École Polytechnique

This article is about the French institution. For the Canadian engineering school, see École Polytechnique de Montréal. For the Swiss institute, see École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. For the film, see Polytechnique (film).
École polytechnique
Motto Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire
Motto in English
 For the Homeland, Science and Glory
Established 1794
Type Grande école, formally Military college
Ingénieur Général Yves Demay
Students 2,888[1]
Postgraduates 500 polytechnic engineers,
439 masters[1]
572[1]
Location Palaiseau, France
48°42′47″N 2°12′32″E / 48.713°N 2.209°ECoordinates: 48°42′47″N 2°12′32″E / 48.713°N 2.209°E
Colors      Imperial Blue[2]
     Red
     Yellow
Nickname L'X
Affiliations ParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, CGE, CDEFI
Website Polytechnique.edu

The École polytechnique (commonly known as Polytechnique or by the nickname " X ") is a French public institution of higher education and research, located in Palaiseau near Paris.

Polytechnique is one of the selective and prestigious French Grandes écoles,[3][4] and is renowned for its four-year[5] undergraduate-postgraduate Ingénieur Polytechnicien degree in science and engineering.[6] Known for its extremely competitive entrance examination, students are usually admitted after two years of highly selective university-level preparation in mathematics and physics or after a Bachelor of Sciences (Licence in French educative system). In addition to the 2000 polytechnic engineer students (yearly class size of 500), the institution welcomes about 439 master students and 572 doctoral students, for a total enrollment of 2,900.[1]

Polytechnique was established in 1794 by the mathematician Gaspard Monge during the French Revolution,[7] and became a military academy under Napoleon I in 1804. Today, the institution still runs under the supervision of the French ministry of Defence. Initially located in the Latin Quarter of central Paris, the establishment was moved in 1976 to Palaiseau on the Saclay Plateau, southwest of Paris.[8]

Polytechnique is a founding member of ParisTech, a grouping of leading Paris-area engineering colleges established in 2007. In 2014 it became a founding member as well as the head of multidisciplinary technology and innovation institute, the confederal "University of Paris in Saclay". Since 1995, Polytechnique has admitted a significant number of international applicants to its polytechnic engineer program,[9][10] and 20% of each cohort are foreign students.[11] Polytechnique is ranked among the best universities in the world. Among its alumni are three Nobel Prize winners,[12] eminent mathematicians and scientists,[13] one Fields Medalist,[14] three Presidents of France[15] and many CEOs of French and international companies.

History

The cadets of Polytechnique rushed to the defence of Paris against the foreign armies in 1814. A statue set in the honour courtyard of the school commemorates this deed. A copy was installed in West Point.

Polytechnique has more than 200 years of tradition:[8]

Locations

Historical entrance of the École Polytechnique Paris' campus at the junction of the rue de la Montagne Saint-Genevieve and rue Descartes
École Polytechnique Saclay's campus map

Early locations

In 1794, Polytechnique was initially hosted in the Palais Bourbon. One year later, it moved to Hôtel de Lassay, an hôtel particulier in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

Montagne Saint-Geneviève (1805-1976)

Napoleon moved Polytechnique to the Quartier Latin in 1805 when he set the school under a military administration. The Paris' campus takes place near the Panthéon, in Descartes Street, 5. It is nickmamed "Carva" by the students.

Palaiseau (from 1976)

At 15 km from Paris, the campus of the École Polytechnique is a privileged setting. It offers about 164 ha (including 120 ha of green space) teaching facilities, student housing, food services and hospitality and an exceptional range of sports facilities dedicated to the 4,600 people who live on a daily basis campus. The nearest regional train (RER) station is Lozère (RER line B, in zone 4). A number of buses also connects the Ecole Polytechnique with the larger RER and TGV station Massy-Palaiseau.[16] The campus is close to other great scientific institutions in Saclay (CEA Center), Orsay (Université Paris-Sud) and Gif (IHES and some CNRS labs). The campus will be at the heart of the Engineering and Innovation sector of the confederal "University of Paris in Saclay". Major works are in progress to expand it and connect it to automatic metro line direct to Paris.


Organization and administration

Military status

Polytechnique flag guard on Bastille Day Military Parade 2010.

Polytechnique is a higher education establishment[17] run under the supervision of the French ministry of Defence, through the General Directorate for Armament[18] (administratively speaking, it is a national public establishment of an administrative character).

Though no longer a military academy, it is headed by a general officer (as of 2012, by a General engineer of Armament, whereas previous directors were generally Army generals), and employs military personnel in executive, administrative and sport training positions.[19] Both male and female French undergraduate polytechniciens are regular officers[20] and have to go through a period of military training before the start of studies.[21][22]

However, the military aspects of the school have lessened with time, with a reduced period of preliminary military training, and fewer and fewer students pursuing careers as military officers after leaving the school. On special occasions, such as the military parade on the Champs-Élysées on Bastille Day, the polytechniciens wear the 19th-century-style grand uniform, with the bicorne, or cocked hat, but students have not typically worn a uniform on campus since the elimination of the 'internal uniform' in the mid-1980s.

Activities and teaching staff

Polytechnique has a combined undergraduate-graduate general engineering teaching curriculum as well as a graduate school. In addition to the faculty coming from its local laboratories, it employs many researchers and professors from other institutions, including other CNRS, INRIA and CEA laboratories as well as the École Normale Supérieure and nearby institutions such as the École Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec), the Institut d'Optique or the Université Paris-Sud, creating a varied and high-level teaching environment.[23]

Contrary to French public universities, the teaching staff at Polytechnique are not civil servants (fonctionnaires)[24] but contract employees operating under regulations different from those governing university professors. An originality of Polytechnique is that in addition to full-time teaching staff (exercice complet), who do research at the École in addition to a full teaching service, there are partial-time teaching staff (exercice incomplet) who do not do research on behalf of the École and carry only a partial teaching load.[25] Part-time teaching staff are often recruited from research institutions (CNRS, CEA, INRIA...) operating inside the École campus, in the Paris region, or even sometimes elsewhere in France.

Academic Profile

Benoît Mandelbrot during his speech at the ceremony when he was made an officer of the Legion of Honour on September 11, 2006, at the École polytechnique

The Polytechnicien studies

“ The mission of the École Polytechnique is to train students capable of devising and achieving complex and innovative projects at the highest level possible, thanks to a strong pluriscientific culture. Our mission is also to train young men and women in leadership skills so that they can become tomorrow's outstanding scientists, researchers, managers and public officials.[26] ”

The Polytechnicien program is broader than typical French university studies, often including topics beyond one's specialty. This focus on breadth rather than depth has been hotly debated over the years, but it nevertheless forms a characteristic of the Polytechnicien program. It is particularly useful for cross fertilization purposes between different fields, as graduates from Polytechnique most often have abilities in several disciplines; for example, they must follow at least six different topics during their second year. Humanities and sports are also mandatory parts of the curriculum, adding to the differences with most French university programs.

Admission

Foreign students of the École.

The admission to Polytechnique in the polytechnicien cycle is made through a very selective entrance examination, and requires at least two years of preparation after high school in classes préparatoires. Admission includes a week of written examinations during the spring followed by oral examinations that are handled in batches (séries) over the summer.[27]

About 400 French students are admitted each year. Foreign students, having followed a classe préparatoire curriculum (generally, French residents or students from former French colonies in Africa) can also enter through the same competitive exam (they are known as “EV1”). Foreign students can also apply through a “second track” (“EV2”) following undergraduate studies. In total, there are about 100 foreign students each year and 64 nationalities are represented.[11] Some foreign students come for a single year from other top institutions in Europe and the United States.[28]

Curriculum

Four years of study are required for the engineering degree:[29] one year of military service and scientific "common trunk" (respectively 8 months and 4 months), one year of multidisciplinary studies, and one year of specialized studies (“majors”). With the X2000 reform, a fourth year of studies, in another institution than Polytechnique, was introduced.

Students wearing the uniform of Polytechnique.
First year

The curriculum begins with 8 months during which French students undergo civilian or military service. In the past, military service lasted 12 months and was compulsory for all French students; the suppression of the draft in France made this requirement of Polytechnique somewhat anachronistic, and the service was recast as a period of “human and military formation”. All the French students spend one month together in La Courtine in a military training center. By the end of this month, they are assigned either to a civilian service or to the Army, Navy, Air Force or Gendarmerie. Students who are assigned to a military service complete a two-month military training in French officer schools such as Saint-Cyr or École Navale. Finally, they are spread out over a wide range of units for a five-month assignment to a French military unit (which can include, but is not limited to, infantry and artillery regiments, naval ships and air bases).[30] While French students stay under military status during their studies at Polytechnique, and participate in a variety of ceremonies and other military events, for example national ceremonies, such as those of Bastille Day or anniversaries of the armistices of the World Wars, they do not undergo military training per se after having completed their service in the first year.[30] They receive at the end of the first year the full dress uniform, which comprises black trousers with a red strip (a skirt for females), a coat with brass buttons and a belt, a small sword and a cocked hat (officially called a bicorne).

Francophone foreign students do a civilian service. Civilian service can, for instance, consist of being an assistant in a high school in a disadvantaged French suburb.

Then, a four-month period begins in which all students take the same five courses: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science and Economics.

Second year

The second year is a year of multidisciplinary studies. The set of disciplines spans most areas of science (mathematics, applied mathematics, mechanics, computing science, biology, physics, chemistry, economics) and some areas in the humanities (foreign languages, general humanities...). Students have to choose 8 courses in at least 6 different disciplines.

Third year

In the third year, students have to choose an in-depth program (programme d'approfondissement), which often focuses on a discipline or sometimes an interdisciplinary subject. This year is ended by a research internship (3 months to 5 months).

Fourth year

The fourth year is the beginning of more specialized studies: students not entering a Corps de l'État must join either a Master's program, a doctorate program, another ParisTech college or institute such as the École des mines de Paris or ENSAE, or a specialization institute such as Supaéro in Toulouse or ENSPM in Rueil-Malmaison. The reason for this is that the generic education given at Polytechnique is more focused on developing thinking skills than preparing for the transition to an actual engineering occupation, which requires further technical education. Increasingly, students chose to spend their fourth year studying in a foreign university. About a quarter of 3rd year students chose this path in 2008. American universities are a favourite, but the École Polytechnique has agreements with universities in a large set of countries.

Class rank and career path

Grades of the second year of the curriculum are used to rank the students. Traditionally, this exit ranking of the school had a very high importance, and some peculiarities of the organizations of studies and grading can be traced to the need for a fair playing ground between students.

For French nationals, the ranking is actually part of a government recruitment program: a certain number of seats in civil or military Corps, including elite civil servant Corps such as the Corps des Mines, are open to the student body each year. At some point during their course of study, students specify a list of Corps that they would like to enter in order of preference, and they are enrolled into the highest one according to their ranking. The next stepping stone for Polytechnique graduates, or polytechniciens, on this path is to enter one of four technical civil service training schools: the École des mines, the École des ponts et chaussées, the ENST, or the ENSAE, thus joining one of the civil service bodies known as the grands corps techniques de l'État. Those who pursue this path are known as X-Mines, X-Ponts, X-Télécoms and X-INSEE, respectively, with the X prefix, for Polytechnique, identifying them as particularly elite members of their corps.

Since the X2000 reform, the importance of the ranking has lessened. Except for the Corps curricula, universities and schools where the Polytechniciens complete their educations now base their acceptance decisions on transcripts of all grades.

Tuition and financial obligations

For French nationals, tuition is free as long as the full curriculum is completed, and a salary is received throughout the school years at the level of a reserve officer in training. French students, through the student board (Caisse des élèves or Kès), redistribute some of their salary to foreign students, most of whom also benefit from grants.

There is no particular financial obligation for students following the curriculum, and then entering an application school or graduate program that Polytechnique approves of. However, French students who choose to enter a civilian or military corps after Polytechnique are expected to complete 10 years of public service following their admission to the school (i.e. their 3 years at school count towards their time of service). If a student enters a Corps but does not fulfill those 10 years of public service (e.g. resigns from his or her Corps), the tuition fees are due to the school. Sometimes, when an alumnus quits a Corps to join a private company, that company will pay for the tuition fees which are then called the pantoufle (slipper).

The master's program

Ecole Polytechnique organizes various Master's programs, by itself or in association with other schools and universities (in the Paris region, École Normale Supérieure, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris VI, École Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec), other member institutions of ParisTech, Toulouse area and foreign partner universities) on a wide variety of topics. Access to those programs is not restricted to polytechniciens, although they are invited to join them and they make up one half of the students. The following Master's programmes are offered:

Polytechnique also takes part in two degrees awarded by ParisTech:

About 50% of Master's students come from abroad. Most master courses are taught in English.

Aerial view of the École polytechnique campus.

The doctoral program

The school also has a doctoral program open to students with a master's degree or equivalent.[31] Doctoral students generally work in the laboratories of the school; they may also work in external institutes or establishments that cannot, or will not, grant doctorates.

About 35% of doctoral students come from abroad.

Research centers

Polytechnique has many research laboratories operating in various scientific fields (physics, mathematics, computer science, economics, chemistry, biology, etc.), most operated in association with national scientific institutions such as CNRS, CEA, or also INRIA.

People

Student life

Students are represented by a board of 15 students otherwise called "Kes", elected in December by promoting each newly arrived on campus. Kes manages the relationships with teachers, management, alumni and partners ParisTech. It publishes the weekly students, Infokes and animates the life of promotions during the year. Students benefit from a great freedom of initiative to initiate cultural, artistic, social or sporting associations over a hundred students, called "binets."

Campus life is punctuated and cultural events, performances, lectures, exhibitions and events of all kinds. These student demonstrations are usually held in the evening and are open to the public. The AMIX, Association of Master's students of the École Polytechnique. X'Doc brings together students from the graduate school of the École Polytechnique.[32]

Henri Becquerel (X1872), Nobel Prize in Physics 1903.
André Citroën (X1898), founder of Citroën.

Notable alumni and academics

Many Polytechnique graduates occupy prominent positions in government, industry, and research in France. Among its alumni are three Nobel prizes winners, three Presidents of France and many CEOs of French and international companies. Of the fifty most important and best-performing corporate enterprises in France, nearly half are headed by a Polytechnicien.[33]

International rankings

In international rankings, Polytechnique is often placed among the best universities of the world.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the Shanghai Rankings, places Polytechnique in 2010 at 201-300 worldwide, and 8-13 in France.

The THE-QS World University Rankings and its successor QS World University Rankings[34] (From 2010 two separate rankings are produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings) have placed Polytechnique 36th in the 2011 rankings, #2 among French institutions, behind École Normale Supérieure.

Year Rank (Change)
200510
200637 (Decrease 27)
200728 (Increase 9)
200834 (Decrease 6)
200936 (Decrease 2)
201036 (Steady 0)

The Polytechnique ranking in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings is 39th in 2011 and #1 among French institutions.[35]

The International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, published by the École des Mines de Paris, which looks at the education of the Fortune 500 CEOs, ranks Polytechnique 7th in the world in its 2011 ranking (1st being Harvard University), #2 among French institutions behind HEC Paris.[36]

Year Rank (Change)
20074 (Steady 0)
200815 (Decrease 11)
200914 (Increase 1)
201012 (Increase 2)
20117 (Increase 5)

Polytechnique is known for its extremely competitive entrance exam.[37] It is one of the most selective French engineering schools,[38] and according to salary surveys its graduates are among the highest paid of all French graduates.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "About École Polytechnique". École Polytechnique.
  2. ↑ "Guide d'utilisation du logol".
  3. ↑ "École Polytechnique". Boston MIT. Retrieved 2 November 2013. École Polytechnique (also called "X") is the most prestigious institution in Science and Engineering in France
  4. ↑ "École Polytechnique". Columbia University. Retrieved 2 November 2013. For more than two hundred years, Ecole Polytechnique, the most prestigious educational establishment in France, has been dedicated to educating students in Science and Technology and in advanced research, at the highest level.
  5. ↑ "Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program". Ecole Polytechnique. Retrieved 2 November 2013. The Ingénieur Polytechnicien program covers 4 years
  6. ↑ "The Ingénieur Polytechnicien program". Ecole Polytechnique. Retrieved 2 November 2013. Degrees awarded: Diplôme de l'École Polytechnique, an Advanced MSc in Science and Engineering
  7. ↑ Michel Nusimovici, Les écoles de l'an III, 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "École Polytechnique - History and heritage". École Polytechnique. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "École Polytechnique - History and heritage". École Polytechnique. Retrieved 2 November 2013. 1995: A new competitive entrance exam route was opened to foreigners.
  10. ↑ Prior to 1985, the number of foreign students was quite limited. See: "Anousheh Karvar. L’École polytechnique et l’international: un bilan historique" retrieved 2011-03-31 from SABIX website .
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "An International Institute". Ecole Polytechnique. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Becquerel, Allais and Tirole.
  13. ↑ Among them : Arago, Carnot, Hermite, Jordan, Poincaré (who excelled in both mathematics and physics), Leprince-Ringuet, Gregory and Mandelbrot.
  14. ↑ Pierre-Louis Lions (1994)
  15. ↑ Sadi Carnot (who was the nephew of Carnot the physicist and the grandson of Carnot the École founder), Lebrun and Giscard.
  16. ↑ École Polytechnique - Un cadre unique. Polytechnique.edu. Retrieved on 2014-06-16.
  17. ↑ Code de l'éducation, L675-1
  18. ↑ Arrêté du 12 septembre 2005 relatif à l'exercice de la tutelle du ministre de la défense sur divers organismes publics confiés à la délégation générale pour l'armement, article 1
  19. ↑ Décret n°96-1124 du 20 décembre 1996 relatif à l'organisation et au régime administratif et financier de l'École polytechnique
  20. ↑ Décret n° 2008-960 du 12 septembre 2008 fixant certaines dispositions d'ordre statutaire applicables aux élèves français de l'École polytechnique
  21. ↑ First Period : General Education, web site
  22. ↑ Arrêté du 14 août 2001 relatif à la formation militaire et à la formation à l'exercice des responsabilités des élèves français de l'École polytechnique prévues à l'article 2 du décret n° 2000-900 du 14 septembre 2000 fixant certaines dispositions d'ordre statutaire applicables aux élèves français de l'École polytechnique
  23. ↑ Partners, official web site
  24. ↑ Décret 87-16 du 14 janvier 1987: by exception to the general rule that staff in public establishments of an administrative character are civil servants, the teaching staff of Polytechnique is hired on contracts.
  25. ↑ Décret n°2000-497 du 5 juin 2000 fixant les dispositions applicables aux personnels enseignants de l'École polytechnique
  26. ↑ “Welcome”, the Polytechnique web site
  27. ↑ The French 'Grandes Écoles', École Poytechnique web site
  28. ↑ International Exchange Program
  29. ↑ Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program, an English-language page from the school's website, describing the engineering degree.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 “Ingenieur Polytechnicien” PDF (5.79 MB) p. 74
  31. ↑ Admission École Polytechnique web site
  32. ↑ École Polytechnique - Vie associative. Polytechnique.edu. Retrieved on 2014-06-16.
  33. ↑ Polytechniciens in today's society, official web site
  34. ↑ QS World University Rankings - 2011. Top Universities (2012-12-19). Retrieved on 2014-06-16.
  35. ↑ World University Rankings 2010-2011. Times Higher Education. Retrieved on 2014-06-16.
  36. ↑
  37. ↑ Clark, Burton R. (1993). The Research foundations of graduate education: Germany, Britain, France, United States, Japan. University of California Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-520-07997-7.
  38. ↑ The École Polytechnique has the smallest resignation rate among French Grandes Écoles. Statistics of the entrance exam

Bibliography

See also

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External links