On a global scale, it is the best known.
Training over four years instead of three, the Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) is halfway between a bachelor's degree (bac + 3) and a master's degree (bac + 5).
In the eyes of Europeans only, because this diploma is rather considered the standard in Anglo-Saxon countries without forgetting South America and Asia.
In all these regions, it is most often after completing a BBA that a future manager joins the job market.
Even if it means returning to school a little later, to complete your journey.
“Four years is the norm almost everywhere.
So many international students do not know how to combine a three-year bachelor's degree with the organization of studies in their own country.
Our formats must therefore be compatible,” explains Christina Terra, director of the BBA at Essec Business School, in Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d’Oise).
In France, the offer continues to develop, slowly but surely.
Some establishments offer both versions of the bachelor's degree (EM Normandie, Kedge Business School, Inseec), while others focus on just one.
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The selection of BBAs is most often based on application, accompanied by an oral interview.
However, several establishments have chosen to come together to offer the Sésame competition, giving access to eight programs, such as those of Neoma, Excelia, Essec and Emlyon.
With the advantage of costing candidates a single wish on Parcoursup and having to complete the writings of several training courses in one go.
Even more hearty
This is not a scoop: the first significant difference between a classic bachelor's degree and a BBA is the duration.
This additional year is not insignificant.
“In three years, we would not have time to explore all the dimensions of the program,” muses Christina Terra.
For example, its students go through a long research process.
“We support them for 18 months on this project and get them to think independently by pushing them to their limits,” she illustrates.
In four years, mechanically, everything can be more substantial.
Periods in business in particular.
At Essec, students complete a three-month internship in the first year;
one month of experience in social field (in an association, for example) during the second;
before joining longer internships (called “decision-making”) the following two years.
“These multiple back and forths between school and business are essential for discovering different facets and refining your own project,” judges Christina Terra.
Time is therefore destined to mature, if not to grow.
“Post-baccalaureate students are young.
We recently received a candidate who was only 15 years old!
“, still wonders the director of the BBA at Essec.
He won't have too many years to decide what's next...
Booming curriculum
This observation led to a small revolution at GEM (Grenoble École de management).
A historic program of the house, the BIB (Bachelor in Business) was one of the first of its kind in France.
This year, GEM decided to transform it into a BBA.
“Three years proved too short to give our students the international exposure we wanted,” confides Philippe Monin, academic director of GEM.
The bachelor's degree already had 50% international students, an extremely rare proportion for a post-baccalaureate program in France.
It is about meeting the expectations of this mobile audience, eager for expatriation and internships abroad.
“If we want to offer the possibility of living at least two long international experiences, while guaranteeing academic excellence, no choice, we had to extend the pleasure by one year,” explains Philippe Monin.
Read alsoBachelor in Business Administration (BBA): a diploma recognized throughout the world
To meet the needs of other students seeking a more operational course, GEM has also opened a new three-year DPD (Digital Business Development) bachelor's degree.
If this one does not yet appear in our list, it is because its first promotion has not yet been released;
she will graduate next spring.
The International BBA and the DPD bachelor's degree are taught on the two GEM campuses, Grenoble (Isère) and Paris.
Watchword: international
The main difference with the bachelor's degree is undoubtedly this word: international.
In BBAs, everything is done in English, both courses and projects.
Of course, it is not required to be completely bilingual to be admitted, but you need a good level and be comfortable.
“It was the most important criterion for me when I was looking at the possible training courses on Parcoursup,” remembers Lara, in the 3rd year of the Global BBA at Neoma Business School, on the Paris campus.
The young woman, who has lived in different countries and attended high school in Brazil, is immersed in multicultural environments.
“I wanted a program where people from all over the world meet,” she explains.
“You can discover a country on your phone, but it’s another thing entirely to live there”
Christina Terra, director of the BBA at Essec
In her studies at Neoma, Lara is served.
The teachers are sometimes Korean, American, Scandinavian… On the student side, the benches are populated by nationalities that she cannot even count.
“It brings something beyond the simple course.
We embrace other ways of seeing life and thinking.
It enriches us,” she rejoices.
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Although she had to complete her first internship in France, Lara then left for six months in Switzerland.
Not very exotic, you might say… “On the contrary, this country is completely different from what I knew.
The people are hyper-open, the landscapes splendid, you feel perfectly safe… I loved it.
The French should be much more interested in Switzerland,” advises the student.
“You can experience a country on your phone, but it’s a whole different thing to live there.
It takes more than a few weeks to immerse yourself in another culture,” recommends Christina Terra.
Its students will spend a minimum of six months abroad, up to two full years for those who opt for a double degree with a partner university.
Associated campuses
Historically international and with several campuses abroad (United States, China, Brazil, etc.), Skema Business School has unsurprisingly opted for the Anglo-Saxon format.
This is what attracted Sonia, a 3rd year student of the Global BBA at Skema.
“I didn't choose based on the length of the course.
For me, a year more or less is a detail.
Every experience counts to better plan for the future,” she believes.
For Sonia, English was not a problem, quite the contrary.
“I had the chance to grow up partly in Kenya, I spoke a lot of English in middle and high school.
What's great is that I continue to progress, learning a whole business vocabulary that I didn't know.
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These 12 programs are 4-year BBAs approved by the State, which gives them a bac +4 level.
Other courses exist, which have not yet obtained this visa.
Note that Le Parisien Étudiant does not make a list here, the order in this table is alphabetical.
Like so many people who have known Africa well, Sonia only thinks of one thing: returning there.
Already this year, she moved from the Lille campus (North) to the Sophia Antipolis campus (Alpes-Maritimes), where her “Corporate Finance” specialty is taught.
Soon, there is a good chance of seeing her roaming the Skema campus in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
“It’s a real advantage to be at a school that has its own campuses, because you are sure to have your place there,” explains Sonia.
The student also has the possibility of joining a Skema partner university, if her application is accepted.
This diploma is therefore designed to open the doors to the world of work almost everywhere in the world.
But knowing France, Sonia plans to complete her career with a master's degree in finance.
“If one day I want to work here, it is safer to have a bac + 5,” the student understood.
Without losing sight of his initial idea: starting his career in an African country.
With Lara, the logic is similar;
the Neoma student will do a final year to specialize.
Christina Terra knows it.
Among its students at Essec, a small majority will continue on to master 2. Mainly the French.
“Others have no trouble finding jobs they like outside our borders.
If they feel the need as their career progresses, they know that specialized masters or MBA programs will be delighted to welcome them.
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