HEC Paris () is a non-profit business school and grande école located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. The school has other campuses in Doha, Qatar and in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional development, professional certification, and PhD programs.
History
Founded in 1881 by Gustave Emmanuel Roy, president of the Paris Chamber of Commerce (CCIP), with 57 students in its first class, the École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC) aimed to be in the fields of management and commerce what the École Centrale de Paris was in the field of engineering.
In 1921, the school introduced the case-based method of the Harvard Business School, but most of the lectures remained theoretical. In 1938, the HEC program was lengthened to 3 years.HEC Paris
Due to French corporations' demand for North-American-style management education, at the end of the 1950s, the case-based method was generalized and a one-year classe préparatoire was created to prepare for the entrance examination, which had become more difficult. As a result, only 9% of HEC students had attended university in 1959, whereas 47% had done so in 1929.Le boom d'HEC
In 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle inaugurated a new wooded campus in Jouy-en-Josas.LE GÉNÉRAL DE GAULLE INAUGURERA JEUDI LE " CAMPUS " D'H.E.C. In 1967, HEC launched its executive education programs. Women have been accepted at HEC since 1973. Only 27 women were accepted that year and HEC jeunes filles (HECJF), another school dedicated to women, was closed. Its alumnae are officially considered graduates of HEC, and include Édith Cresson, the first female Prime Minister of France.Huit ans de mixité
The doctoral course was established in 1975 but until 1985 doctoral students had to complete their thesis at the university. In 1985 the HEC obtained the right to award the title of doctor, before ESSEC (2010)Indiscret. L’Essec va bientôt pouvoir délivrer des doctorats and ESCP (2012).Habilitation de ESC Europe à délivrer le diplôme de doctorat
The school has developed professorships financed by companies (Deloitte, EDF, Toshiba and others) to multiply links between HEC and companies. The HEC Foundation, founded in 1972, has the specific aim of developing these connections and the financing of the school by companies.Rapport annuel 2023
Ties with businesses were strengthened in the 1990s and this led to greater specialization, with the establishment of finance and entrepreneurship courses in 1986. As a consequence of the financial Big Bang and the explosion of the City, more and more graduates went to work in England and, in general, abroad. In 2006, a third found their first job abroad. In 2015 the school adopted a new legal statute to allow private investors to join the board of directors.HEC attend un nouveau statut "inédit" pour 2013
In 1988, HEC founded the CEMS network with ESADE, Bocconi University and the University of Cologne.Collaboration between Nokia and the CEMS programme results in several strategic business projects every spring
On 1 July 2008, HEC Paris joined ParisTech and then Paris-Saclay University as a founding member. The university campus of Jouy-en-Josas, in the Yvelines department, is located in the northern part of the technological cluster of Paris-Saclay, which brings together a quarter of French public research. HEC Paris is part of the network of graduate schools of business (ESC) in the Paris Île-de-France area, together with ESSEC and ESCP Business School.
In 2016, the school adopted a new legal status and became a public-private partnership (École consulaire or EESC), largely financed by the public Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
In 2017, HEC launched a portfolio of new dual degree programs called M2M with the University of St. Gallen, the Yale School of Management, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Fundação Getulio Vargas.
The same year in March,HEC lance un programme diplômant 100 % en ligne the school launched the Executive Master in innovation & entrepreneurship program in collaboration with Coursera.Executive MSc & MSc in Innovation and EntrepreneurshipExclusif. HEC se lance dans un diplôme... 100 % en ligne
On 15 September 2020, the school co-founded with the Polytechnic Institute of ParisHi!Paris, L’Institut Polytechnique De Paris Et HEC Paris Affichent Leur Ambition Dans L’IA the artificial intelligence research center Hi! PARIS.Zoom sur Hi! PARIS, le centre consacré à l’IA et aux Sciences des données de l’Institut Polytechnique de Paris et HEC ParisHEC et Polytechnique lancent le centre pluridisciplinaire Hi! Paris pour devenir champions de la recherche en IA
In October 2023 the school announced the creation of a Bachelor of Arts in data, society and organisations in collaboration with Bocconi University in Milan.HEC Paris se lance dans la bataille du bachelorHEC crée son bachelor et fait chavirer la dernière digue qui protégeait le modèle prépaHEC lance son premier Bachelor en partenariat avec la Bocconi
In December 2024, the foundation announced the results of the 2019-2024 "Impact Tomorrow" campaign.HEC, Polytechnique, CentraleSupélec : dans les coulisses de levées de fonds records 213 million euros were raised,HEC réalise une levée de fonds record de 213 millions d'euros a record for a French grande école.Grandes écoles : une levée de fonds record pour HEC Paris
The end of 2025 saw the business school announce its 2026-2031 strategy. Named "new responsibilities" ("nouvelles responsabilités"),« Je veux qu’HEC soit dix fois plus ouverte sur la société qu’auparavant » it is based in particular on the complete overhaul of its Jouy-en-Josas campus,HEC Paris dévoile sa nouvelle stratégie “Nouvelles Responsabilités” the creation of "HEC Institute" to contribute to public debate,HEC Paris lance sa stratégie “Nouvelles Responsabilités” et une levée de fonds de 300 millions d’euros and the objective of 25% of students receiving scholarships by 2030Levée de fonds, frais de scolarité, formation continue… : la nouvelle stratégie de HEC Paris after an increase in tuition fees exceeding 70,000 euros for the Master in management program in the fall of 2025.Plus de 70.000 euros pour étudier à HEC: les frais de scolarité s'envolent dans les écoles de commerce To achieve these objectives, the foundation intends to raise 300 million euros over five years.HEC Nouvelles responsabilités : ce qu’il faut retenir de la stratégie 2025-2029 d’HEC Paris
In 2026, HEC welcomes 135 nationalities to its main campus and teaches new subjects such as geopolitics, eloquence, and social sciences.«Le rôle de l'école est aussi de créer du courage» : comment HEC transforme ses enseignements
Grande École system and Accreditation Degrees (such as the Master in Management or "Grande École program") from HEC Paris are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes écoles and by the Ministry of National Education.
HEC Paris is also triple accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EQUIS), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
HEC Paris is also one of the founding members of CEMS - Global Alliance in Management Education.
International rankings
Ranking202120222023202420252026Business SchoolFT – European Business Schools1st1st1st2nd2ndQS (by Subject) – Business & Management Studies9th10th10th11th13rd12thQS (by Subject) – Accounting and Finance20th19th18th18th24th23rdShanghai Ranking (by Subject) – Economics2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects151-200151-200151-200101-150151-200Shanghai Ranking (by Subject) – Finance2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects3228292129Shanghai Ranking (by Subject) – Management2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects76-10076-100101-150101-15076-100CWUR - World University RankingsGlobal 2000 list by the center for world university rankings 2026 edition205266280273334340Master in ManagementFT – Master in Management2nd2nd1st2nd2ndQS – Masters in Management1st1st1st1st1st1stMSc in International FinanceFT – Masters in Finance Pre-Experience1st1st2nd2nd5th7thQS – Masters in Finance4th2nd1st1st2nd1stMBAFT – Global MBA7th 11th17th12th9th6thQS – Full Time MBA5th4th4th5th6th5thExecutive EducationFT – Executive MBA (Trium HEC/LSE/NYU)5th6th4th5th6thQS – Executive MBA (Trium HEC/LSE/NYU)Joint Programmes1st1st1st1st1st1stFT – Executive MBA (EMBA HEC)1st4th7th18th17thQS – Executive MBA (EMBA HEC)Global1st2nd1st3rd2nd2ndFT – Executive Education – CustomizedN/A1st3rd4th6th8thFT – Executive Education – OpenN/A1st2nd1st2nd2ndSpecialized MastersQS – MSc in Strategic Management1st1st1st1st1st1stQS – MSc in Marketing1st1st1st1st1st1stQS – MSc in Business AnalyticsN/A3rd3rd3rd3rd2ndInnovation & entrepreneurshipFT – Europe’s leading start-up hubsEurope’s leading start-up hubs 2026N/AN/AN/AN/A4th8th
Programs
Higher education business degrees in France are organized into three levels thus facilitating international mobility: the Licence (Bachelor's), Master's, and Doctorate degrees. A Bachelor's degree requires the completion of 180 ECTS credits (bac + 3); a Master's, requires an additional 120 ECTS credits (bac + 5). HEC Paris offers a bachelor's degree since October 2023.
Master in Management – Grande École program Its highly coveted PGE (Programme Grande École or Grande École program) ends with the awarding of Master's in Management (MiM) degree.Ben-David, Joseph and Philip G. Altbach. eds. Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Germany, United States (2nd ed. 2017). Outside of the PGE, students at HEC can be awarded other master's degrees, such as the MBA (bac + 5), or a PhD (bac + 8).
Bachelor in Data, Society and Organisations Announced in October 2023, the school offers a Bachelor of Arts in partnership with Bocconi University in Milan. Focused on Data, Society & Organizations, it combines data sciences and social sciences. Students spend the first three semesters in Italy and the last three in France on the Jouy-en-Josas campus. At the end of the program, students obtain a double degree: the Bocconi Bachelor of Science in International Politics and Government, and the HEC Paris Bachelor of Arts and Sciences.
CPES Data Science, Society and Health HEC Paris is one of the three founding institutions of the Cycle pluridisciplinaire d’études supérieures (CPES) in Data Science, Society and Health, a selective three-year undergraduate program created in 2023. The degree is jointly delivered by Université Paris-Saclay, Institut Polytechnique de Paris and HEC Paris. Recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education, it confers the national grade de licence (Bachelor's level) to its graduates. The curriculum combines mathematics, computer science, statistics, social sciences and public health, and includes interdisciplinary projects taught across the three institutions.
MSc in International Finance (MIF) The MSc in International Finance is ranked #5 worldwide for pre-experience programs (2025 FT Rankings).Masters in Finance pre-experience 2025
Master of Business Administration (MBA)