HEC Paris

MBA Program Stats

Academics And Programs

HEC has two MBA intakes each year — in January and September, capped at 300 students — over 94% of whom are international. At 16 months, the HEC full-time MBA is longer than the 12-month European standard, which allows students to mull their future more than some shorter programs that seem to catapult students from one job to another.

The school offers an extensive program of career workshops coupled with an impressive roster of company visits, as well as the opportunity for students to incorporate an internship—or two—into their studies. HEC does indeed like to focus on the transformational potential, saying that two-thirds of its MBAs change either geography, sector, or focus, while a remarkable 80% change two or more.

For the first half of the curriculum, students undertake the Fundamental Phase, consisting of core business and management courses. After eight months, students move on to the more exploratory Customized Phase, in which they become experts in their field of interest. Customization takes place through the choice of seven specializations: Entrepreneurship, Finance, Advanced Management, Strategic Marketing, Strategy, Digital Innovation, or Sustainable & Disruptive Innovation. This phase also involves electives, a fieldwork project, and a wide choice of international exchanges.

As for internships, students can intern during the program or at the end of their MBA Program with lengths varying from 2 months to 6 months or more. Last year, over 65% of HEC Paris MBAs had internships all over the globe, both in person and remotely.

Aside from participating in a plethora of conferences and clubs, students love to frequent the Creative Destruction Lab, where they have the opportunity to work directly with highly scalable start-ups dedicated to finding solutions to climate change. The school also works closely with Station F, the world’s biggest start-up campus. Students also benefit from having access to the HEC Incubator where some of France’s most accomplished entrepreneurs gather. Students can capitalize on the school’s participation in the Paris-Saclay Innovation Cluster, dubbed “The Silicon Valley of France.”

The school is surrounded by some of France’s best research institutions, high-tech businesses, and start-ups, all of which HEC students can access. Firms and investors come and pitch ideas to MBA students, who then work on commercializing the technology. The ideas are then pitched to CEOs and VCs, and some develop into real businesses. The entrepreneurial streak in this MBA clearly rubs off: 20% of HEC Paris MBAs go on to found their own businesses at some point.

Students continually name the Outdoor Leadership Seminar and the MBA Tournament (MBAT) as two of their favorite traditions at the HEC Paris MBA.

During the Outdoor Leadership Seminar, students spend two days proving and improving their leadership and problem-solving skills supervised by military-trained professionals. They learn to lead in situations where they don’t have all the answers, where they confront obstacles that they’ve never seen before – learning how to leverage the strength of their team to accomplish a common goal.

The MBA Tournament, the “MBA Olympics” — a sports competition between more than 1,500 MBA students from schools across Europe, with a smattering of competitors from U.S. schools. This is a great leadership opportunity for students who get to run the financing, marketing, logistics and operations of a large-scale event with a half-a-million-euro budget.

HEC also offers dual degrees, in which students can take the MBA in 12 months and spend another year studying for a master’s at institutions such as Yale, National University of Singapore, or the London School of Economics.

Why Students Chose

“The HEC MBA was always the best natural fit for my needs and ambitions as I aim to make a ‘triple jump’ in geography, industry, and position. It offers me a 16-month program with a rigorous study of business fundamentals, ample opportunity for internships and specialization, and plenty of space for personal discovery. Importantly, I will be embedded in one of the strongest and prestigious alumni networks in the world.” Jan Debets (‘24)

“As I’m planning to change the industry, it was important to me that the business school was located near Paris, the capital of the beauty industry. This attracts me with science-based R&D activity, non-trivial marketing challenges, and consumer-oriented philosophy. HEC Paris has partnerships with the beauty industry leaders, and I hope to get an MBA internship in one of such companies.” Svetlana Toropova (’24)

“Being one of the most densely populated and ethnically diverse cities in the world, Paris presents opportunities to gain exposure to people, ideas, and experiences from nearly any and everywhere. Aside from the incredible diversity within Paris itself, the proximity to and ease of traveling within the rest of Europe is something that I couldn’t pass up. Last but certainly not least, the proximity to some of the best restaurants in Europe is a huge plus for a budding foodie like me.” Idris Bailey (’24)

Career Stats

Compensation Statistics of HEC Paris’ MBA Grads

HEC Paris MBA Graduate Employment Offers

Industry Choices of HEC Paris MBAs

Where HEC Paris MBAs Went to Work

From HEC Paris

A Truly Unique MBA Experience 

At the HEC Paris MBA, you will find the ideal environment to realize your full potential and become a business leader for the 21st century. Working alongside your high-achieving peers and with our world-class professors, you will build your competencies in an energizing, collaborative community that mirrors the diversity of today’s global economy.

A perfect equation between the size of our intakes – limited to 300 students yearly – and an individualized approach to learning means that your ideas and input are valued. This encouragement comes from faculty, staff, and other students, in an environment where everyone knows your name and participants form a close-knit community for life. Conversations with your peers – 94% international – will shape your viewpoint, enrich your experience, and prepare you to work with people from many different backgrounds and cultures.

Excellent professors at the forefront of research will build upon your unique talents and shape your learning experience. Our faculty infuse a rare combination of broad experience, personal insights, and the latest in advanced-management thinking into their classes.

During our 16-month program, you will develop the core management skills needed to excel in any industry, anywhere in the world. You will also go much deeper, with the flexibility to pursue international exchanges and internships, as well as specialized studies and hands-on learning in the sector of your choice.

Essay Questions For HEC Paris

HEC has six essay questions:

1. Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (In 500 words or less).
2. What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (In 250 words or less).
3. Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (In 250 words or less).
4. Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (In 250 words or less).
5. Please choose from one of the following essays (In 250 words or less): 
6. a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?
7. b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyze it.
8. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc).
9. Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (In 900 words or less).

Rankings Data For HEC Paris