École polytechnique
École polytechnique (lit. 'Polytechnic School'; also known as Polytechnique or l'X [liks]) is a grande école located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris.
Other name | l'X |
|---|---|
Former name | École centrale des Travaux publics (Central School of Public Works) |
| Motto | Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire |
Motto in English | For the Homeland, Science, and Glory |
| Type | Grande école |
| Established | 1794 |
Parent institution | Polytechnic Institute of Paris |
Academic affiliations | CGE, CDEFI |
| President | Laura Chaubard (by interim) |
| Director | Laura Chaubard |
| Students | 3,370 |
| Undergraduates | 480 |
| Postgraduates | 2,000 engineer candidates 500 masters |
| 390 | |
| Location | , France 48.7125°N 2.2100°E |
| Colors | Red & yellow |
| Website | polytechnique.edu |
| Battalion of École polytechnique | |
|---|---|
| Bataillon de l'École polytechnique | |
| Founded | September 28, 1794 |
| Country | France |
| Allegiance | France |
| Type | Public research university |
| Part of | French Armed Forces |
| Motto(s) | Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire |
| Wars | Sixth Coalition World War II |
| Battle honours | Legion of Honour citation to the order of the army |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding Officer | Senior General Armament Engineer François Bouchet |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Thibault Capdeville head of corps and director of human and military training |
The school was founded in 1794 by mathematician Gaspard Monge during the French Revolution and was militarized under Napoleon I in 1804. It is still supervised by the French Ministry of Armed Forces. Originally located in the Latin Quarter in central Paris, the institution moved to Palaiseau in 1976, in the Paris-Saclay technology cluster.
Polytechnique's historic engineering graduate program has a highly selective admission process consisting of written and oral examinations, following classes préparatoires or a bachelor's degree. French engineering students undergo initial military training and have the status of paid officer cadets. The school has also been awarding doctorates since 1985, masters since 2005 and bachelors since 2017. Most Polytechnique engineering graduates go on to become top executives in companies, senior civil servants, military officers, or researchers.
Its alumni from the engineering graduate program include three Nobel Prize winners, a Fields Medalist, three Presidents of France and many CEOs of French and international companies. Among them are mathematicians such as Cauchy, Coriolis, Henri Poincaré, Laurent Schwartz and Benoît Mandelbrot, physicists such as Becquerel, Carnot, Ampère and Fresnel, and economists Maurice Allais and Jean Tirole. French Marshals Joffre, Foch, Fayolle and Maunoury all graduated from Polytechnique engineering program.