BCE entrance exam: getting into a business school after a prépa

After the prépa, go straight into the 3rd year of Excelia's Master in Management

Recruitment via the BCE entrance exam: Excelia Business School is one of the 18 member schools of the Banque commune d'épreuves.
A specific profile: students from economics and business preparatory classes, general (ECG) and technological (ECT), and to literary prépas B/L and A/L. Independent applications are also possible.(equivalent to 120 ECTS).
Direct entry into Licence 3, that is the 3rd year of the Master in Management.
A 3-year pathway, with the possibility of work-study from the 4th year.
A State-accredited Bac+5 qualification, conferring the Grade de Master.

Who can join the Master in Management after a prépa?

The BCE entrance exam is open to students from four preparatory class pathways:

• ECG: economics and business prépa, general pathway;
• ECT: economics and business prépa, technological pathway;
• B/L: humanities and social sciences prépa;
• A/L: literary prépa.

You must hold 120 ECTS. ECTS are the European credits that measure your progress in higher education: 120 credits correspond to two years of validated study.

Direct entry into the 3rd year: your 3-year pathway

The Master in Management takes place over five years: three years of pre-master's cycle, then two years of master's cycle. After your admission via the BCE, you join the 3rd year directly, in Licence 3.

• 3rd year (Licence 3): you consolidate the fundamentals of management and close the pre-master's cycle.
• 4th year (master's cycle): you deepen your project, with the possibility of following your programme on a work-study basis.
• 5th year (master's cycle): you specialise and obtain your Bac+5 qualification, Grade de Master.

You follow the same programme as the students who entered after the baccalaureate. Only the point of entry changes: the qualification is identical.

👉 Discover the Master in Management →

The BCE entrance exam in a few words

The BCE entrance exam is the joint entrance exam for the Master in Management (Programme Grande École) of the 18 member schools of the Banque commune d'épreuves. All of them award a State-accredited Bac+5 qualification conferring the Grade de Master: a recognition that employers can easily understand.

Excelia Business School is one of these 18 schools and takes part in designing some of the written papers. The exam is based on two key stages:

• common written papers, covering the syllabus of your two years of prépa;
• oral exams, specific to each school for which you are eligible.

Each school selects the written papers that interest it and applies its own coefficients to them, published on the BCE website. In 2026, the exam had 9,506 registrations for 5,282 places available.

The exam calendar, step by step

The dates for the 2027 session will be announced shortly. As a guide, here is how the 2026 session unfolded.

1. Registration on the BCE website, selecting Excelia Business School among your schools: until 12 January
2. Written papers: 22 to 29 April
3. Eligibility results: 9 to 12 June
4. Opening of oral exam appointment booking: 12 June
5. Oral exams: 15 June to 6 July
6. Admission results: 10 July
7. Entry of choices: 13 to 15 July
8. Allocation on the SIGEM platform: 17 July

Note for ECT prépa students: according to the BCE, the technological pathway moves to a single Economics and Law paper from the 2027 exam.

👉 Consult the official calendar on the BCE website →

The oral exam at Excelia Business School: a discussion about your project

Once you are eligible, you book your own oral exam slot from your BCE candidate area. The oral exam takes place face-to-face, on one of our campuses, where student ambassadors welcome you.

Our advice: take your oral exam on the campus you wish to join. It is the ideal opportunity to discover your future study environment.

👉 Prepare for your oral exam with our videos and advice →

La Rochelle or Paris: choose the living environment that suits you

📍 Two campuses to start your pathway

Choose the living environment that suits you: La Rochelle or Paris for your first year at Excelia.

And inter-campus mobility is possible from your 2nd year!

👉 Compare our campuses →

Why choose Excelia after a prépa?

• Your exam success rewarded: if you are ranked in the top third of the BCE written papers, you receive an excellence scholarship of €3,000 for your first year, and an exemption from tuition fees for an optional year abroad.
• Recognised academic excellence: the quadruple accreditation EQUIS, AACSB, AMBA and EFMD Master places Excelia Business School among fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide.
• An international outlook: 233 academic partners in 57 countries.
• Support towards employment: the Talent Centre offers you one-to-one coaching to build your career project and find your internships.
• Work-study, from the 4th year: you gain hands-on experience while funding your studies.

The conditions of the excellence scholarship are set out on the Master in Management entry page.

Ready to take the plunge?

Your prépa has given you a solid foundation. Excelia Business School's Master in Management (Programme Grande École) gives you three years to turn it into managerial skills, in France and internationally.

• 👉 Discover the pathways and employability of our graduates →
• 👉 Estimate the cost of your studies with our simulator →
• 👉 Register for the BCE entrance exam and select Excelia Business School →

Discover the Master in Management

Frequently asked questions

What does BCE stand for?

BCE stands for Banque commune d'épreuves. It organises the joint entrance exam for the Master in Management (Programme Grande École) of its 18 member schools, including Excelia Business School. Three associate schools also recruit using its tests.

Which preparatory classes can sit the BCE entrance exam?

The BCE entrance exam is open to economics and business prépas, general (ECG) and technological (ECT), and to literary prépas B/L and A/L. Independent applications are also possible.

In which year do you enter the Master in Management after a prépa?

Prépa students join Excelia Business School's Master in Management (Programme Grande École) in the third year, the last of the pre-master's cycle, then follow two years of master's cycle up to Bac+5.

How do you register for the BCE entrance exam and choose your schools?

Registration is done online on the BCE website. There you choose the schools you are applying to, including Excelia Business School, then you sit the written papers that these schools select.

Is the qualification the same after a prépa and after the baccalaureate?

Yes. The Master in Management (Programme Grande École) remains the same programme with two points of entry, and both routes lead to the same State-accredited qualification, which confers the Grade de Master.