ESITC Paris

ESITC Paris trains future engineers interested in careers in construction by providing them with the skills required by companies today on both the technical and ethical fronts.

ESITC is a non-profit organisation under the French law of 1901. Recognised by the French government, by ministerial decree in 2001, the school is a private higher education establishment founded at the request of large companies in the construction and public works field in 1992 and administered by a Board of Directors.

From the start, the school was accredited by the CTI (French engineering degree accreditation institution) to deliver engineering degrees to students and later to apprentices. ESITC Paris trains versatile engineers prepared for management positions combining technical skill and pragmatism who are able to carry out a project in its entirety (design, management and execution).

Our graduates are called to become production engineers on site (technical, human resources and financial management on projects) or to hold support positions (methods engineer, price studies, structure studies, etc.) within the biggest companies in the construction and public works fields.

Strengthened by its teaching partnerships with IAE Gustave Eiffel and Pierre et Marie Curie the University, as well as with companies in the Construction field, ESITC Paris is also a member of the Union of Independent Higher Education Institutions (UGEI) and the Conference of Deans of French Schools of Engineering (CDEFI).

Joining ESITC is a childhood dream come true: the desire to BUILD is something all our young students share.
It is our job to help them achieve their dreams.

This five-year programme, created and adapted over time along with the profession, aligns academic education with the professional world. From the first year of study, students discover a new world that is a complete change from the teaching they received in secondary school that often felt far from their true concerns.

At the end of the school programme, the engineering student can specialise and fully explore the field he or she was destined for. Our students can freely choose their speciality in their 5th year, either remaining on campus or going abroad.

We are proud to note that, as we’ve followed up with our engineers after graduation, they are all working in the field they chose and that we trained them for.

The size of our institution allows us to provide the follow-up, guidance and pedagogical rigour required for the degrees we award. We provide a 5-year post-secondary degree or a 3-year degree within the engineer training cycle (after the student has completed a 2-year post-secondary technical degree (French BTS, DUT), 1st cycle in civil engineering or a higher level technician preparatory programme (ATS)).

The first two years are devoted to reinforcing the scientific knowledge of students having completed scientific secondary degrees, while introducing them to the first technical subjects specific to construction and public works. The second cycle provides more in-depth training in these specialised subjects and accentuates the completion of individual or group projects and application of knowledge. One of the strengths of our curriculum is the opportunity for our engineering students to apply their skills in the real world throug.

As the true hub of the school, the BDE (student union) acts as a representative in relations with partner companies and organises extracurricular activities on campus to make student life more exciting and dynamic.

What’s special about the ESITC Paris student union is that they organise most events in collaboration with companies in the field. Orientation days are organised with the companies who sponsor the incoming classes of students, the ski week is planned in conjunction with the Léon Grosse company, the gala ball with GCC and the Telethon fund-raising week with Vinci Construction.

The BDS (sport union) coordinates all sporting activities organised within the school. This association gives students the opportunity to play a sport throughout the year (rugby, football, boxing, tennis, sailing, etc.) and to take part in inter-university championships while building on the values we hold dear: cohesion, team spirit, tolerance, humility.

Coming to France to study in a new university can be difficult for students who are not familiar with the French university system. ESITC’s International Office has a system in place to accompany foreign exchange students.

The mentoring system exists thanks to our engineering students’ willingness and commitment. It helps new students adapt more easily, better understand the teachings provided and what is expected of them.

Beyond reinforcing scientific knowledge and expanding in social sciences, engineering students encounter new technological courses as early as their first year, making a clean break from the very general secondary school system: resistance of materials, topography, general construction, construction design or works organisation and management.

Site work placement: at the end of the first year, this placement provides students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired and introduces them to today’s corporate world.

The second year focuses on strengthening ing the scientific foundation and continues on from the introduction to new subjects dedicated to construction such as structural mechanics, hydraulics, plotting and earthworks, reinforced concrete, pre-stressed concrete or even bridges.

Sponsorship by a company creates a special connection from the time students enter in their 1st year and it lasts through their entire school curriculum , thus facilitating contacts with the professional world when they are looking for work placements.

This 3-year cycle mainly focuses on technological, management and communication courses as well as the fundamental work placements.

After a few weeks of class, engineering students start their 2nd cycle with a site management placement (4 to 6 months) where they take on their first management responsibilities under the guidance of a confirmed engineer. When they return to campus in January, instruction is geared toward technical subjects (structural steelwork, soil mechanics, etc.) and the completion of several applied projects. This dense year ends with the mandatory 3-month work placement in a foreign country.

Since 2012, ESITC Paris has been offering the possibility for 20 students to enter the engineering programme as apprentices in a 3-year work-study course. As part of the work-study contract, the student is both a paid employee of the company and an engineering student at ESITC.

Throughout the programme, each apprentice receives follow-up and guidance from an work-study mentor at the company and from an advisor at the school. After each period worked at the company (8 in total), the apprentice’s advisor prepares an evaluation. The skills acquired during these work periods are also evaluated upon returning to campus. The apprentice engineer must meet the same requirements as engineering students with traditional student status: skills are evaluated using equivalent exams, validation of experiential learning is the decision of a jury led by an executive director from a building and public works company and including the university director and professors, thus allowing work-study students to receive the same degree.

The curriculum, designed in collaboration with companies in the field, differs from the traditional apprenticeship sandwich course as it is based on a 6-week rhythm on average. The progressive 3-year programme includes a continuous period of 4 months of site management and complete immersion over several weeks in a partner university in the Netherlands during the 1st year. The topics of company management and engineering firms are covered during the 2nd year of work-study. During the final year, apprentices follow the traditional framework with a 4 to 6-month end of studies placement in methods/price studies and a specialisation according to their host company: Building or Roads and Public Works.