What is a French "Grande Ecole"

The INPL Engineering Schools are considered, under the French Educational System, as "Grandes Ecoles." In France, there are two main types of institutions: Grandes Ecoles and regular Universities. Universities are all public and accommodate a very large number of students (about 1.5 million).
Second, the Grandes Ecoles to which access is selective have a limited number of students and ensure a higher level of education with a professional objective: training higher-level business executives, engineers, and Professors. Admission to one of these Grandes Ecoles is equivalent to being admitted to the 10% top-ranking universities in the United Sates.

French students are admitted to ENSG in their first year by way of a competitive entry examination after a two-year compulsory university curriculum in the so called "classes préparatoires" (« preparatory classes").

The duration of studies is therefore three years in those five schools.

A few students (10% who have obtained a graduate diploma in a university, four years after the French Baccalaureate), can be admitted into the second year in one of the five schools.

All INPL schools award an engineering diploma five years after the Baccalaureate (GCE or A Level).