomes them partway through the curriculum. The Master in Management (Programme Grande École) at Excelia Business School also accepts these profiles in the third year of its first cycle. In every case, entry takes place at the level that corresponds to the qualification obtained, never a forced catch-up, and the course of study is then organised under the same requirements as for those already on the programme.

After a Bac+3: licence, BUT or bachelor's

A Bac+3 opens up entry at master's level, most often in the first year. It matters less whether this qualification is a licence, a BUT or a bachelor's than what you intend to do with it: your original field of study, economics, law, languages or humanities, carries less weight in the selection process than the clarity of your career project and your ability to argue it in front of a panel.

At Excelia Business School, the Master in Management (Programme Grande École) also welcomes profiles directly into the first year of the master's programme, alongside those who join the programme from the first cycle. Another option: the Master of Science (MSc) programmes, over 12 or 24 months depending on your entry level, let you deepen a professional specialisation, in classic format or on a work-study basis. This route is open both to candidates who entered through direct entry and to those who came through the first cycle.

What the school looks at in your application

Direct entry is not a "fallback option": it is a fully-fledged recruitment process, with genuine academic requirements. Depending on the school, it combines an application file made up of transcripts, a CV and a letter of motivation, sometimes written tests, and almost always a motivation interview, often the stage that makes the difference.

At Excelia Business School, entry partway through the curriculum is based on an online application, supporting documents and a motivation interview that is not limited to written documents or exam results: it places the emphasis on oral skills, motivation and personal commitment. It is on the XL Connect portal that you submit your application file. The panel, for its part, is not looking for a standard profile: it remains especially attentive to the career project, to its connection with the path followed so far, and to the tasks, responsibilities and steps already taken towards an internship or work-study. Find all the information in our dedicated article: the steps of direct entry, step by step.