ESSEC Global BBA - Applying with an International High School Diploma

You can start either in France or Singapore and the decision is yours to make! Courses on each campus are the same, so it depends on your interest and career plan. No matter on which campus you start your studies on, ESSEC will deliver the same Global BBA diploma. 

When you start your online application, you will be asked which campus you would like to start your studies on. 

This stands for the International Business Education Alliance. To follow this track, you can start off at either one of the ESSEC campuses, Cergy or Singapore. At the end of the 1st year, the best applicants will be selected at ESSEC as well as at the 4 partner universities. Students then come together from all the schools and travel and study together to spend S4 at Mannheim, S5 at the University of South Carolina, S6 at ESSEC in Singapore and S7 in FGV in Rio.

There are no majors but there is a whole range of electives. There are around 50 courses per semester that students can choose to study in the 3rd & 4th years. These can be in communications, e-Commerce, e-marketing, etc. You don’t just specialise with your courses but with your internships. This is very important because you build your career based on what you are going to do in your internships.

On top of the intercampus mobility, all students spend at least one semester on an international exchange programme from within our partner network of +160 partner universities in 45 countries. These are all explained to you at the end of the 1st year. Some universities require a certain level of language proficiency. When competition is high for some spots, decisions are made based on your academic results from the firsts semesters.

The 1st “operational” 3-months internship is to discover company life. Generally students take on a commercial role in sales. You can do it anywhere in the world. 2nd “field” 1 month internship - social mission is to discover diversity at all levels. It is not about being in a position of responsibility but rather to see something different and reinforce humanistic side of what type of manager you will be. During your 3rd 6-months internship you will take on a particular activity within a company in the field/job role you are hoping you to go into. The career services department at the school helps you figure out where you might want/be able to work, and prepares you for interviews. We have a network of companies that we are used to working with.

The programme prepares you for the job market so at the end you can easily find a job anywhere in the world thanks to the reputation of ESSEC which is well known with companies. The massive ESSEC alumni network is also active and generally very willing to help out current students and recent graduates. The career services at the school also help both students and alumni get their foot on the ladder and then progress in their chosen career. All of these things are available to you but it is of course up to you to make the most of them and open up opportunities. Of course, you also have the option to continue your studies in a Master’s degree or Advanced specialised degree, both in France and abroad.

The apprenticeship scheme is a 2-years company contract so during the last 2 years of study, you become an employee within that company and will alternate between work and study (at ESSEC or Partner university for your exchange semester). As well as being an integral part of the company and getting much more hands-on experience, there are financial advantages as the company pays for the 2 years' tuition fees and also gives you a salary. 

It is open to all national and international students but eligibility rules have to be respected as follows: 

• For students outside the European Union, French law requires a minimum period of 12 months in France to be eligible for an apprenticeship. Thus, an Indian, American or Chinese student must begin his studies in France in order to be eligible to the apprenticeship track. 
• For students who are citizens of the European Union, no period of residence in the French territory is needed. In this case, a German student can start his studies in Singapore or in France and then, choose the apprenticeship track. 

You can start either in France or in Singapore and the decision is yours to make! The courses on each campus are the same so this depends on your interests and career plan. When you start your online application, you will be asked which campus you wish to start the programme on. Not to worry though, when you confirm your place, you can request to switch campuses if you have changed your mind.

Our students come from all over the world and schools, diplomas and education systems are extremely varied. It of course depends on the prestige and reputation of your high school and/or diploma and naturally your academic grades and record up to now. You should be a good student. You will be asked to present your transcripts and 2 academic reference letters as part of the application. It is however equally important to show your motivation and your get across your personality. The application asks you to address a social, political or economic topic which interests and concerns you and which can be linked to your life and experiences up to now. If you have any questions, our ambassadors, recruitment and admissions team can advise you.

If you are shortlisted after reviewing your application, you will be invited for an interview in person or via Skype. 

The purpose of the interview is to assess if your motivation for pursuing a GBBA, your professional goals and potential fit with the program. All interviews are carried out in Engish and last on average 30 minutes. 

The Jury is usually composed by 2 members (A professor, an alumni, a member of the GBBA program). 

You don't have to worry about them. Recommendation letters will have to be filled out online by your referees.

It is your responsibility to enter the details of your referees correctly onto you application online to allow them receive the link and fill out the letter. 

Both recommendation letters have to be uploaded by your academic referees (Counsellors, Professors, Dean of your school...) Besides, you can add a professional letter of recommendation if you want to, but it is not mandatory.  

Additional letters are accepted under the condition that they provide a unique insight into a candidate's profile. 

Letters of recommendation can also be sent in French.

It is a letter from your current high school,  stamped and signed, that testifies your enrollment, attendance and the end date of your current studies. 

Once you have confirmed your place, you will receive an email from our Admissions team with a link to start your enrollment on the Office of the Registrar's platform: https://www.officeoftheregistrar.essec.edu/

You do not need to speak French before coming to ESSEC. The academic language of the programme is English so you will have no problem at all with the courses.

For everyday life on the Cergy campus (and in Paris in general), it will be much easier however, if you master basic proficiency in French and we encourage you to embrace learning the language as well as of course other foreign languages. If you are considered as a beginner, in your 1st year, you will have 6 hours of French classes per week on different subjects i.e. business, day to day, etc. An additional 3 hours will be spent learning another language.

There is always something going on, on and around campus. Campus life is very vibrant. There are a vast variety of student clubs and associations for all interests (sports, music, etc.) and there are lots of facilities around the campus too.

Students mix easily thanks to student associations, sports clubs, team-building activities, networking opportunities, parties and at the halls of residence, etc. You can mix not only between the different nationalities within the Global BBA programme but with students on all the different programmes at ESSEC.

ESSEC has four halls of residence on and near to the ESSEC France campus. Through ALEGESSEC (ESSEC’s student housing association), ESSEC Business School offers comfortable and well-equipped rooms and studio apartments near the campus, as well as other amenities to help simplify day-to-day life. You can choose to reserve a room on campus or if you prefer you can live in the city in private accommodation.
More information concerning accommodation in France campus

There are no halls of residence on the Singapore campus but housing support is provided and apartments/condos tend to be passed down from student to student.

During the second year of studies, you will have the possibility to apply for an intercampus mobility to Rabat (Morocco). Residences on campus are available.  

If you are an EU citizen, you do not require a visa. A valid ID card or passport is sufficient.

For non-EU countries, please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find out if you need to apply for a visa. If this is the case, you should then contact the nearest French consulate. For more details, you can download the visa brochure made available by ESSEC's Office of Student Affairs. 

For Singapore: an E-solar application form for the student pass with instructions will be sent to you by email. It costs around S$30 and takes up to 5 working days to process. You will then receive by email from ESSEC, the in-principle approval (IPA) letter which allows you to enter Singapore.

You can contact our Ambassadors in France or Singapore via ESSEC Talks. On a case-by-case basis, the Admissions Office can put admitted students in contact with alumni or current students. For privacy reasons, we discourage that you contact alumni or current students directly without an introduction from ESSEC.

If you choose to live in Cergy, walking and public transportation are an easy solution for getting to campus. If you have a car, parking spaces are available in the residence halls and at the school. Cergy is well-served by public buses and also has a public bike rental program. In terms of transport to and from Paris, there is a train (Transilien line L) that goes to Saint Laeare's station. The RER A (also a train), runs all day and serves several locations throughout central Paris. ESSEC is located at the RER Station called Cergy Prefecture. The Commute to most areas in Paris takes around 45 minutes. 

If you choose to start in Singapore, public transport is very efficient and convenient. Singapore subways are fast and cheap. MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) trains' frequencies are 2-3 minutes during weekday peak hours and 4-6 minutes during non-peak hours and weekends. The nearest MRT stations near Asia Pacific Campus are: One-north MRT (Circle line) - 3 minutes walk from ESSEC's rear entrance on Level 3 & Buona Vista MRT (East-West Line) - 7 minutes walk north from ESSEC's main entrance on Level 1. 

You will have an induction week on both campuses. The first few days include a formal presentation and then a help desk (registrar) will help you to sort out all the administrative processes (student card, library, etc..). These will then be followed by 2 days of Team-building exercises.