The School and University of Orléans are opening a new pathway into the engineering programme for undergraduates studying mathematics

Anthony Briant, Director of the École nationale des ponts et chaussées, and Eric Blond, President of the University of Orléans, have just signed a partnership agreement in Orléans to open up a new pathway into the School’s engineering programme for third-year undergraduate students at the University of Orléans. This agreement demonstrates the commitment of both institutions to strengthening links between the University and the Grande École and to promoting academic mobility based on excellence. The scheme will be implemented from this year onwards.

Diversifying scientific talent and opening up new opportunities for undergraduate students

It enables third-year undergraduate students studying mathematics or a combined mathematics and physics degree to apply directly for the first year of the engineering programme at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées.

This initiative reflects the two institutions’ commitment to promoting academic mobility and grounding engineering education in scientific research, whilst broadening access to a diverse range of candidates.

This agreement complements the École nationale des ponts et chaussées’ participation in the GEI-UNIV scheme. It is based on the identification, by the undergraduate programme coordinators at the University of Orléans, of pre-selected students of the highest academic calibre who might not have applied to a general engineering school of their own accord, considering themselves too specialised. The scheme also provides for the implementation, in the second semester of the final year of the bachelor’s degree, of a scientific project co-supervised by the University of Orléans and the School, enabling their learning ability to be assessed and introducing them gradually to disciplines they have not yet studied.

A rigorous and formative admissions process

The admissions process therefore comprises:

• an academic pre-selection carried out by the University of Orléans;
• a motivational interview held at the School;
• the completion of an individual research project related to the School’s research areas;
• a project defence before a joint panel comprising representatives from both institutions.

Final admission is conditional upon obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a ‘good’ grade, or a dual Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics with a ‘good’ grade in each discipline. Applicants must be aged 22 or under on 1 January of the year of the entrance examination and must not have completed more than one year of preparatory classes for the "Grandes Écoles".

A scientific project at the heart of the initiative

Students shortlisted in the first semester and interviewed at the School may be declared eligible following this interview. They then undertake, in the second semester, an individual research project that forms part of their curriculum and is assessed by a joint panel from both institutions. This project, conducted under the responsibility of the University, is designed in line with the School’s research priorities, and the School may propose project topics deemed relevant.

This scientific project enables the assessment of students’ skills and their aptitude for the engineering programme, whilst allowing them to deepen their knowledge of the School’s research priorities.

A transformative and long-term partnership to support the scientific talent of tomorrow

Signed for five intake cycles starting in 2026, this agreement marks a new chapter in the collaboration between the School and the University of Orléans. It brings together the educational and administrative expertise of both institutions around a shared goal: to support the scientific talents of tomorrow. The scheme comes into effect upon signing of the agreement, with the first intake of students joining the School’s engineering programme on 1 September.

By promoting the identification and support of outstanding academic profiles, this partnership strengthens the links between the University and the Grande École whilst broadening the pathways to high-level engineering programmes. 

"The School has a strategic ambition to make its engineering programme more widely accessible to new groups of students, both in France and internationally. The partnership with the University of Orléans is a concrete example of this, enabling outstanding science students from the university to join the programme," emphasises Anthony Briant, Director of the École nationale des ponts et chaussées.

"This partnership with the École nationale des ponts et chaussées is a source of great pride for the University of Orléans. It recognises the quality of our Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, the dedication of our teaching staff and the talent of our students. The fact that the École is signing this type of agreement with a university for the first time gives this partnership particular significance. Thanks to this initiative, our best students will be supported in their application to one of France’s leading engineering schools and will be able to consider pathways to excellence that they might not otherwise have dared to envisage,” says Eric Blond, President of the University of Orléans.