FAQ
If you have any questions about studying at ENSAI, the Ker Lann campus, nearby housing, public transportation, student life, etc. here are some answers and resources:
Yes, ENSAI is a public engineering school (Grande école). It falls under the technical supervision of l’INSEE and is attached to the Ministry for the Economy and Finance of France. ENSAI, along with ENSAE Paris, is part of the Grouping of National Economics and Statistics Schools (GENES), a public higher education and research establishment.
Graduates of ENSAI’s engineering program, accredited by the Commission des titres d’ingénieur (CTI), receive a Master’s degree delivered by the French government.
ENSAI trains data scientists – engineers or civil servants – who are able to give meaning to data.
ENSAI is open to the public, students, and staff from 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m from Monday to Friday.
Occasionally the school is open for authorized evening events for student clubs and associations with approval from ENSAI’s Secretary General.
A security guard is present to manage reception in the entrance hall during opening hours.
After two year of taking classes, mostly in common with the engineering program, civil servant trainees can:
– start working. Their career can be oriented towards applied mathematics, economic studies, and computer science at INSEE, in statistical services of various French Ministries (the economy, education, employment, social affairs, sustainable development, etc.) or in institutions like la Banque de France, research centers, Eurostat, etc.
– complete, if certain criteria are met, the Master in Data Science for Public Decision Marking, co-accredited with the University of Rennes, as continual education either immediately after their two years at ENSAI or after having worked as a civil servant. Three specializations are offered:
- Methodology for Official Statistics (MSP)
- Statistics and Data Management (STD) – not open to INSEE personnel in continuing education
- Statistical Studies (ES)
This Master is the only Eurostat labeled European Master in Official Statistics (EMOS) in France.
Official statisticians can, conditionally after several years of professional experience, reach the rank of Principal or Chief officer or other high ranking official in the civil service through competitive exams or promotions.
Every year we measure the integration of our graduates into the workforce through a occupational insertion survey created by the Conférence des grandes écoles. Results show that ENSAI graduates are able to capitalize from their scientific and practical training, which clearly meet the needs of businesses:
Full employment and increasing salaries
In March 2023, almost all (97,7%) of ENSAI’s 2022 engineering graduates who wanted to join the workforce had a job.
The net total of employment for ENSAI graduates continues to be above that of most French engineering schools (93,1%).
Engineers present in all economic sectors
“Ensaiens” work in a variety of sectors, either directly in a company or as a consultant in a consulting firm.
Yes, engineers can find job opportunities in both the private and the public sector.
For example, some of our engineer graduates have found work at CNAM, CGET, or even at INSEE, others are employed at la Banque de France. Some graduates start working on a temporary contract (CDD) in the public sector and are eventually given a permanent contract (CDI). Other graduates choose to take specific entrance exams for government jobs. ENSAI also has alumni who work in private companies that have partnerships in the public sector such as UNEDIC (this list of examples is non-exhaustive).
The specialization Data Science for Economic & Health Modeling, for example, offers students the necessary skills in Statistical Engineering, Economics, and Econometrics as they relate to the dynamics of territories and health. This expertise is increasingly sought-after in the evaluation of public policy as well as in the private sector.
Engineering Program
This method of admissions is open to students who have successfully completed one of the following:
- 2 years of post secondary school education (Bac+2): holders of a BUT (French University Technology Diploma equivalent to an HND) in Data Science or Computer Science
- a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in:
- Mathematics and Computer Science applied to Human and Social Sciences (Miashs)
- Statistics
- Applied Mathematics
- Economic Science
- Computer Science applied to Business Management (Miage)
- or equivalent
Master admissions are based on qualifications. A minimum of 4 years of higher education equivalent to 240 ECTS credits (at least a 4-year degree or first year of a master’s degree) is required.
It is not possible to transfer into the civil servant program
Please contact our admission service, which can only provide the oral examination results for B/L students. For all other examination results, students need to contact the examination organizers.
Our admissions service can provide you with a letter of admission as soon as you are admitted to ENSAI. Students will obtain their proof of enrollment certificate (certificat de scolarité) once they have officially accepted the offer of admission to ENSAI and paid their tuition fees.
The coefficients for the competitive entrance exams to ENSAI are as follows:
Changes for the economics and management competitive entrance examination: the test entitled “composition of general economic analysis” becomes “composition of microeconomic analysis” and the test entitled “composition of monetary analysis and/or economic policy” becomes “composition of macroeconomic analysis”.
In 3rd year, engineering students who are interested in a research-based career can pursue, at the same time as their studies at ENSAI, a Master’s degree by doing “Option formation par la recherche” which translates roughly into education through research.
Here is a list of possible options at partner schools:
- Master de recherche Mathématiques et applications parcours Mathématiques fondamentales (Universités de Rennes 1 et Rennes 2, l’INSA Rennes et l’ENS Rennes)
- Master de recherche en Santé publique, parcours modélisation en pharmacologie clinique et épidémiologique intégrative (Université de Rennes)
- Master de recherche en finance, parcours Advanced Studies and Research in Finance (IGR-IAE de Rennes)
- Master de recherche mention Bioinformatique, parcours bioinformatique en Santé (Université de Rennes )
- Master de recherche mention Bioinformatique, parcours informatique et biologie intégrative (Université de Rennes)
- Master Economie, spécialité Economie Théorique et Empirique (ETE) (Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Marseille)
Offering international experiences to students and staff is a priority for ENSAI. A 4-week minimum period abroad (for studies or an internship) is a mandatory graduation requirement for all engineering students (except those who are already international students). ENSAI proposes more than 40 international partnerships including institutions in Europe, the United States, Africa, and Asia.
Yes, several double degree agreements with prestigious higher-ed institutions in France and abroad exist for engineering and official statistics students.
> Find out more here
There are 6 specialization tracks for the engineering curriculum:
Data Science & Advanced Statistical Engineering
The statistical engineering taught at ENSAI opens up a wide range of professional prospects. These modeling experts master a wide range of fields, from industrial quality and reliability to environmental forecasting and image and signal processing.
Data Science & Risk Management
In order to properly assess and measure the risk associated with different operations, banks need to rely on experts with a mastery of both banking regulations and advanced quantitative techniques. Building effective quantitative tools to manage financial savings is also essential: risk management and asset management are at the heart of this specialization.
Data Science & Biostatistics
ENSAI offers a specialization in biostatistics, enabling students to embark on exciting careers in major pharmaceutical laboratories, biotechnologies and public health.
Data Science & Data Engineering
The Data Scientist who follows this specialization is endowed with a strong IT culture, combined with an initial background as a statistician. As experts in Big Data environments, they have sufficient knowledge of systems architecture, networks and IT security to handle very large volumes of data.
Data Science & Quantitative Marketing
Engineers who follow this specialization benefit from a high value-added marketing culture (marketing mix, experiential marketing, digital marketing, customer relationship management) that will enable them to extract and analyze data to understand and explain, but also and above all to predict purchasing behavior for products and services.
Data Science for Economic & Health Modeling
This specialization provides a background in statistical engineering, economics and econometrics applied to knowledge of territorial dynamics and health, and enabling the evaluation of public policies as well as private programs.
An Insee civil servant statistician has a minimum fixed term contract of 8 years with the French government, this includes the two years of training at ENSAI. If the student decides to leave before the fixed term contract is up, s/he must reimburse the salary that s/he received while studying at ENSAI (€1,5550/month).
Yes, all of our students carry out internships during their studies at ENSAI.
- Engineering students : 9 to 12-month internships in companies, with a minimum of 1 month abroad. Learn more here.
- Civil servant trainees:
– 8 weeks for INSEE civil servant trainees at the end of their 1st year of studies.
– 4 to 6 months for Master in Public Evaluation and Decision Making students. - Master in Statistics for Smart Data: 4 to 6 months at the end of their studies.
Find out in this video:
Statistical engineering students
The yearly tuition fee is €2,650 for EU students. ENSAI bursary students do not have to pay tuition fees.
All engineering students, including those with a bursary, must pay the CVEC fee (€92). More information in English can be found on Campus France.
The yearly tuition fee is €4,150 for non-EU students.
Insee civil servant trainees
There is no tuition feed.
Statistician trainees are French civil servants and are paid approximately €1,1550 before taxes per month while studying at ENSAI.
Master for Smart Data Science students
Tuition fees are either €4,000 or €6,000 depending on the student’s situation.
Students following this Master’s program are not eligible to apply for need-based financial aid.
All Master for Smart Data students, including those with a bursary, must pay the CVEC fee (around €95). More information in English can be found on Campus France.
Master in Evaluation & Decision Making students
Tuition fees for 2020/2021 are €243 for EU citizens and €3,770 for students non-EU citizens.
Students following this Master’s program are not eligible to apply for need-based financial aid.
All Master students, including those with a bursary, must pay the CVEC fee (€92). More information in English can be found on Campus France.
To find out if you are eligible for a need-based scholarship, you must complete an application with CNOUS.
The application for need-based financial aid must be completed annually with the help of the student social file (DSE) to be completed online. Students who received a CROUS grant the previous year must again compile an application online. Please keep in mind that when entering the DSE, the CROUS nomenclature is specific, students have to enter “Formation ingénieur” and then:
3rd year = 1A ENSAI
4th year = 2A ENSAI
5th year = 3A ENSAI
And finally, “Habilitation Economie ENSAI“».
International students who are European Union citizens are eligible for need-based financial aide financed by the French government.
The following international students are not concerned by this need-bases scheme:
- Students enrolled in the Mastère Spécialisé, Statistics for Smart Data Master, Insee interns, and ERASMUS students;
- Students whose tax residence has been in the European Economic Area (EEA) for less than two years;
- Students with foreign nationality and tax residence outside the EEA unless they come from institutions that have a signed agreement with ENSAI explicitly stating the student’s eligibility to the grant;
- Students taking a gap year.
Students who come from partner African schools (CAPESA: ISSEA (Cameroon), ENSAE (Senegal), ENSEA (Ivory Coast), ESSAI (Tunisia), INSEA (Morocco), ESSAI (Tunisia), ENEAM (Benin), though not eligible for CROUS grants, are eligible for ENSAI’s internal grant system and will be contacted directly by ENSAI in order to finalize their financial aid application. Applications must be sent to bourses@ensai.fr.
All international students who are ineligible for the CROUS grant can apply for other types of grants from foundations, organizations or institutions (Bourse Eiffel, regional scholarships, foundation G Besse, etc.)
Most students chose to live on the Campus de Ker Lann or very close by to limit their commute. There are 7 private student residence halls available on campus, located 10mn by foot from ENSAI. Students can also look for housing in the nearby towns of Bruz, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, Rennes, Chartres-de-Bretagne, Pont-Péan, and Laillé for example.
ENSAI is located on the Campus de Ker Lann, south of Rennes and 5 minutes by car from the airport in St-Jacques de la Lande.
A commuter train links the Ker Lann campus to Rennes in 7 to 10 minutes and there are several regular buses to and from the center of Rennes, as well as a metro, which take an average of 25 to 35 minutes for each ride.
Yes, at ENSAI, optional sports classes are offered to students in the evening.
Proposed sports include: soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, badminton, cross-training, table tennis, and running.
Tournaments are organized on campus for badminton, soccer, handball, and basketball.
Students also have access to shared athletic facilities on campus (a soccer field, tennis courts, in-door volleyball and badminton courts, dedicated spaces for playing pétanque and palet breton, and tennis tables) as well as a small gym space at ENSAI. Open from 7:30 a.m to 7:30 p.m, ENSAI’s gym is equipped with several exercise machines (elliptical bike, stationary bike, treadmill, and rowing machine), exercise mats, equipment for core strengthening, and two punching bags.
You can contact ENSAI’s 2020 student association Barbadata. They will answer your questions and share their experiences at ENSAI with you.
If you wish to get in touch with ENSAI alumni, you can email contact@ensai.org. You can also find more information (in French) about ENSAI Alumni Association on their website.