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Graduate employability: top universities in France ranked by employers 2027

French universities producing the most employable graduates have been ranked by companies around the world in the Global Employability University Ranking 2027. These are the top universities in France for preparing graduates for their careers

October 28 2026
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There are 19 French universities in the Global Employability University Ranking 2027, designed by the HR consultancy Emerging and published exclusively by Times Higher Education. The ranking reveals which universities recruiters at top companies think are the best at preparing students for the workplace.

The grandes écoles – elite French institutions set up to produce civil servants and businesspeople – do particularly well in the employability ranking.

Business schools also feature prominently, including ESSEC Business School and EDHEC Business School. The majority of universities on the list are located in Paris.


Top universities in the world for employability
Top universities in the United States for employability
Top universities in the UK for employability
Top universities in Canada for employability
Top universities in Australia for employability
Top universities in the Netherlands for employability
Top universities in Germany for employability


Top three universities in France for graduate employability

1. HEC Paris

HEC Paris is an international business school set up in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The university’s flagship course is a master’s in management. The institution also offers 11 specialised MSc programmes and a PhD programme.

Notable alumni include Louis Dreyfus, chairman of the newspaper Le Monde; Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L’Oréal; and René Proglio, chairman of Morgan Stanley France.

2. Institut Polytechnique de Paris

The Institut Polytechnique de Paris is a public higher education and research institution made up of five engineering graduate schools in Paris.

These schools include École Polytechnique, ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Telecom Paris and Telecom SudParis.

The school was established in 2019. It teaches classes in 10 different academic disciplines, including biology, economics, physics, literature and languages, and data and artificial intelligence, among others.

3. CentraleSupélec

In 2015, the merger of two of France’s leading engineering universities led to the creation of CentraleSupélec.

The two schools that formed CentraleSupélec were the École Centrale Paris and the École Supérieure d’Electricité. Over the years, both schools had gained an international reputation for excellence in their fields, and their graduates were some of the highest earning in France.


Top universities in France for graduate employability 2027

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2027 results

France Employability Rank 2027Graduate Employability Rank 2027Graduate Employability Rank 2026UniversityCity/town
12721HEC ParisParis
22826Ecole Polytechnique – Institut Polytechique de ParisParis
33124CentraleSupélec – Paris Saclay UniversityParis
44445ESCP Business SchoolParis
54744EMLYON Business SchoolLyon
65247Université Paris-SaclayParis
75449ESSEC Business SchoolCergy
85851Mines ParisTechParis
96255Sorbonne UniversityParis
106361EDHEC Business SchoolParis
1196113Université Paris-Dauphine – PSL UniversityParis
129799Arts et Métiers Paris
13112118École des Ponts ParisTechParis
14189194Télécom Paris – Institut Polytechnique de ParisParis
15195199Ecole Centrale de Lyon Lyon
16200201Ecole normale supérieure Paris-Saclay – Paris Saclay UniversityParis
17216232Université Grenoble AlpesGrenobles
18218226University of Montpellier Montpellier
19251251Aix-Marseille UniversityAix-en-Provence and Marseilles

 


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