Diplôme d'Ingénieur

The Diplôme d'Ingénieur is an advanced academic degree of higher education (see Engineer's Degrees in Europe) awarded by the French Grandes Écoles in engineering. It is generally obtained after five to seven years of studies after the French Baccalauréat (equivalent to the high school diploma or the A-level certificate for entrance to universities). The diploma holder is also conferred the academic title of Ingénieur Diplômé (qualified graduate engineer) which is protected by the French government, and is differentiated from the word "engineer" used in English-speaking countries. However, this title is usually not written with the person's name.

Accreditation

Since the signing of the Bologna Process in 1999, the European Master's Degree is also conferred by the state to the holder of a Diplôme d'Ingénieur, but the reverse is not true. All titles of Ingénieur Diplômé (Graduate Engineer) are protected by the state and the institutions must be accredited by the Minister of Higher Education to award a Diplôme d'Ingénieur. Anyone found misusing the title of Ingénieur Diplômé is liable for a €15,000 fine and one year in prison.^[1][2]

The French engineer training is usually considered to be more intensive and finer compared to specialized master's degrees in engineering, as the former involves multidisciplinary coursework in both pure science and engineering on top of professional and academic projects, and is reserved for the best science students in France. However, an engineer graduate may still need to pursue specialized training such as a research-based master's or PhD for careers that require more expertise on a particular topic.

Since 2013, the diplôme d'ingénieur is recognized in the United States by the AACRAO as a Master of Science in Engineering.^[3]

Grandes écoles and Universities in France

France is particular in that, only Grandes écoles in engineering are certified to offer the diplôme d'ingénieur, which is differentiated from the undergraduate or masters degrees in engineering issued by universities (universités).

Universities are comprehensive educational institutions composed of several faculties covering various fields (natural sciences, engineering, law, economics, medicine, humanities, etc) with a large student body. By law, admission to a French university is non-competitive and open to anyone with a high school diploma. On the other hand, "Grandes écoles" (university polytechnic schools^[4] or university external engineering schools) are much smaller in size and recruit their students with very selective processes.^[5][6] Moreover, the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur is the unique body empowered to issue the engineering degree and to protect the title of ingénieur diplômé.

However, the curriculum and selectivity involved in such programs leading to the French engineer title varies significantly from one Grande école to another, despite the official nationwide recognition of the title. In general, the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles offer a generalist curriculum, while less selective schools usually focus on a very narrow specialization (although exceptions are easy to find).

Curriculum

French engineer candidates are educated in close cooperation with industries. These academic-industry partnerships introduce graduates to professional life while giving them a solid grounding in their discipline. As graduates will in most cases be in positions leading future projects and teams, management-related courses are also included in the curriculum.

In addition to courses in science and engineering, the training often includes:

• courses in human and social sciences, including management courses,
• courses in labor and business law,
• visits to production sites,
• conferences by professionals,
• internships and research projects supported by school laboratories and corporations.

Professional Training

More than 90 percent of the French engineer programs require at least one internship (typically in a business setting) at some point in the curriculum.

Most schools arrange three types of internships that train the students with progressive responsibilities, initially as observers and increasingly as actors, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding and perspective of all levels within the industry. One can distinguish “worker” (blue-collar) internships, “senior technician” internships, and “graduate” internships where the students do the same type of work they will do as graduate engineers. Internships are graded and constitute part of the academic degree requirements.

References

See also

• Memorandum of understanding