There are 18 French universities in the Global University Employability Ranking 2020, designed by HR consultancy Emerging and published exclusively by Times Higher Education. The ranking reveals which universities recruiters at top companies think are the best at preparing students for the workplace.
The grandes écoles – elite French institutions set up to produce civil servants and businesspeople – do particularly well in the employability ranking.
Business schools also feature prominently, including HEC Paris and ESSEC Business School. The majority of universities on the list are located in Paris.
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Top three universities in France for graduate employability
1. CentraleSupélec
In 2015, the merger of two of France’s leading engineering universities led to the creation of CentraleSupélec.
The two schools that formed CentraleSupélec were the École Centrale Paris and the École Supérieure d’Electricité. Over the years, both schools gained an international reputation for excellence in their fields, and their graduates were some of the highest-earning in France.
2. HEC Paris
HEC Paris is an international business school set up in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The university’s flagship course is a master’s in management. The institution also offers 11 specialised MSc programmes and a PhD programme.
Notable alumni include Louis Dreyfus, chairman of newspaper Le Monde; Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L’Oréal; and René Proglio, chairman of Morgan Stanley France.
3. École Polytechnique
École Polytechnique was established in 1794 and previously served as a military academy under Napoleon I in 1804. Although it is no longer a military academy, the institution is still supervised by the French Ministry of Defence.
It focuses on teaching science and engineering, but students can also take courses in humanities, social sciences and languages.
Students are expected to do an internship during their time at the university to gain some work experience.
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Top universities in France for graduate employability 2020
Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2021 results.
| France Rank 2020 | Employability Rank 2020 | Employability Rank 2019 | Institution | City |
| 1 | 22 | 44 | CentraleSupélec | Various |
| 2 | 24 | 22 | HEC Paris | Paris |
| 3 | 30 | 28 | École Polytechnique | Paris |
| 4 | 34 | 30 | Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris | Paris |
| 5 | 36 | 39 | EMLYON | Lyon |
| 6 | 40 | 41 | Mines ParisTech (PSL) | Paris |
| 7 | 59 | 60 | EDHEC Business School | Various |
| 8 | 63 | 66 | Sorbonne University (Faculty of Science and Engineering) | Paris |
| 9 | 80 | 83 | ESSEC Business School | Cergy |
| 10 | 112 | 111 | Paris-Sud University | Paris |
| 11 | 115 | 117 | ESCP Europe | Paris |
| 12 | 138 | 143 | Sciences Po | Paris |
| 13 | 142 | 142 | Paris Dauphine University (PSL) | Paris |
| 14 | 150 | 182 | Arts et Métiers ParisTech | Paris |
| 15 | 177 | 169 | École des Ponts ParisTech | Paris |
| 16 | 178 | 167 | École Centrale de Lyon | Lyon |
| 17 | 240 | 249 | SKEMA Business School | Various |
| 18 | 244 | 217 | Télécom Paris | Paris |
