International
In this era of globalization, the school is aligned with the expectations and needs of large international companies to train 21st century engineers who are able to understand and resolve the complex issues associated with socioeconomic and environmental changes.
The world of business is now multicultural, and the École Centrale Engineering program graduate plays an essential role:
- in helping diverse teams succeed, when working both in proximity or remotely, wherever they are in the world,
- in gaining from the experiences of employees with very different educational and cultural backgrounds,
- in understanding and responding to the local needs of customers and consumers with different expectations from one country to another,
- by joining companies with different cultures and histories, and adding value, which is expected of all École Centrale Engineering program graduates.
To help them to do this, the school provides its students with several ways to gain international experience and further training:
- The CentraleSupélec international offerings are exceptional, with over 100 academic partners in more than 30 countries, forged over more than 20 years.
- The school is also renowned for its know-how in forging forward-looking partnerships with the influential countries of our rapidly changing world (China, India, Brazil, etc.). These partnerships will be a competitive advantage for you in the job market.
Each student must therefore complete an international experience of at least six months before graduating, and if possible prior to their end-of-studies internship.
Two options:
- Complete Semester 8 abroad.
- Complete a double degree in a partner international university.
TOP5 worldwide destinations for double-diploma students
- United States (Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc.)
- United Kingdom (Cambridge, Imperial College, Oxford, London School of Economics, etc.)
- Germany (TU Berlin, Technical University of Munich, etc.)
- Sweden (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
- Australia, Denmark, Singapore
The École Centrale Engineering program: discovering of the world
- 176 partner universities in 45 countries
- 80 double degree agreements
- Six months minimum spent abroad
- 12 months: average time spent abroad by a student engineer over the course of their studies
- 32% of students in the engineering program are international
- Nearly 70 nationalities are represented on the Châtenay-Malabry campus
- Two modern languages mandatory; a third is optional
- Classes and case studies entirely in English
- 40% of course offerings are in English
International leave policy
The operator internship is the first real opportunity to go abroad. It does not, however, fulfill the mandatory mobility requirement to spend a minimum of six months abroad.
The different forms of mandatory international mobility are as follows:
Traditional track:
The academic (classes) S8 or the professional S8 in a laboratory or company during the 2nd year at the school.
The S8 must be validated to obtain the associated ECTS credits, either through academic presence and results for those students taking classes, or with an internship report and oral presentation for those completing a placement in a laboratory or company.
Long track:
The double degree with an authorized academic partner, in view of simultaneously obtaining the École Centrale Paris degree and that of the other host university;
Gap year track:
The gap year comprises at least six months abroad. This semester abroad does not generate ECTS credits but does fulfill the mandatory six-month abroad requirement. You can request to complete a gap year between the 2nd and 3rd year. This gap year can comprise a company internship and/or an academic program abroad.
CentraleSupélec encourages students to take academic placements with close partner organizations.
Students choosing a placement with one of the school’s partners can, depending on the destination, receive financial aid from the school. Students interested in these destinations will be selected according to their academic results. Note that the number of places in these destinations is limited.
The school strongly encourages students to go to what it judges to be the strategic countries:
- In Europe: Germany, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden
- In North America: United States and Canada
- In South America: Brazil
- In Asia: China, India
An academic mobility leave to another higher education institution that is not on the list of authorized partners of the school is not permitted.
For company or laboratory internships, the choice of destinations is not limited, and depends, in particular, on the internship proposed by the Work Placement Office, partner companies of the school and the available opportunities in laboratories. The school nevertheless advises students to choose its preferred strategic countries, as their economic and industrial potential will be a major asset for engineers.
Stay length
At least one semester to gain 30 ECTS credits.