Contents
Our principles
Public data
Competitive exams, Parcoursup, CTI, CDEFI, InserSup: every criterion rests on verifiable sources, cited under each calculation.
Entry and exit
We measure both who a school recruits and what its graduates become, with equal weight.
Independence
Schools and partners have no influence on the method or on the results.
Six criteria and their coefficients
The coefficients balance the entry measures (average level, selectivity, attractiveness) and the exit measures (employability, research, entrepreneurship). Among the exit criteria, the weighting reflects the share of students concerned.
Entry criteria
Exit criteria
The total score is calculated out of 100 and includes a specialisation bonus of 1 to 6 points.
The criteria in detail
Average level× 2entry
Being written.
Sources. 2024 SCEI data on rankings in the competitive-exam tracks (provided by some schools), Parcoursup data for post-baccalaureate schools and preparatory classes (2024 session), CDEFI data on admitted students by baccalaureate average for admissions at bac + 2 outside preparatory classes.
Selectivity× 2entry
Being written.
Sources. 2024 SCEI data on rankings in the competitive-exam tracks (provided by some schools), Parcoursup data for post-baccalaureate schools and preparatory classes (2024 session), CDEFI data on admitted students by baccalaureate average for admissions at bac + 2 outside preparatory classes.
Attractiveness× 2entry
Being written.
Sources. 2024 SCEI data on rankings in the competitive-exam tracks (provided by some schools), Parcoursup data for post-baccalaureate schools and preparatory classes (2024 session), CDEFI data on admitted students by baccalaureate average for admissions at bac + 2 outside preparatory classes.
Employability× 4exit
Objective. This criterion shows the value of the degree in the eyes of employers in the sectors the school targets. It is based on the median salary of recent graduates, adjusted for exit sectors for the most direct view, and on the number of CAC 40 executives over the past 20 years for a longer-term view.
Example. AgroParisTech, which places most of its students in the agri-food industry and agriculture, shows a markedly lower exit salary than ENSAE Paris, which leans towards banking and insurance, even though both schools are references in their fields. The calculation method evens out these gaps due to the exit sector.
Sources. CTI (median and mean salaries, number of graduates), CDEFI (distribution of graduates by sector), CGE school surveys, CAC 40 executives and their backgrounds (Wikipedia, LinkedIn, company websites).
Research× 1exit
Being written.
Sources. CTI (PhD enrolments, respondents, graduates), CDEFI, CGE surveys, public data on prize-winning researchers and their backgrounds.
Entrepreneurship× 1exit
Being written.
Sources. CTI (students with student-entrepreneur status, number of graduates), founders of French Tech companies and their backgrounds (Wikipedia, LinkedIn, French Tech website).
Domains and specialisation grade
The domain categorisation only shows, in each ranking, the degrees that offer genuine specialisation in that domain. In 2025, nearly 6,000 specialisation titles were grouped by semantic proximity into 53 domains, then checked by the schools.
The specialisation grade rewards schools that offer specialised teaching and a dense network of graduates in the domain: up to 5 points for a specialised school, 3 points for a degree specialised in a sub-domain, and 1 additional point for certain strongly marked sub-domains.
Example. Mines Nancy, a generalist school, lets students specialise in process engineering in the 3rd year: it is ranked in this domain with a bonus of 1. Toulouse INP - ENSIACET, specialised in chemistry from the 1st year and whose graduates mostly work in process engineering, receives a bonus of 6. École des Ponts, which does not offer this specialisation, is not ranked in this domain.
A grade from AAA to C
Each institution gets a grade modelled on rating agencies and based on our criteria. It helps compare at a glance and does not sum up everything a school offers.
| Grade | Schools and degrees threshold | Share of schools | Share of degrees | Preparatory classes threshold | Share of preparatory classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | 60 and above | 5.4% | 7.3% | 80 and above | 3.3% |
| AA | 50 to 59 | 7% | 11.2% | 60 to 79 | 8.9% |
| A | 45 to 49 | 8.6% | 9.4% | 55 to 59 | 3.7% |
| BBB | 40 to 44 | 15.1% | 11.7% | 50 to 54 | 5.8% |
| BB | 35 to 39 | 17.8% | 11.4% | 40 to 49 | 15.9% |
| B | 30 to 34 | 23.2% | 17.8% | 35 to 39 | 12.3% |
| CCC | 25 to 29 | 14.1% | 12.3% | 30 to 34 | 14.7% |
| CC | 20 to 24 | 7% | 11.8% | 25 to 29 | 13.5% |
| C | below 20 | 1.6% | 7% | below 25 | 22.1% |
Thresholds apply to the total score out of 100; shares are calculated over the 185 schools, 1,959 degrees and 675 preparatory classes of the 2025 edition. The grade depends on the score alone, with no quota, so the share of each grade varies from one ranking to another. Business schools and law degrees follow a different grading logic, described on their page.
The other rankings
Engineering degrees by domainEach degree is compared with the other degrees of its domain, as a student or an apprentice, with the specialisation grade.See the ranking Preparatory classesPreparatory classes are ranked by track according to the engineering schools their students join.See the ranking Law degreesProgrammes are ranked according to what their graduates go on to do: the bar, the judiciary, the senior civil service and research.See the rankingDoes a figure look wrong?
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