The French Grandes Ecoles, such as Mines ParisTech, are separate and parallel systems of higher education in France. I wish I had gone to the Grand Ecole. The French tend to be a little nervous about calling their Grande École ‘university’, but ‘university’ is at the heart of the English language. Mines Especially Paristech, historically a mining school, now teaches very little mining (though some geology). The name stuck, but the curriculum changed significantly with the decline of the French mining industry.

To say that Les Mines (called Mines ParisTech in French) is “the best engineering school” is very misleading. The French have a very different understanding of the word “engineering”, covering everything from mathematics and analysis to management and general problem solving.As an “engineering” student at the Ecole des Mines, Not only do they take subjects like social sciences and economics, but they also take very advanced courses on what much of the Western world considers “real” engineering. design and planning. Internships in foreign companies and national research institutes are often the focus of training at les Mines, unlike universities. At Les Mines, you graduate with solid experience and a very broad overview of your ‘expertise’. They also have a good knowledge of math and physics (otherwise they won’t get in, but that’s a whole other story).