The aim of Ecole Centrale Paris is to produce top-level, multi-disciplinary engineers and managers. While in constant evolution to anticipate and reflect the needs of the fast-changing industrial and economic environment, the three-year curriculum at Ecole Centrale Paris consistently emphasizes a balance among three fundamental aspects:

• acquisition of a broad, multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering background
• development of interpersonal skills
• introduction to the dynamics of the engineering profession.

Note that all students come to Ecole Centrale Paris after at least two years of post-high school education. During their first two years at ECP, all students follow a common core curriculum. Then, in their third year, they choose an area of concentration among fifteen engineering fields.

Two-thirds of the studentsí time is devoted to the acquisition or reinforcement of scientific and engineering knowledge. The program combines a variety of formats varying from lectures and tutorials to laboratory and project work. A prime characteristic of the academic program at ECP is its multi-disciplinary focus. Students gain exposure to a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from most engineering fields to economics and management. They also acquire the scientific tools that are useful in these fields. Priority is given to developing an understanding of the issues and concepts of importance to the various fields, rather than delving into technological applications that may rapidly become obsolete. This approach is based on the double premise that the students admitted to Ecole Centrale Paris have the intellectual abilities to adjust rapidly to the technological tools specific to their future career field, and that industry understands that it will provide the necessary complementary technological training to make its future employees operational. This original approach is validated by the tremendous success encountered by ECP alumni in the very diverse fields they enter, whether in engineering, research, or management. It should be noted that Ecole Centrale Paris has always been considered to rank among the top three schools in France with respect to employer satisfaction. In 1998, the Nouvel Economiste ranked Ecole Centrale Paris at the top of the French Grandes Ecoles for employer satisfaction.

Begun experimentally in 1995, this cycle is intended to provide the students with exposure to the corporate world and to the educational objectives of Ecole Centrale Paris. The goal is to help students make the transition from the purely academic background of the Classes Préparatoires to the engineering and scientific perspectives of the business world. In keeping with these objectives, several opportunities are offered during the first semester for a first exploration of the corporate world. Activities include the Integration Weekend, a half-day presentation of selected companies, a half-day presentation of research activities, site visits of factories, and meetings or round table discussions with recent graduates of the school.

One of the greatest challenges of young graduates entering the corporate world is their lack of experience in dealing with the complexities of real-life projects and the difficulties in seeing them through to the end. Ecole Centrale Paris seeks to expose all students to project work early on in their training, through a variety of engineering and research projects that can be completed either individually or as a team. Students discover the importance of bibliography, the intricacies of experimental work, the importance of protecting innovation and intellectual property, the efficiency of teamwork, and other aspects linked to bringing a project to fruition. All graduating students will thus have had several contacts with research, in addition to the laboratory sessions offered at the research laboratories of Ecole Centrale Paris.

Most students entering Ecole Centrale Paris have had little prior opportunity to familiarize themselves with the diverse aspects of engineering. Several social and human sciences are offered at ECP to give students a better understanding of themselves, as well as of interpersonal relations and group dynamics. Furthermore, whatever their future profession, high-level engineers and managers strongly benefit from an in-depth understanding of the wider world. The diversity of the student body (there are about 20% of foreign students at ECP), the possibility of completing the third year of Ecole Centrale Paris abroad (25% of the graduating class obtains a double degree), the language classes taught by native speakers, the requirement to reach a high level of proficiency in two foreign languages, and the mandatory internship in a non-French speaking country provide as many opportunities to develop awareness of other cultures.

Throughout the common core curriculum, two tutors chosen from among the professors, administrative staff or the Ph.D. students are assigned to a group of twelve students. Each student meets individually three times a year with one of his or her tutors who acts in a counseling capacity for career choices. In addition, students undertake several activities in the context of their tuition group, including a two-year long " Spotlight Project " which focuses on the design of a technically complex object.

Elective modules are designed to give students the opportunity to gain depth in specific fields. Students choose one module from among the subjects proposed in each area. The formats of activities proposed by the professors vary greatly. Since the beginning of the 1996 academic year, elective thematic modules have been offered in the six following areas:

• Mathematics
• Physics
• Mechanics
• Engineering Sciences
• Electronics, Control Systems, and Computer Science
• Economics and Business Management

The grading system can be summarized as follows: all activities of the curriculum are evaluated by oral or written examinations and are sanctioned by a grade on a scale of 0 to 20 or by a " pass or fail " designation. It is generally considered impossible to establish a direct equivalence with the American and British systems. The extremes of the scale are infrequently used; 20, the highest grade, is rarely given. To pass from one year to the next, students must have fewer than a maximum number of "fail" designations: three or two, depending on the year. "Fail" designations include a grade of less than 6 in a course, less than average of 10/20 in a subject grouping:

• mathematics
• physics
• mechanics
• engineering sciences
• electronics
• control systems and computer science
• economics and business management
• project and laboratory work
humanities and social sciences