One of the world’s leading B-schools in management sciences HEC Paris is highly sought after for the diverse and rich culture and experience it provides to its students. ‘École des Hautes Études Commerciales’ (HEC Business School) was founded in 1881 in Paris to attract and encourage innovative and entrepreneurial individuals. 130 years later the school is ranked #2 in the European Business School Rankings 2018 by Financial Times, and its full-time MBA course is ranked #3 by QS World University Rankings. HEC Paris serves over 4500 students in degree programmes and 8000 professionals participate in its executive education programs.
If HEC Paris is your target business school, this article will help you in researching the class profile, and career prospects its full-time MBA program can offer you.
Here is the outline of this article:
- General Information on the HEC Paris Full-time MBA Program
- HEC Paris MBA Program – Class profile, cost of attendance, median salary
- HEC Paris MBA Application Deadlines 2018 – 2019
- HEC Paris employment report of graduating class of 2018
- HEC Paris – Notable alumni
General Information on the HEC Paris Full-time MBA Program
Location – 1 Rue de la Libération, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
Dean: Peter A. Todd
Admission Office – 1 Rue de la Libération, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Phone: Tel: +33 (0)1 39 67 73 83
- Email: admissionmba@hec.fr
Social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
HEC Paris MBA Program – Class profile, cost of attendance, median salary
Below are the details of HEC Paris full-time MBA program’s class profile, cost of attendance, median salary. Here is the list of the total cost (tuition fee + living expenses) of top MBA programs across the world.
| S. No. | HEC Paris | Numbers |
| 1 | GMAT average score | 690 |
| 2 | Class Size (enrolled in the class of 2020) | 274 |
| 3 | Tuition & Deposit | € 69,500 |
| 4 | % of graduates accepting job offer 3 months from graduation | 93% |
| 5 | Annual Salary Package (Mean) | $120,700 |
| 6 | Annual Salary Package (Median) | $112,200 |
| 7 | Sign-on Bonus (Mean) | $28,100 |
| 8 | Sign-on Bonus (Median) | $29,500 |
HEC Paris MBA Incoming class profile 2020
HEC Paris is known for having a very large proportion of international students. Out of the 274 students enrolled in its MBA class of 2020, 92% are international students. The average GMAT of the class was 690.
| Enrolled | 274 |
| Average GMAT | 690 |
| Average age | 30 |
| % of women in the class | 33% |
| % of international citizens | 92% |
| Average years of work experience | 6 |
| Countries represented | 56 |
HEC Paris MBA Application Deadlines 2018-2019
HEC Paris prides itself on its 5-week application process. It starts with an informal online form which is not part of the official application and is designed to get you introduced to HEC Paris and also works as an informal guide to the application process.
You can apply the whole year round and will be notified about your results 5 weeks after the monthly deadline. New batches start twice a year – in September and in January.
As the admissions council is always on the lookout for well-rounded individuals, it is important to balance your academic qualifications with extracurricular skills. Your application must have a completed application form, completed essays, 2 recommendations, resume, photo, transcripts of all academic work, GMAT/GRE scores, scores of English language proficiency test like TOFEL, and a non-refundable application fee of €200.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for 2 interviews with the HEC Paris MBA Alumni and include a 10-minute oral presentation of a topic of your choice and further conversations.
Finally, an admissions jury – which meets once a month – decides the final candidates.
As always, the competition is tough, and it is very important that you have your application ready by Round 1 or Round 2. Learn here why applying in Round 1 or Round 2 is important.
| HEC Paris MBA | Application Deadline | Admissions Decision |
| February 2019 | February 1, 2019 | March 8, 2019 |
| March 2019 | March 1, 2019 | April 5, 2019 |
| April 2019 | April 1, 2019 | May 10, 2019 |
| May 2019 | May 2, 2019 | June 7, 2019 |
*(Due to the high volume of applications, May 2nd will be the last deadline for the September 2019 intake.)
HEC Paris employment report of graduating class of 2018
The MBA job trend of the big-3 remain the same for HEC Paris – Consulting with 24% of the class, Financial Services with 18% and Technology with 17% – accounted for close to 2/3rd of the job offers accepted by the class of 2018.
Here’s a detailed look at the employment statistics by industry, job function, and location.
Pre-MBA and post-MBA Career Transformation
HEC Paris is a big draw for students who want to change their career paths. The course curriculum and the international interaction opportunities afforded at the B-School helps students find and transition to different career functions and industries.
In the class of 2018, 73% of the class changed their industries, 72% changed their job function, and 61% changed their locations. In fact, 39% of the class changed all three. All in all, the Healthcare, Consulting, and Technology industry saw the biggest gains as students from other sectors switched to these 3 industries.
Here are the detailed statistics on the Industry change trend:
| Industry | Pre-MBA | Post-MBA |
| Consulting | 10% | 24% |
| Financial Services | 16% | 18% |
| Technology | 12% | 17% |
| Consumer Goods | 10% | 8% |
| Manufacturing | 6% | 3% |
| Healthcare | 5% | 10% |
| Retail | 5% | 5% |
| Energy | 9% | 5% |
| Real Estate | 6% | 2% |
| Hospitality | 2% | 1% |
| Media/Entertainment | 2% | 2% |
| Logistics | 5% | 3% |
Here are the detailed statistics on the Function change trend –
Keeping in alignment with the global MBA trends, Consulting and General Management roles proved to be most exciting for graduates of the 2018 class.
| Function | Pre-MBA | Post-MBA |
| Consulting | 19% | 25% |
| Finance/Accounting | 12% | 17% |
| Ops, Production, Logistics | 8% | 9% |
| Marketing and Sales | 16% | 11% |
| General Management | 12% | 20% |
| Information Technology | 5% | 4% |
| Human Resources | 0% | 2% |
| Other | 25% | 12% |
Employment by Industry
Unlike the usual B-school statistics, the highest salaries were given by the Technology industry – the average annual salary came to $145,600, which is way above what the Consulting or Financial Services jobs offered.
Surprisingly, Manufacturing and Retail jobs came with a higher pay package as compared to the Consulting Industry even though almost a quarter of the class opted for jobs in this sector.
Below is the detailed employment report of HEC Paris outgoing class of 2018:
| Industry | Percentage | Annual Salary (Mean) |
| Consulting | 24% | $114,900 |
| Financial Services | 18% | $125,305 |
| Technology | 17% | $145,600 |
| Healthcare | 10% | $113,700 |
| Consumer Goods | 8% | $94,000 |
| Retail | 5% | $122,300 |
| Manufacturing | 3% | $122,098 |
| Transportation/logistics | 3% | NA |
| Govt./Not-for-Profit | 2% | NA |
| Real Estate | 2% | NA |
| Media/Entertainment | 2% | NA |
| Hospitality | 1% | NA |
Employment by function
72% of the HEC Paris graduates changed their job functions after their MBA. The largest switch came in favor of Consulting and General Management roles.
| Job Function | Percent |
| Consulting | 25% |
| General Management | 20% |
| Finance / Accounting | 17% |
| Other | 12% |
| Marketing / Sales | 11% |
| Ops, Production, Logistics | 9% |
| IT | 4% |
| Human Resources | 2% |
Employment by location
HEC Paris has a truly international flavor! 60% of the class found work outside their countries and 72% work outside France.
| Region | Percentage |
| France | 28% |
| Europe (excluding France) | 32% |
| Asia (including Australia) | 22% |
| North America | 8% |
| Latin America & The Caribbean | 5% |
| Middle East | 5% |
Major Employers
- Amazon
- Accenture
- T. Kearney
- Sanofi
- Natixis
- Monitor Deloitte
- Johnson& Johnson
- L’Oréal
- Schneider Electric
- Credit Suisse
- Alix Partners
- DHL Consulting
- Essilor
- Amadeus
- McKinsey& Company
- DWS Group
- Morgan Stanley
- Citi
- KPMG
- Roland Berger
- Bain & Company
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Société Générale
- Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
HEC Paris – Notable Alumni
HEC Paris has over 60,000 Alumni spread across 152 countries. It has 84 International chapters and conducts over 1000 events around the world.
- François-Henri Pinault, CEO, Kering
- Jean-Dominique Sénard, CEO, Michelin
- Mercedes Erra, Founder, BETC
- François Hollande, Former President of the French Republic
- Édith Cresson, The only woman to hold the office of the prime minister of France
- Hubert Joly, CEO of Best Buy
- Henri de Castries, former chairman and CEO of AXA
