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Graduate employability: top universities in France ranked by employers 2023-24

French universities producing the most employable graduates have been ranked by companies around the world in the Global University Employability Ranking 2023-24

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November 23 2023
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There are 19 French universities in the Global University Employability Ranking 2023-24, designed by the 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.

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Business schools also feature prominently, including 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 had 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. Ecole Polytechnique - Institut Polytechique de Paris

Ecole Polytechnique - Institut Polytechique de Paris is a public higher education and research institution made up of five engineering graduate schools in Paris. 

These schools include École Polytechnique, ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Telecom Paris and Telecom SudParis. 

The school was established in 2019. It teaches classes in 10 different academic disciplines including biology, economics, physics, literature and languages, and data and artificial intelligence, among others. 


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Top universities in France for graduate employability 2023-24

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

France Employability rank
2023-24
Employability rank
2023-24
Employability rank
2022-23
University  City/town
1 19 18 CentraleSupélec  Paris
2 22 23 HEC Paris Paris
3 28 33 Ecole Polytechnique - Institut Polytechique de Paris Paris
4 44 41 EMLyon Business School Lyon
5 50 52 Sorbonne University Paris
6 52 50 Mines ParisTech Paris
7 57 55 ESSEC Business School Cergy
8 58 57 EDHEC Business School Paris
9 63 70 ESCP Business School Paris
10 65 68 Université Paris-Saclay Paris
11 74 59 Ecole normale supérieure Paris-Saclay Paris
12 120 131 Arts et Métiers  Paris
13 141 143 Paris Dauphine University Paris
14 144 156 École des Ponts ParisTech Paris
15 215 223 Télécom Paris Paris
16 217 226 Ecole Centrale de Lyon Lyon
17 223 238 Aix-Marseille University Marseille
18 236 236 Skema Business School Various
19 240 NR Université Grenoble Alpes  Grenoble
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