Centre de perfectionnement aux affaires

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.

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.

In 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle inaugurated a new 250-acre (100 ha) wooded campus in Jouy-en-Josas. 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.

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) and ESCP (2012).

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.

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.

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.

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. 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).

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

The MBA program, created in 1969, has two intakes: September and January. HEC's MBA consists of a 16-month-long curriculum, with 8 months of core courses and 8 months of a customized program, including several specialization options, exchange programs, and fieldwork projects. A typical class is composed of some 250 students – 90% of whom are international students – with more than 52 nationalities represented in the 2017 graduating class. The selection process seeks a balance between academic achievement, professional experience, international exposure, and personal motivation. Knowledge of French is not an entry requirement, but participants are highly encouraged to have a basic knowledge of French by the start of the MBA Program, while mandatory (during the first two core terms) and optional language courses are offered throughout the program. Exchange and dual degree programs are offered with about 40 international partner business schools, including the Singapore Management University, HKUST, London Business School, Columbia Business School, Wharton, and Yale.

Executive education

The Executive MSc Innovation & Entrepreneurship is a program created by HEC Paris and delivered partly on Coursera. 100% online, it takes 18 months. The first students were admitted in March 2017.

Formerly (until 2002) Centre de perfectionnement aux affaires, the HEC Executive MBA is a program for top executives with a minimum of 8 years of corporate experience, which prepares them for general management positions (the average background experience of students is about 14 years). The Executive MBA is a multi-site program offered in Paris (France), Beijing (China), St Petersburg (Russia) and Doha (Qatar). The courses are split between theory, case studies, strategic projects, leadership training, EU community campus and foreign exchanges in the US and Asia. Program partnering universities are NYU, UCLA, Babson College in the US, Tsinghua University in China and Nihon University in Japan.

HEC also offers the TRIUM Global Executive MBA degree jointly with Stern School of Business of NYU and the London School of Economics. Stern brings its expertise in finance, the LSE its expertise in economy and geopolitics, and HEC its specialization in marketing and strategy. Each class had approximately 80 participants in 2016. The average age of students was 40 in 2014. This diploma is ranked 6th among Executive MBAs in the Financial Times' 2025 rankings. It is divided into six modules that are held in five international business locations over 16 months : Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Ranking

It has been ranked as one of the best schools to study business and management in the world, with most of its masters ranked 1 or 2 in the world in the rankings, including but not limited to QS World Ranking, Le Figaro and Financial Times rankings. Namely, its master in finance is ranked 1 in the world above MIT and University of Oxford, which occupy number 3 and 2 respectively. At the same time, its master in management program is one of the most selective programs for international students, only accepting around 4 percent of applicants and it occupy the number 1 master in management in the world according to multiple rankings, owing the title of the best university/school to study in France and Europe according to rankings.

Massive online open courses

HEC Paris is also participating in the new wave of distance learning, by creating its own online training courses via MOOCs available on Coursera.

Research and entrepreneurship

HEC Paris has several centres of research:

Hi! PARIS CENTER – A collaboration with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), this interdisciplinary and inter-institutional centre combines education, research and innovation to investigate the major challenges surrounding digital transformation and its impact on companies and society at large. This Center combines the 300 researchers and infrastructures of IP Paris and HEC Paris.

Society & Organizations Institute – an interdisciplinary Institute that brings together over 60 professors to research, teach and implement ideas in sustainability and inclusion.

GREGHEC – The Groupement de Recherche et d’Etudes en Gestion à HEC Paris is a joint research laboratory focused on economics and management in France.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute – 20 partnerships of excellence; 400 projects supported each year; an ecosystem of 400 professors, researchers and recognized experts.

The school has been offering a degree in entrepreneurship for more than 40 years, by creating HEC Entrepreneurs in 1977, which has today become the MSc X-HEC Entrepreneurs, in partnership with École Polytechnique. Between 2004 and 2013, the percentage of entrepreneurs per class jumped from 10% to 25%. In 2007, HEC Paris created Incubateur HEC Paris, its startup incubator dedicated to supporting alumni-created startups. Currently directed by Antoine Leprêtre, the incubator has been part of the Station F campus since 2017. Since 2017, the school has also an online master's degree dedicated to this topic.

HEC Paris Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute

The HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute is an institute created to promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship at HEC Paris. The institute is part of Station F and is located both in Paris and Jouy-en-Josas. Around 500 students are enrolled in classes over the three degrees (Master of Science X-HEC Entrepreneurs; Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Executive Master of Science in Innovation an Entrepreneurship) of the school year. The institute works with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris (more specifically École polytechnique) and Coursera. Courses taught through the institute include Creativity, Global Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Marketing, New Venture Creation, Venture Finance, Entrepreneurial Selling and social entrepreneurship.

The institute has several programs for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for faculty to promote the concept of entrepreneurship. Several initiatives that the institute has started has raised awareness for both entrepreneurship and innovation in both the community of Jouy-en-Josas and throughout the country.

The institute is ranked eighth in the Financial Times "Europe's leading start-up hubs" ranking 2026.

In 2026, the Managing Director of the Institute is Inge Kerkloh-Devif.

Accélérateur ESS

Post incubation

HECTAR Accelerator L'Oréal Beauty Tech

Meta X L'Oréal Accelerator Icade startup studio

Incubateur HEC Paris

Data for Managers

HEC Startup Launchpad HEC Challenge +

HEC Challenge + Afrique

Igniting Innovation

Student life

Campuses

HEC is located on a 110-hectare campus in Jouy-en-Josas, 16 km (10 miles) southwest of central Paris, close to Versailles. Jouy-en-Josas is served by the RER Parisian suburban train and the local bus service. The campus is built around the 19th-century Château de Jouy, which is currently used for Executive Education classes.

HEC Paris, Doha, formerly HEC Paris in Qatar, is a remote campus of HEC Paris, located in Doha, the capital of Qatar. HEC Paris, Doha, is the result of an agreement between HEC Paris and the Qatar Foundation.

HEC Paris, Doha, campus is located in the Tornado Tower in the heart of the West Bay financial centre of the city of Doha. HEC Qatar offers four types of programs, including an Executive MBA and a Mastère spécialisé program.

The HEC UK House was inaugurated in March 2023 in London. Close to Covent Garden, the campus is dedicated to the alumni network and conferences. It also has a library and a creative lab.

In 2018, HEC Paris opened a campus in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The school trains approximately one hundred executives each year in the fields of finance, business strategy, and innovation.

HEC also announced in 2023 its intention to support the development of entrepreneurship in Africa by mentoring 1,000 projects over five years.

Alumni association

The school alumni association, Association des diplômés HEC Paris, was founded in 1883 and gathers alumni of the different institutions of the HEC Group: École HEC Paris, MBA HEC Paris, HEC Paris Executive MBA, Mastères HEC Paris and Doctorat HEC Paris. Each degree is associated with a letter and the year of graduation. In 2017, HEC Alumni were ranked by The Economist as the 2nd most powerful business school alumni network in the world.

Notable alumni

HEC Paris has one of the largest and most influential alumni networks in Europe, with more than 80,000 graduates across over 135 countries. Its alumni have held leading positions in business, finance, entrepreneurship, public administration, and international organizations. HEC graduates have served as chief executives of major multinational corporations, including several companies listed on the CAC 40, and have played prominent roles in the development of France’s entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem. The school’s alumni community includes business leaders such as François-Henri Pinault, Jean-Paul Agon, Mercedes Erra, and Stéphane Richard, as well as numerous founders, investors, senior civil servants, and political figures.

Notable faculty

HEC Paris welcomes notable faculty members like François Baroin (French Finance Minister from 2011 to 2012), Jean-Louis Borloo (French Ministry) or Noëlle Lenoir (French Minister for European Affairs from 2002 to 2004).

In popular culture

The institution is featured in many works. Association of Wrongdoers, a 1987 film by Claude Zidi, features former students.