I recently received acceptance from one of France's Grandes Ecoles business schools for a MSc program. It came to my attention that even though the school as a whole is triple accredited (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS) the specific program I was accepted to has no accreditation either from the Conference Des Grandes Ecoles or from the french government, in few words, the only guarantee the degree has is from the university that offers the program itself.

I would like to ask:
Is this lack of external accreditation an issue in terms of post-graduation visa according to french law?
Does the lack of accreditation have other implications other than the inability to then pursue a PhD?
Should I opt for a somehow similiar program at the same university that is accredited by the Conference des Grandes Ecoles?

This is a question for the school or the French embassy, perhaps. I think it's not an immigration issue and, for example, I also see that the EDHEC MSc portfolio is not accredited by the CGE either. https://www.cge.asso.fr/formations-labellisees/liste-formation-msc/ 

The private diplomas are on some prestigious and valuable degrees across mainland Europe (many MiF degrees, specialist degrees in Iberia and Italy)  but in a public sector employment they will not be valued. Ask a graduate, perhaps? 

What I would say is that the CSE accreditation requirements for an MSc or MS are pretty modest so if Edhec does not have them it's probably not a major benefit. 

PS I think your concern is understandable and its also prevented me from taking an executive masters that led to a private diploma.  

[Edited by Duncan on May 28, 2022]

Thanks for your response Duncan, I asked the school and also looked into the french lesgislation by myself and luckily I discovered in time that the MSc I was going to be enrolled in, even though from a prestigious institution, being a 100% private diploma, did not qualify for the french post-graduation visa. For whoever reads this, PLEASE be sure that your diploma qualifies for the "recherche d'emploi/creation d'entreprise visa" before you enroll. NOT all masters in France fulfill the legal requirements for this visa.

Is accreditation an also an issue for the MBA programs in France?

Quite possibly. From the perspective of najor employers in France, a state degree or a degree accredited by the CGE will seen as a real degree of known value while other "degrees" might be less well well respected,  especially from a no-name school. Also in France and Switzerland there are for profit schools accredited as training providers rather than as higher education providers. They would be accredited at the level of a school for barbers rather than as universities. 

As always, the right path here is to develop a specific goal and then see which schools have the most business graduates in that role, industry and geography.  

So I got this info from the admissions team. Is this fine?


GMBA is certified by the CNCP (Commission Nationale de la Certification Professionnelle) under the RNCP registration code 35787 

So I got this info from the admissions team. Is this fine?




GMBA is certified by the CNCP (Commission Nationale de la Certification Professionnelle) under the RNCP registration code 35787 

[Edited by Cyril on Oct 20, 2022]

So I got this info from the admissions team. Is this fine?

You have to check if the program has been awarded a "Diplome Visé" only or a "Grade Master".
The "Grade Master" is better, it will be recognized as a master by public French universities
The "Diplome Visé", even though they can be Level 7 RNCP, they offer the same level as Masteri degrees but they are not recognized as Master degree by public French u iveristies.

I will give you a. Example: my son had received a bachelor degree from a prestigious private business school in France. We have spent a lot of money on that degree but it didn't come with a "Grade License" so it cannot be used to continue to master degree at public French universities. For my son, if he wants to continue a master degree in France, he need to do it in a private business school (maybe not a big deal here because private business schools more prestigious than public one, but I wanted to give you an example of what "Grade License" or "Grade Master" means as opposed to looking at RNCP level alone.

So I got this info from the admissions team. Is this fine?




GMBA is certified by the CNCP (Commission Nationale de la Certification Professionnelle) under the RNCP registration code 35787 

 

It seems ok to me, although I'm no expert. I looked at the offical RNCP register (official registar for various certifications and diplomas) - I can't post links here but if you google "RNCP 35787" you'll find it.

 It seems that what you mentionned is the EDHEC MBA, and it looks like it's officially recognised as a masters grade at it's RNCP level 7 (RNCP level 6 is a bachelor for example, and level 7 is a master or MBA or EMBA). So, I'd say it should be recognised as a masters level everywhere in France.
The weird thing is that the code provided to you by the school is the MBA and not a MSc, but you mentioned it's a MSC in your initial message.