École centrale Paris

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Ecole Centrale Paris
Motto: To train leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators
Established: 1829
Type: Public, Grand établissement
President: Hervé Biausser
Students: 1,394
Location: Châtenay-Malabry, France
Affiliations: Centrale Graduate School
Website: http://www.ecp.fr

Coordinates: 48°45′56.8″N, 2°17′18.3″E

École Centrale Paris is a renowned French university-level institution (Grande Ecole) in the field of engineering. It is also known by its original name École centrale des arts et manufactures, or ECP. Founded in 1829, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering schools in France and has the special status of Grand établissement. École Centrale Paris offers graduate degree programs as well as PhD opportunities.

École Centrale Paris is one of the Centrale Graduate Schools associated as the Intergroupe des écoles centrales network with its sister institutions (Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Marseille, and Beijing). It was the founder in 1988 of the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for Europe) network, which allows for student exchanges between leading European engineering schools. It also belongs to CESAER, an association of European engineering schools.

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[edit] Location

École Centrale Paris is located in Châtenay-Malabry, Hauts-de-Seine, a southern suburb of Paris, France (in a region called Île-de-France), next to the Parc de Sceaux and its Château de Sceaux.


[edit] History

The École was founded in 1829 on a private initiative by Alphonse Lavallée, who was its first president, and three associates: Eugène Peclet, Jean-Baptiste Dumas, and Théodore Olivier. The founding vision was to educate multidisciplinary engineers for the emerging industrial sector. The institution was given to the French state in 1857 by its creator, Alphonse Lavallée.

Initially located in the Hôtel de Juigné (now Hôtel Salé and home to the Musée Picasso), it was transferred to rue Montgolfier in 1884, where it stayed until 1969. Its current location neighbours the Parc de Sceaux.

Former location of the École centrale, rue Montgolfier in Paris (3rd arrondissement)

[edit] The Centralien Programme

The centralien Program is the original and main programme offered by the École. It is quite different from typical university or college studies; and specific to the French system of Grandes écoles. Studies go beyond the undergraduate level and the engineering degree of École centrale Paris (Ingénieur centralien or “centralien engineer”) is equivalent to a Master of Science. The curriculum is similar to those offered at other French Grandes écoles, such as École Polytechnique, École des Mines de Paris, École Supérieure d'Électricité (Supélec), or École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées.

The class of 2008 is about 450 students.

[edit] Admission

Most of the students are admitted after two to three years of classes préparatoires, which correspond to two years of post high-school education with heavy emphasis on Maths and Physics (freshman and sophomore years at US universities). At the end of the second year (“Mathématiques spéciales”) students can take a nation-wide competitive entrance examination for the Grandes écoles, including École centrale Paris. The ECP recruits among the top 6% of the students in classes préparatoires, which makes it a selective and prestigious institution. A few students come from French universities after completing three years of post high-school education. A significative contingent of students also comes from leading international universities which belong to the TIME network (Top Industrial Managers for Europe).

[edit] Curriculum

Education at the ECP is multidisciplinary and typically lasts three to four years. During the first two years (Tronc Commun, or “Common Trunk”), students are required to take classes in science (Mathematics, Physics, Biology); in engineering (Continuum Mechanics, Heat transfer, Digital image processing, Computer programming,…) and in social sciences (Economics, Management, foreign languages,…). After these two years of “Tronc commun”, students choose to major in a particular field, which they study for one year and a half to two years. After completing these 3 years and a half to four years of education, they receive the degree of “Ingénieur des arts et manufactures”, more commonly called “ingénieur centralien”.

[edit] National and international ties

The École centrale Paris belongs to the French intergroupe des écoles centrales, together with École centrale de Lyon, École centrale de Lille, École centrale de Nantes, École centrale de Marseille and École centrale de Pékin (Beijing).

Since 1837, the school has built important international ties. Students come from around the world to study for several years on the school campus. École Centrale students may also obtain a “double diploma” at one of several partner schools, depending on the school, field of study, and degree type. Furthermore, the École is one of the founding members of the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for Europe) network. (Member List)

[edit] Research

The ECP hosts eight laboratories:

[edit] The graduate school

In addition to the centralien training, the École centrale Paris offers a broad range of master's programs in science and engineering (1 year- or 2 year-programs). These programmes are opened to applicants having completed their undergraduate studies at other institutions.

MS programs at ECP

The ECP also has a Ph.D. programme for students with a master's level. More than 200 doctoral candidates work in one of the 8 laboratories of the school.

[edit] Alumni

Gustave Eiffel, designed the Eiffel Tower and the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty in New-York
Gustave Eiffel, designed the Eiffel Tower and the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty in New-York
See also: :Category:Alumni of the École Centrale Paris

They include:

[edit] Notable faculty

They include:

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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Centrale Graduate School

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