EDHEC Business School, France

With campuses in France, London and Singapore, EDHEC Business School, Franceis consistently ranked among the Top 20 B-schools worldwide.

With campuses in Lille, Nice and Paris (France), and two campuses in London and Singapore, the EDHEC (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales) Business School is consistently ranked among the world’s Top 20 business management education institutions. The London-based Financial Times ranks EDHEC #1 worldwide for its Masters in finance degree programme while The Economist ranks it #3 for MBA programmes in France. 

Founded in 1906 by entrepreneurs from northern France, EDHEC began modestly as the business studies department of the Ecole Des Hautes Etudes Industrielles School in Lille. In 1921, it went solo as the EDHEC Business School. Currently the privately managed B-school (annual budget: €121.5 million or Rs.917 crore) offers undergraduate, graduate and executive business management study programmes to 7,000 students including 120 from India. While its Lille and Nice campuses offer Masters programmes in business management and financial economics, the campuses in Paris, London and Singapore mostly offer executive education programmes. 

“The number of Indian students admitted into EDHEC has increased 400 percent in the past four years. All our two-year Masters programmes are taught entirely in English and internships are mandatory. We also have partnership agreements with over 150 universities worldwide. The high quality of our programmes, international exposure and hands-on industry experience equip students with an unparralled business management education,” says Nilesh Gaikwad, country manager (India) of EDHEC. 

Lille. Named the European capital of culture in 2004, Lille (pop. 228,650) is a major tourist destination famous for its architecture and culture. The fourth largest city in France, Lille is an hour by train from Paris and part of the Lille Métropole urban area which hosts several historical landmarks displaying an array of architectural styles with Flemish influence. The city offers an excellent public transport system, a plethora of restaurants, cinemas, and shopping options. It has a temperate oceanic climate, with cool summers and cold winters.

Nice. The capital of the French Riviera, Nice (pop. 347,060) is world-famous for its sandy beaches and warm Mediterranean climate. Over the past two decades, the city which attracts 4 million tourists annually, has also emerged as a hub of technology and biotech start-ups. Nice is six hours by train from Paris and operates the third busiest airport in France. 

Campus facilities. EDHEC’s main campus is in Lille. Sited on an 8.5-hectare wooded parkland with 43,000 sq. m built-up area, the futuristic Lille campus offers state-of-the-art academic and sports facilities to its 4,000 students. These include a digitally networked library and trading room, 35 lecture rooms, 21 lecture halls, 760-seat auditorium and the EDHEC Young Entrepreneurs Incubator. Sports facilities include a swimming pool, sports hall, dance studio, squash court and gym with students given the choice of participation in over 20 sports. 

The Nice campus is sited close to the airport and offers this highly-reputed B-school’s Global MBA and PhD in finance programmes, and intra and inter-company training programmes. Several chairs and research centres including the EDHEC-Risk Institute are also sited on this campus. Academic and recreation facilities include 13 lecture halls, 22 lecture rooms, five computing and e-learning rooms, an incubator and trading room, a state-of-the-art gym, music rooms, amphitheatres, and private study cubicles equipped with computers and wi-fi. 

The Paris campus located between the Paris Stock Exchange and Opera House in the historic business district, offers executive education programmes and hosts the B-school’s Companies & Careers Department, the Graduate Association and EDHEC Executive Education Department. 

The London campus offers the PhD in finance and M.Sc in risk and finance study programmes, while the Singapore EDHEC campus is a major research centre and hosts the Asian headquarters of the EDHEC-Risk Institute.

Admission. The minimum eligibility requirement for admission into EDHEC’s Masters programmes is successful completion of a bachelor’s degree. To qualify for admission, Indian students need to submit GMAT, GRE, Tage Mage, CFA level III or CAT scores and proof of English language proficiency — TOEFL, IELTS or TOEIC scores are acceptable. 

Even though all Masters programmes are offered in English and proficiency in French isn’t mandatory for admission, it’s advisable to learn basic French before emplaning for France. The best option is to enroll in a 40-hour French language crash course at any of the 22 Alliance Francaise centres in India. EDHEC also offers a French learning scholarship to all students selected from India, and French language courses are also delivered free-of-charge on campus.

Admission applications can be submitted online at www.edhec.edu together with a fee of €100 (Rs.7,600). Admissions are based on the completed online application form, test scores and a telephonic interview. The admission deadline for the next Masters programme is June 30, 2018. 

For further information contact Nilesh Gaikwad, Country Manager (India), @IFCCI, 1st floor, Gate #3, R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, Hauz Khas, Delhi 110022. Ph: +91-9867029170; email: [email protected]; or visit www.edhec.edu.

Accommodation. EDHEC offers on-campus housing — furnished studios and flats — for 300 students on its Lille campus. Moreover, there is a wide variety of private housing options available in the city. Students enrolled in the Nice campus have the option of renting private flats or halls of residence. The Student Office also helps in finding suitable private accommodation.

Degree programmes. EDHEC offers two MBAs, 13 Masters programmes and a PhD in finance (see box).

Sruthy Susan Ullas