Even
the last dike has blown.
The temple of business studies in France, HEC Paris, announced last October the opening of its first post-baccalaureate program, a bachelor's degree.
Certainly, this one is a little special, both in terms of the target audience – students from all over the world – and in terms of its delivery, with half of the course taught at Bocconi University in Milan (Italy) and the other on the campus of 'HEC Paris.
Also through its specialized specialization is this Bachelor of Arts and Science (BAS) entitled “Data, Society and Organizations”.
And last distinction, its price: 75,250 euros for this three-year course.
On a symbolic level, HEC Paris was in fact the last of the major management schools recruiting exclusively after a preparatory class.
It is now over, although the school categorically denies wanting to divert students from historic prep courses.
“The evil tongues will say it, but that is not the case,” its general director Eloïc Peyrache recently assured Les Echos.
Booming segment
In other business schools, the bachelor's degree continues to progress, whether in its traditional form over three years or in its Anglo-Saxon version over four years.
Baccalaureate graduates tempted by a management school now have the choice between three options: the CPGE (preparatory class for the Grandes Ecoles) in two years then three years of study, post-baccalaureate studies in five years and, therefore, the bachelor's degree.
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It is clearly this last option that appeals the most.
“This segment is experiencing annual growth of 8 to 10% in its workforce,” calculates William Hurst, Managing Director of EDC Paris Business School.
As for ESCP Business School, the bachelor's degree was born in London in 2015. While it had around forty students then, there are more than 2,500 today.
“We ourselves hesitated before launching this course.
We were afraid that it would cannibalize our historic format in five years.
Ultimately, they complement each other very well,” confides Jean-Guy Bernard, general director of Paris School of Business (PSB).
Thirst for freedom
There are reasons for such growth.
“The program responds to a concrete need among students.
They want to get straight to the heart of the matter,” according to William Hurst.
Preparatory classes, whose numbers are dwindling, seem to some to be too academic and theoretical.
Thus, the three-year format is also a way of not “committing to a period of five years which seems to them to be the end of the world” and of being assured of quickly obtaining a first diploma.
By keeping their hands free to choose another orientation if they wish.
The course offers a complete menu to these aspiring professionals.
Through its courses, of course, which will take them through all the fundamentals of business – marketing, accounting, finance, human resources, etc.
All enriched with professional experience, with internships often occurring from the first year and regular immersions in companies.
When it's not alternation, which has become omnipresent.
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As many students hesitate between studying work-study and going abroad (the apprenticeship model is reserved for France), more and more bachelors are offering to experience both.
Namely, a departure to another country in the middle of the course, then the possibility of completing the third year as an apprentice.
“This requires us to review our educational models and to discuss again with our international partners.
You should know that going abroad from the second year is not so common outside our borders,” recognizes William Hurst.
Audencia, in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) and Paris, goes even further, planning an expatriation of its students from the first year, via an internship.
The options are open
“The explosion of wise learning is changing student strategies.
They are much more tempted to continue their master's studies because they know that they will almost always be able to do so on a work-study basis.
They get a taste for it, it’s free, they gain experience… It ticks a lot of boxes,” notes Jean-Guy Bernard.
And that’s why more and more of them continue.
Especially since the appeal of bac + 5 remains powerful in France.
“The weight of mastering is still very present.
By offering a bachelor's degree, we become Americanized, but in the French way.
Most will ultimately complete five years of study,” notes Jean-Guy Bernard.
Integrating a bachelor's degree allows you to benefit from the other advantages put forward by business schools.
Starting with a rich student life, the same associations being open to their students as to those of the PGE (Grande Ecole Program) or masters.
The doors of the network of former graduates, or alumni, are also open to them.
Thus, students have the opportunity to access internship or job offers that are not available elsewhere, while having a good first network.
In short, these three years will allow them to peck at different seeds, the time for students to refine their professional project.
And decide which card they will play next.
The basics of this post-baccalaureate training
For those who are discovering it, here is the identity card of a course that has become a flagship.
Name
Bachelor.
But you will sometimes find it under somewhat different names, such as BIM (Bachelor in Management), or BIB (Bachelor in International Business).
Even with its associated specialty: sales bachelor, human resources bachelor, etc.
Duration
Three or four years.
The vast majority of programs are offered over three years.
As France is a member of the European Union, it aligns its studies with the LMD model (three-year bachelor's degree, five-year master's degree, eight-year doctorate).
That said, a few four-year bachelor's degrees exist: the BBA (Bachelor in Business Administration).
Process
Most courses begin in a general manner with a specialization in the 3rd year.
Internships
Yes.
Alternation
Almost all of them now offer this study model.
Few do it from the first year – like Istec Business School.
Most training courses open this possibility from the 2nd or 3rd year.
International
A stay abroad is essential.
The length of stays abroad can vary greatly, from a few weeks to 24 months for the most international programs such as that of ESCP Business School.
Acknowledgement
Please note, the word “bachelor” is not protected, any establishment can use it to qualify its program.
That says nothing about its quality!
Be vigilant about the guarantees of recognition it offers (RNCP title [national directory of professional certifications], targeted diploma, license grade).