ISC Paris Business School, a highly ranked European business school situated in Paris with an additional campus in Orléans, is a French university-level institution (grande école). Its programs consist of a core degree, a bachelor's program offering six different specializations, a Master's degree in management according to the Bologna European higher education standards, and an MBA program offering sixteen different specializations. And a DBA program. These courses are available both on a part-time and full-time basis in both French and English.
ISC Paris's degrees are accredited by the French Ministry of Education and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), A benchmark achieved by only 5% of business schools globally, signifying its well-established international reputation for producing high-caliber graduates.
The Master in Management and the MBA taught in 4 languages and 5 locations are accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA). Only the top 2% of business schools in over 70 countries received this accreditation.
The Master in Management is designated as an EFMD-accredited program by the European Foundation for Management Development.
Subsequently, the Master in Management degree is triply accredited by the different international education alliances.
The Bachelor and Master degrees are accredited by the Business Graduates Association in January 2021.
In December 2021, ISC Paris Group became a member of the Executive DBA Council regarding its Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA).
The ISC Paris business school was inaugurated in the autumn of 1963 at 6 avenue Léon Heuzey, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Founded by Paul Icard, director of the Institute of Industrial Sales Psychology, with the goal of training "business executives adapted to the methods of modern business." The ISC Paris was a non-profit association (under the 1901 law) with a Board of Directors. Students were eligible for admission immediately after earning their baccalaureate; initially, the duration of study was two years. The first promotion (promo 64) consisted of 38 male students. Founded in early 1963, the ISC Paris Board of Students directed student life and activities at the school. Extracurricular activities were a core part of the professional degrees. In 1969, the Board of Students separated from the school administration and incorporated as a separate, non-profit association. In 1970, the ISC Paris's "Junior Enterprise" was founded.
On 19 May 1969, ISC Paris was recognized by the State in a ministerial decree. Simultaneously, it moved to new premises at 13 rue Jacques Bingen in the 17th arrondissement. The school had approximately 100 students at the time. In 1971, the course of study was increased from one to three years. Also in 1971, admission to the school was closed to those who had earned only a baccalaureate, requiring an additional year of preparation. The same year, admission to the Institut supérieur du commerce de Paris was opened to women.
In 1975, ISC Paris moved to its current location at 22 Boulevard du Fort de Vaux, occupying an area of 2200 m<sup>2</sup> offering amenities such as a language laboratory, group study rooms, conference rooms, and a computer lab. The entry examination was thereafter opened to parallel admissions to students with 2 to 4-year post-baccalaureate university degrees. In 1976, there were nearly one thousand applicants to the business school. ISC Paris subsequently chose to open examination centers in regional provinces with the support of local chambers of commerce and high schools.
On 21 May 1980, a decree of the Ministry of Education announced that the ISC Paris's degree was guaranteed by the State. In 1981, a Department for Continuing Professional Education was established, offering training solutions to businesses. This was followed by the creation of ISC Master Program for graduate students. The Institut Supérieur du Commerce was rebranded as the ISC Group. In 1983, the entry examination for the first year was opened to applicants with a 2-year degree, in order to increase the applicant pool. In October 1983, ISC Paris inaugurated new premises close to the Boulevard du Fort de Vaux. The school grounds expanded, eventually covering over 3000 m<sup>2</sup>.
The number of applicants to the ISC Paris increased as a result of the School Promotion Committee's actions, which organized conferences in preparatory classes across France. In 1992, ISC Paris created a series of examinations with a partner business school with identical written tests, but different oral exams for each school. This system lasted until 1999, when the ISC Paris decided to join the Banque Commune d'épreuves (Examination test base for most Business Schools). Meanwhile, in 1996, ministry-led reforms increased the duration of preparatory classes from one to two years. The number of candidates reached 1,178 in 1982, 2,281 in 1984, and 3,875 in 1992. In 2010, the number of applicants exceeded 2,900 applicants from HEC preparatory classes and about 2,700 via the parallel admission process in 2011.
In March 2007, the ISC Paris was authorized to award master's degree as part of the LMD Europe-wide Bologna process to its students by the Helfer Committee and joined the Conference of Grandes Ecoles.
As of 2 September 2019, Jean-Paul Aimetti was President of the Board of Directors and Jean-Christophe Hauguel was the Chief Executive Officer.
On 19 October 2019, the Business School joined the Principles for Responsible Management Education, an initiative by the United Nations Global Compact.
AACSB, AMBA, EFMD, BGA, EDBAC, CampusFrance, NAFSA, FNEGE, Conférence des Grandes ÃÂcoles and UGEI.
National
There are about 200 business schools in France, of which nearly fifty are authorized to award Master's degrees. Among these business schools, the ISC Paris Business School is usually ranked between 8th and 20th in publications such as the daily newspaper "le Figaro" and the magazine Challenges depending on the criteria used.
Ranks 1st for its Alternating Work-Study Programs by Le Parisien étudiant, May 2023.
Ranks 1st for Professionalization among the 37 leading business schools, according to LâÂÂétudiant, 2024.
ISC Paris secured the 16th place in the Ranking of the 37 French business schools â LâÂÂétudiant 2024.
Internationally
ISC Paris is ranked in the top 100 European Business Schools in 2024 by the Financial Times.
ISC Paris Executive MBA program is ranked in the 151-160 category by QS in 2025.
The MBA is ranked 201+ worldwide in the World University Rankings - Full Time MBA in 2021 and 61+ in Europe in the World University Rankings - Full Time MBA in 2021 by Quacquarelli Symonds.
The Executive MBA is ranked 16+ in Asia, 2nd worldwide on the Executive Profile criteria and 141-150 globally in the World University Rankings - Executive MBA in 2021 by Quacquarelli Symonds.
The Master in Management is ranked 34th worldwide in 2021 by the Economist.
ISC Paris counts 151 partner universities across 50 countries, offering 15 Master 's-level double diplomas. 54 nationalities on-campus. About 250 ISC Paris students are enrolled in an exchange program abroad, and 150 international exchange students are registered at ISC Paris.
Research at ISC Paris has four independent laboratories in ():
The department is advised by a scientific committee. The ISC Paris is developing a doctoral program with the University of Cergy-Pontoise. It publishes quarterly research papers in all areas of business and organizes conferences such as the International Finance Conference () with other academic partners and professional associations such as the University of Cergy-Pontoise, the REMEREG Network, the AFFI.
Marketing, Communication and Commercial Relationships department
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the University of Cergy-Pontoise UCP)
Management department
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris, the University College Cork and University of applied sciences Utrecht)
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the University of Cergy-Pontoise UCP)
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers)
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers)
Audit and Finance
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the University of Cergy-Pontoise UCP)
(Double master's degrees with the ISC Paris & the University of Cergy-Pontoise UCP)
Asides academic education, ISC Paris emphasizes entrepreneurship and initiative taking through more than 20 Junior Enterprises that have their own budget and are integrated in the pedagogy since the early years of the business school (). The focus and the activities of these organizations may shift over the years and according to initiatives and opportunities.
Sports & Adventure
Humanitarian & Social
Culture, Art & Multimedia
Services to Businesses and Students
The alumni association of ISC Paris was established in 1962 with more than 20,000 members today. As of 2010, there are 25 alumni in the Who's Who.