The "École des Practiciens du Commerce International", now referred to as "ESSEC BBA", is the Bachelor of Business Administration program of ESSEC Business School, France.
It was created in 1975 by ESSEC to prepare students to meet the needs of French firms launching operations on the international market.
In 1977, the EPSCI degree became the first ever undergraduate degree outside of the US to be awarded AACSB accreditation. In 2003, it became the first undergraduate degree to hold both EQUIS and AACSB accreditations.
Video EPSCI
Academics
Curriculum
The curriculum is four years long, and divided into two "cycles", of two years each. It allows for extensive professional exposure, and is concluded by a thesis.
First cycle
During the first two years, students take classes in subjects grouped into "modules": "Management Science and Techniques", "Marketing and International Trade Development", "Economic and Legal Environments", "Personal Development and Entrepreneurship" and "Languages". In the first year, students must spend 6 to 12 weeks interning in a position of customer service/ relation. At the end of their second year, they are required to spend at least three months interning in the company and position of their choice.
At the end of the First Cycle, students are matched with tutors who accompany them until they graduate. These tutors are volunteers, and are either Professors at ESSEC or alumni of the school. Their goal is to help students find their way through the career planning process.
Second cycle
Although still based on the module system, the second and final half of the BBA is more flexible than the first, and is tailored to fit the needs and interests of each individual student. Three main paths are possible:
- Double-degree path: Offers two semesters in a foreign partner university, a six-month internship abroad and a final semester at EPSCI. Students receive both the EPSCI diploma and the partner school's diploma.
- Exchange path: Comprises 1 or 2 semesters in a foreign partner university, at least one semester of internship abroad (a second, optional one is possible), and a final semester at EPSCI. Credit earned in the selected foreign university will count towards the EPSCI Bachelor only.
- Sandwich education: Combines one year of professional placement and 1 year of studies at EPSCI, in alternating periods of 6 months, and a semester abroad. Students following this path therefore complete their education later than other students.
During the Second Cycle, students have a choice of various electives, so as to pursue specific interests they may have.
After original research is produced during the final months at EPSCI, the program is concluded by the defense of a senior thesis.
Faculty
Many EPSCI faculty members are also ESSEC MBA faculty members, and some teach at other top schools such as the Sorbonne, Université Paris-Dauphine, or Sciences Po Paris. Additionally, sixty professionals lead classes at EPSCI, giving valuable insight to students in their respective fields. Language teachers are all native speakers of the language they teach, and make up for 10 different nationalities.
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International scope
Over 30 years of existence, the program has distinguished itself by its exceptional international orientation. Students who graduate will have spent at least 1 year abroad, including at least a semester in one of the foreign partner schools, and at least a semester of work experience abroad.
Partner universities
EPSCI has 77 partner universities in 30 different countries.
Some of the most recognizable partners for exchanges are McGill University, Emory University, Keio University, Queen's University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, IE Business School, UNC-Chapel Hill, Bocconi Milan, and UNSW Sydney.
Seven dual-degrees are offered: Sheffield Hallam University, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, International Business School Groningen, Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics Moscow, ESIC Madrid, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and Tongji University Shanghai.
EPSCI's partners are among the best institutions in their countries, and choosing a school in a country where one would want to start his or her professional career is a good way to further enhance a young graduate's competitiveness in the target job market.
Foreign Languages
One of the school's ambitions is to develop multilingual leaders. A total of nine different languages are taught at EPSCI.
Three languages are mandatory: they include English for all students, either German or Spanish as second languages, and a choice between Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Chinese and Japanese as third languages. A score of 850/990 points on the TOEIC is a pre-requisite for graduation. The TOEIC is taken on campus during the second year.
The German "WIDaF" and Spanish "Bulats" tests are also taken during the 2nd year of studies, but there is no minimal score required to obtain the degree. During the third year of studies, EPSCI students take several management courses in English with international exchange students.
Some partner universities (especially those in the US and Canada) require students to obtain certain minimum scores on the TOEFL. Adequate preparation for this test is provided by EPSCI.
Student clubs
ESSEC has a very rich student culture, and EPSCI students are an integral part of it. From entrepreneurial to humanitarian, from cultural to sports-related, there are more than 100 student clubs at ESSEC, among which:
- Mardis de l'ESSEC: One of the school's most famous clubs. It organizes discussions with leaders in many different fields. Former participants total more than 400 people, and have included current (and former) heads-of-state and ministers, such as Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, and major business players, such as Serge Dassault. The first participant was Salvador Dalí, in 1961;
- Junior ESSEC Conseil: France's leading student consulting association. Run by ESSEC Project Managers, it provides companies with market studies, internal auditing, communication strategies evaluations, and more. Its revenue stands at EUR1,5 million/year, through about 250 missions per year;
- BBA ESSEC & Co'm: An association meant to promote the BBA ESSEC's program by organizing events such as the open door event, giving information on the program to students at conferences (Campus Chanel).
- High Five: ESSEC's Yearbook club, which organizes events, BeerPong tournaments, and multiple different activities.
- Reve FM: The school's radio;
- ESSEClive: ESSEC's community website, the first student website in France (by number of visits);
- Melt: Melt is a student association that aims to bring together international students (more than 900) and ESSEC students in order to encourage and develop intercultural relations on campus. It organizes various activities for international students throughout the year;
- Foyer des élèves (Foy's): Founded in 1973, the Foy's is a student-run pub located at the Cergy-Pontoise campus. It serves ESSEC students from noon to midnight, offering fresh sandwiches for lunch and a wide variety of drinks all day long. In addition to every day operations, the "Foy's" also organizes many concerts, events, and themed parties.
After EPSCI
Value of work experience
The work experience time required for graduation is typically 11 to 18 months. The extensive work experience required by the school allows students to find out what they really enjoy doing, start orienting their career paths, and be more competitive on the job market than graduates with less professional experience under their belts.
Statistics
- International placement
After graduation, 65% of alumni work abroad or in an international context, and 45% work in a position requiring three languages.
- Further studies
30% continue their studies, of which 12% choose to join an MBA.
Of all BBA students who apply for a Specialized Master program at ESSEC after EPSCI, 70% are admitted. Naturally, students may also apply to enter the ESSEC MSc in Management program.
EPSCI students seeking postgraduate education outside ESSEC have historically joined prestigious French schools such as Université Paris-Dauphine, EM Lyon, Sciences-Po, or the Ecole des Mines de Paris, and major foreign schools like the London School of Economics, the Bocconi Milan, the London Business School, or McGill University.
Rankings
Among French undergraduate business programs, EPSCI was ranked:
- 1st by "Le Figaro" in 2007;
- 1st by "Le Point" in 2009;
- 1st by "Challenges" in 2009;
- 1st by the Nouvel Observateur in 2009.
- 1st by Le Point in 2011
It is indeed most often ranked as the best Bachelor-level business program in France.
In field-specific rankings, EPSCI is sometimes ranked higher than traditionally more prestigious "Grandes écoles" (master-level, and accessible after preparatory classes).
For example, in 2009 it was ranked the 6th best business school in France for Marketing, higher than EM Lyon, EDHEC and Audencia, among others.
Admissions
The admission process is primarily carried out right out of secondary school. Admissions to the ESSEC BBA program are made through the competitive Concours SESAME, an examination common to 7 different French business schools.
The test first evaluates language skills, logic (quantitative and general), and capacity for analysis during an 8-hour written session. If the candidate is successful, (s)he then has to pass a series of graded interviews conducted at the school (conversations in the chosen foreign languages, and a general interview).
Admissions to EPSCI are highly selective: in 2008, the acceptance rate was slightly over 4.2% (~185 students admitted out of ~4,800 candidates).
It is also possible to join EPSCI later on in one's studies, as a transfer student, although this is much rarer.
Notable alumni
EPSCI is part of the ESSEC Business School network, which boasts 32,000 alumni.
Notes
Most of the information on this page is found on the school's website (in French), and on the brochure, downloadable on the website.
External links
- EPSCI official website
- ESSEC Business School official website
- esseclive: ESSEC Students website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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