ESSEC Business School
ESSEC Business School is a French business school and Grande école. Its main campus is located in Cergy, with additional campuses in Paris, Rabat, and Singapore.
Established by Jesuits in 1907, ESSEC was created as a response to the opening of HEC Paris. It operated independently until 1981, when it came under the governance of the Versailles Chamber of Commerce, which later became part of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris Île-de-France in 2013. ESSEC is currently a member of the CY Allianceb, a group of academic institutions in the Paris region.
History
Foundation (1907–1913)
ESSEC was founded in 1907 under the Economic Institute by Ferdinand Le Pelletier in Paris. Its creation followed the movement of other private business schools established under Catholic guardianship in the early 20th century, such as HEC Nord by the Catholic Institute of Lille, and ESSCA by the Catholic Institute of Angers.The establishment of the Falloux Laws in 1854 allowed the development of religious secondary education. Following the Dreyfus affair and the law of separation of church and state, the Church sought to regain influence, in particular by disseminating its moral values in the economic sphere and by educating in the field of business. ESSEC was founded within a broader movement of Catholic higher education institutions established in France in the early 20th century, following legislative changes affecting religious education, especially between Jesuits and the secular and Republican ideology of the state. The stated aim of the new institution was to "train leaders for a commercial and economic career, which requires competent men, imbued with Christian and human values". The school was located at the École Sainte Geneviève in the Latin Quarter. The first class had seven students, and studies lasted two years; in 1909, an optional third year was introduced.
The original course was structured around general subjects, including law, accounting, languages, and techniques. With the introduction of Christian moral values, students attended a weekly apologetics conference in the chapel of the École Sainte Geneviève. Scientific education complemented technical education.
1913–1940
Following the 1905 law on the separation of church and state, the school's premises were confiscated in 1913, and ESSEC was absorbed into the Catholic Institute of Paris. As a consequence, the school's resources were significantly reduced; for example, it had only one Amphitheatre borrowed from ICP, and the elementary section was removed. During this period, the curriculum included languages, history of trade, commercial geography, political economy, law, and accounting, with a strong emphasis on languages totaling ten hours per week.The school struggled during the First World War. In 1914, it had only four first‑year students and two second‑year students, and was temporarily closed before reopening in 1915. The optional third year was removed, and the school did not regain financial stability until 1920 when more than 50 students enrolled in the first year. In 1923, the Students' Association was created with a solidarity fund for war widows and orphans. In 1926, the first alumni directory was published, and three years later, the first courses in business ethics were introduced. By 1930, enrollment had increased to 150.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, ESSEC reduced the price of tuition to attract students who preferred public service or law studies. As the school's finances worsened, it accepted high‑school graduates, uncertified examiners, and freelance auditors who took non‑certificated courses.
In 1932, the Student Office was created, and in 1937, the first scholarships were awarded, marking the start of a social assistance policy.
1940–1960
In 1939, the dean, Camille Donjon, reformed the curriculum and introduced entry examinations. A preparatory class for the examinations was set up in 1941.During this period, ESSEC declined to join the unified system of écoles de commerce established by the decree of 3 December 1947, which formalized state support for preparatory classes. While HEC and ESCP joined the unified system, ESSEC positioned itself as a challenger and retained its own preparatory classes. To keep pace with its competitors, ESSEC increased the duration of study from two to three years in 1947. This continued until 1951, when ESSEC stopped offering its own preparatory classes and opened its examinations to candidates from public preparatory classes. In 1950, a three‑month compulsory end‑of‑study internship was added.
1960–1970
In 1960, Gilbert Olivier succeeded Camille Donjon as dean of ESSEC. His arrival, alongside competitive pressures, affected the school's Christian identity. He began a reform process by surveying students about course content and pedagogy. The survey indicated that only a minority of students were satisfied, and teaching was described as "scholarly, serious, and lacking in openness".In response, gradual reforms were introduced. Technical subjects such as chemistry and physics were dropped, course content was adapted to private‑sector needs, and courses in sociology and human resources were added, followed by marketing in 1965. Teaching methods were diversified with conferences and formats similar to those at HEC Paris and Sciences Po, and ESSEC adopted practices commonly used in U.S. business schools. Recruitment was broadened with the introduction of admission sur titre in 1966, which also marked the opening of the school to women, although preparatory classes remained closed to them.
Student associations also expanded in the early 1960s with the creation of "ESSEC Tuesdays" in 1961 and the Junior Enterprise in 1967. ESSEC Tuesdays is a student forum that periodically invites speakers from the arts, sports, politics, and economics, and hosts debates led by two students from the association.
The entrance examination was revised in 1969, eliminating chemistry and physics tests and updating the oral examination to assess candidates' logical reasoning rather than general knowledge. Psychometric tests and personality interviews were also introduced. Olivier also sought to reform the preparatory program to more closely model commercial education, but abandoned the effort due to opposition from HEC and other business schools.
1970–1990
With these reforms in place, the number of students grew, straining the school's facilities. The school occupied three amphitheaters at the ICP. In 1965, a commission was set up to consider moving the school to a new location. Projects were planned in Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine or Gentilly, which were ultimately abandoned. On 5 July 1967, a decision was taken by ESSEC to move to a new site in the town of Cergy-Pontoise, where the current campus is located. In 1971, administrative services were moved to Raspail Boulevard.During this time, ESSEC separated from the ICP. In 1968, the latter recognized the financial and administrative independence of the school. In 1969, the ESSEC group was founded, consisting of the school, CERESSEC, a research center, and ISSEC. ICP retained one-third of the seats on the board of directors, and the appointment of the school director still had to be approved by the ICP rector.
The move to Cergy-Pontoise polarized the community. It was less well received by students due to the lack of public transportation to the area. Some teachers opposed the move, fearing a potential replacement of faculty members. The new school extended and included a large amphitheater with 300 seats, eight small 80-seat amphitheaters equipped with closed circuit television, a computer center, a large language laboratory, a library, a sports hall, a restaurant and 48 classrooms. Its reception areas were to be available to the public in Cergy. Student housing was made available nearby.
Before 1971, ESSEC relied mainly on executives working in companies as its teaching staff. However, the school started to set up its permanent faculty. Grants awarded by FNEGE to finance studies of young professors or executives in the United States who wished to return to teaching to fill the French "management gap" allowed ESSEC to build a pool of qualified teachers. In 1972, nine out of twenty professors were former ESSECs who had completed their training in the United States. The arrival of FNEGE Fellows, who had returned from the United States, stimulated a curriculum reform. A core curriculum was set up in the first year based on fundamentals while an à la carte curriculum was introduced from the second year and is still in effect today. The minimum internship length was raised to 12 months. Application numbers grew from 700 candidates in 1960 to 2,800 in 1973.
The decision to move to Cergy without the support of public funds resulted in heavy debt to the Caisse d'Epargne, ANFESP, and the Council General of Val d'Oise. This resulted in an obligation to repay up to 4-5 million francs yearly. This payment represented 11.7% of the ESSEC budget in 1975. The operating budget expanded from six million francs in 1972 to twenty-eight million in 1979. At one point, tuition fees increased until they doubled those of HEC. In 1979, the financial crisis erupted, exacerbated by an environment of high interest rates and an economic slowdown related to the oil shock, and the school hit a deficit of 10.4 million francs that year. Funding was provided through the apprenticeship tax, the introduction of continuing education, and parent contributions. Other solutions considered included ESSEC's nationalization or joining a larger university.
Dean Gilbert Olivier strongly opposed these options, seeing them as a failure of the initial project of the school to emancipate itself from the higher education system. Financial conditions ultimately improved, permitting the school to operate without taking such actions. The rescue was aided by the Versailles Chamber of Commerce, which injected 10 million francs to cover the deficit of ESSEC, bought 51% of ESSEC's ownership for 12 million francs and committed to pay an annual subsidy of 6 million francs from 1982 to 1989. In exchange, ESSEC retained its legal autonomy, but had a governance system with a management board and supervisory board. This intrusion of supervision and the absence of representation of the students and professors in the general assembly triggered strikes and the launching of petitions against the plan. The agreement was finally signed on 6 April 1981. The fear of control of the school and its pedagogy ultimately proved unfounded.