The French IAE are part of the French universities, except for the IAE of Paris which has a special status. They are academically selective, socially inclusive and very affordable Graduate School of Management within the French Public Research Universities. The IAE model is inspired by the Anglo-Saxon Business Schools. There are currently 34 IAEs located all over the French territory, 32 of which are part of the IAE FRANCE network where the oldest members are the first actors in the development of management in France. This is the primary French network of education in management which has around 45,000 students and 425,000 alumni.
IAE's History
The origin of IAE dates back to the 1950s. At the time, degrees in management were not available in French universities. In the United States, by contrast, economic growth is powered by batches of engineers and managers from the best business schools attached to universities. In the midst of reconstruction, France have a lack of managers while the Thirty Glorious begin. In 1955, Gaston Berger, Director of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, created the Institute of Business Administration in American style, to provide academic knowledge in management that complements the professional know-how and gather University and Business world. In the beginning, IAE were schools with a single diploma, “CAAE” - Certificate in Business Administration with a pioneering position on the "dual skills". This degree was designed to give management skills to engineers and graduate students of the faculties of Law, Letters and Sciences. Recognized degree, designed to be followed on a year, during the evening, is a “MBA à la française”. The teaching is based on the case method, innovative approach at the time. It has been for nearly 20 years, the common degree of most IAE in becoming “DESS CAAE” and continues today through the “MAE”.
The admission in IAE require the test of the Score IAE-MESSAGE, an application file and an admission interview. Some IAE as among others Paris, Nice, Grenoble, Lille and Aix can also ask for the results of other tests such as the TAGE-MAGE, the GMATT, the GRE, the TOEIC and the TOEFL.
An alternative to private Business Schools
According to the Hetzel report, IAE show the best results of all universities in professionalization. Degrees of IAE are internationally recognized by the LMD reform and its MBAs. In 2012, Olivier Rollot, in Le Monde stressed the excellence of such Public Graduate School of Management being a real alternative to private Business Schools Monday, 28 January 2013, the French channel France 2 did a report about the Business Schools which had been pointed out by the Court of Auditor and talked of the IAE as an alternative to Business Schools, providing the same quality of education for a very lower cost. Emmanuel Davidenkoff, chief editor of l'Etudiant conclude this reporting saying that "Between a good business school and a good IAE, there is about the thickness of a sheet of waxed paper.".
