French newspaper Le Figaro has published its first ranking of the top institutions for design and architecture studies in France. Based on a number of criteria, Ensci-Les Ateliers, a public institution in Paris has been named the top school for design and architecture in France.
France is known for its fashion and design programmes at the higher education level. ‘Le Figaro Etudiant’, the newspaper’s section for (future) students, announced the design school ranking on its website.
The ranking rates 34 public and private schools in the country that offer programmes in design and architecture. Public design institutions dominate the top ten and the ten best schools all offer a fashion-related programme or degree, either at the bachelor or at the master level.
Four out of five of the higher education institutions in the top five are located or based in Paris.
Zooming in on this top 5, top institution Ensci-Les Ateliers is followed in second place by the national school for higher education in decorative arts, École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, another public institution. The Atlantique Design School (École de design Nantes Atlantique) in Nantes rounds out the top three.
Le Figaro ranks France’s top schools for design
Each institution’s ranking is based on three indicators: academic excellence, recognition by designers and professional integration. Le Figaro’s academic excellence indicator takes into account the assessment of France’s ministry of higher education, how the school performed in the QS Art and Design Ranking 2023.
It also considers the Parcoursup 2022 access rate. Parcoursup is the national platform for pre-registering in the first year of studies in the French higher education system.
For its ‘recognition by professionals’ indicator, the French newspaper considered the awards and distinctions won by former students of the institution in various design competitions, as well as its recognition by professional organisations in the design sector.
Lastly, when it comes to a school’s ‘professional integration’, Le Figaro looked at which institutions are popular, as well as how many graduates of the school were hired by twelve of the country’s top design agencies.
Find the top 20 of France’s best design schools below
- 1 – Ensci-Les Ateliers, Paris (public)
- 2 – École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD), Paris (public)
- 3 – École de design Nantes Atlantique, Nantes (private)
- 4 – Ensaama-Olivier de Serres, Paris (public)
- 5 – École Boulle, Paris (public)
- 6 – École Camondo, Paris and Toulon (private)
- 7 – Strate, design school, Sèvres (private)
- 8 – Esad Saint-Étienne (public)
- 9 – Penninghen, Paris (private)
- 11 – CY école de design, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (public)
- 12 – Esad Orléans, Orléans (public)
- 13 – Ensad Nancy, Nancy (public)
- 14 – ESD Villefontaine, Villefontaine (public)
- 15 – Rubika, Valenciennes (private)
- 16 – Haute École des Arts du Rhin, Mulhouse (public)
- 17 – Esaa La Martinière Diderot, Lyon (public)
- 18 – Lisaa, Paris, Montpellier, Nantes… (private)
- 19 – Esaat Roubaix, Roubaix (public)
- 20 – École de Condé, Paris, Bordeaux, Nice… (private)
