ESC Rennes School of Business

Discover Rennes

Rennes is known as one of the best places to live among France's biggest cities. It is located about two hours from Paris, London, and Brussels, and it is only 40 minutes from the Atlantic coast, making it the gateway to the Brittany (Bretagne) region. Of the 350,000 people in the area, the student population of 60,000 gives the city a youthful and dynamic atmosphere. Rennes is one of the top cities in France for technology and research. As the first Healthy City, it now manages the network set up by the World Health Organization. The city also boasts a vast pedestrian area full of shops and offers plenty of leisure, sport, and art activities.

ESC Rennes School of Business Mission:

The ESC Rennes School of Business, located in the heart of Brittany with a determinedly international orientation, aims to transmit its commitment to entrepreneurship and to sustainable development to current and future business leaders. Its teaching and research, firmly based on the notions of discovery, understanding, diversity, and responsibility, are designed to prepare managers and entrepreneurs for globalization.

ESC Rennes Campus

A note from the ESC Director:

ESC Rennes School of Business is an international Graduate School, part of the French network of "Grandes Ecoles," the cream of French academic institutions.

This illustrates the importance we place on the three foundational dimensions of a graduate school of management.

I. Academic excellence: Our staff members are fully involved in student teaching methods and highly committed to knowledge creation, ensuring that the latest findings in management science continually feed through into their teaching.

II. Fully international environment: Two-thirds of the permanent faculty and one third of our students are international: this contributes to an outstanding cultural mix in day-to-day campus life. ESC Rennes Business School is a French "Grande Ecole," with a fully international environment in terms of its culture, teaching, faculty, students, courses, qualifications, day-to-day campus life, and ambitions.

III. Close partnership with the business world: The business world is the obvious destination for our students (over half of them are hired even before they have completed their studies) and companies are genuine teaching partners at the ESC and follow the progress of our students from their arrival at the school right through to graduation. We are convinced that tomorrow's world will be even more global than today's and that managers and company leaders will necessarily have to 'think and act global.' This is why we believe that learning about the diversity of the world around us and regional cultures is a vital accompaniment to learning about management itself. The ESC Rennes School of Business is continuing to build on its fundamental value of being geared to the international scene and forging its global personality.

Coming to join us is a choice in favour of a truly "Global School."

-Olivier Aptel, Director and Dean

Students can participate in one of (8) one-year French master's program (and pay UNI undergraduate tuition), or participate in an undergraduate exchange semester/year.

Undergraduate Academic Course Offerings

One-semester exchange students may take a variety of undergraduate courses from the one-year B.A. program in International Business, including Finance, International Management or Marketing, EU Law, Organizational Behavior, etc. Elective courses in Financial and Cash Management, Management of Mass Retailing, Advertising, HR Management, and French language & Culture are also available. Graduating seniors with a Bachelor's degree in Business may select this institution to complete a Master of Arts degree in one year as part of the exchange.

For students interested in taking BA level classes at ESC Rennes, all classes in the BA program are open to exchange students, except Project Writing. The letter at the end of a course code indicate the language in which it is taught; therefore, students should take classes with a code ending in "E" unless they are fluent in French. Please stop by the Study Abroad office to find out more information on courses offered.

Business Course Equivalencies for ESC Rennes School of Business

Please note that the pre-requisites for UNI courses are still required for Rennes equivalents. For Example, if you plan to take MKV504, Consumer Behavior, at Rennes to transfer as UNI's 130:106, you must have completed all prerequisite courses and have a junior standing.

Credit Hour Transfer
3.00 ECTS Business Credits = 1.5 UNI Credits
5.00 ECTS Business Credits = 3.0 UNI Credits
2.50 ECTS Business Credits = 2.5 UNI Credits

Some Rennes business courses transfer to UNI as 1.5 hours (3.00 ECTS Credits) and must be combined with an additional 1.5 hour course to meet the UNI equivalent. Please see above.

ESC Rennes School of Business helps international students to find accommodation in Rennes. There are several possibilities furnished flat-share with other students:

-individual furnished flats
-home stay
-private self-catering residences
-Crous (very few rooms available).

Once you have been accepted, you will be requested to complete the Accommodation Request form (only sent with the official acceptance letters).

ESC Rennes Accommodation Website

ESC Rennes International Students Housing Guide

ESC Rennes has no halls of residence; students live in private apartments located near the school or downtown. The international students liaison office and the student association Come on Team provides a list of housing options available in the area. The office publishes a Welcome Guide with information concerning visas and residence permits, insurance, banks, and health care. On-site orientation is mandatory. Most students choose to cook for themselves; however, students may eat at the University restaurant (approximately 22 Euros for 10 tickets).

Exchange students pay UNI tuition and fees (in-state or out-of-state; undergraduate or graduate) plus the study abroad fee ($360 per semester or $480 for a year) to participate. The program cost does not include housing, food, books and supplies, round-trip air transportation, international health insurance, French Health Insurance, and personal expenses.

The cost of living in France is comparable to most other European countries. Those studying in France for a year may apply for a housing subsidy (refund) if they apply for the carte de sejour. More information about the carte de sejours is available in the student handbook in the Study Abroad Resource Library. The handbook is also sent to each admitted exchange student.