KEDGE Business School runs its Master in Management as the Programme Grande École (PGE) — a two-year, English-taught degree delivered across its Bordeaux and Marseille campuses, built around entrepreneurship, tech management and the “common good,” with a mandatory long internship and 12-to-36 months of international exposure. It is triple-crown accredited (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA) — a status fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide hold — placed inside the Financial Times Masters in Management top ~50 (around 50th in the 2024 table) and consistently among France’s top-ten grandes écoles in the domestic rankings.¹ ²
What makes KEDGE worth a close look on admissions specifically is the combination of an accessible price and an accessible process: there is no required admission test, the English bar is moderate, and an early-bird discount rewards applying early. “Accessible” is not “automatic,” though — the file still has to clear, the interview is a real stage, and the rolling calendar fills as the cycle runs. This guide lays out what KEDGE actually requires, what each component is testing, and how to time it. It is built from KEDGE’s own admission pages and our full KEDGE profile; where a detail varies by cycle or isn’t published, we say so rather than invent a figure.
Who is eligible
KEDGE’s international admission to the PGE is open to candidates who hold (or are completing) an international bachelor’s degree with at least two years of higher education completed outside France.³ You do not need a business-only background, and you do not need work experience: like other French grandes écoles, the PGE is a pre-experience programme built for recent graduates. French prépa students and French degree holders generally enter through the national concours routes instead; the direct international application described here is the relevant door for non-French applicants.
The admission test: recommended, not required
This is where KEDGE differs from several FT-ranked peers. A management test is recommended but not mandatory: KEDGE accepts the GMAT, GRE, GAT or the French TAGE-MAGE, and notes these can be taken online.³ It publishes no minimum score and no class-average, reading the test within your whole file rather than against a published cut-off.
That makes KEDGE one of the European MiMs you can apply to without a GMAT. The honest read, though: “recommended” still means a strong score helps. If your transcript is light on quantitative work, a good GMAT or GRE is the cleanest way to reassure the committee you can handle the first-year analytical load; if your numbers are already strong, you can put that energy into the interview instead. If you’re weighing whether to test at all, our what GMAT score you need for a European MiM, GMAT vs GRE and TAGE-MAGE explained guides help you decide.
English proficiency
The PGE’s international track is taught in English, so non-native speakers prove English with a standardised test. KEDGE’s published minimums are TOEFL paper-based above 550, TOEFL iBT above 80, TOEIC above 785, IELTS above 6.0, Duolingo English Test 105, or PTE Academic 46.³ The requirement is waived if you have completed at least one year of study in a fully English-taught programme or worked at least one year in an English-speaking country.³ These thresholds move between cycles, so confirm the current figure for your test before booking. You do not need French to be admitted, though it helps for living in Bordeaux or Marseille and for part of the recruiting market.
The application file and the interview
Beyond the test and English certificate, KEDGE’s application is documents-led — submitted online with your transcripts and CV — and culminates in an admissions interview (around 30 minutes) once your file is assessed.³ The interview is the stage that decides a borderline file, so treat it as more than a formality: be ready to make a specific, motivated case for KEDGE — its entrepreneurship and tech-management positioning, the Bordeaux-or-Marseille campus choice, and the specialisation or double degree you’re aiming at — rather than a generic “I want to study in France.” For the full document checklist across European MiMs, see MiM application requirements in Europe, and for interview practice our European MiM interview questions guide.
A structural point worth planning around: the PGE builds in two mandatory international experiences and a minimum six-month internship, with 12-to-36 months of international exposure in total, plus a choice of ten Master-1 specialisations, nine Master-2 tracks, and an optional double-degree MSc (one of 18) in the second year.¹ ² None of that is an admission hurdle, but a file that shows you understand — and want — that international, hands-on structure reads stronger.
Fees, the early-bird discount and timing
Here is KEDGE’s headline advantage on cost: standard-track tuition is €16,100 per year — about €32,200 across the two-year programme — which sits well below most private French grandes écoles and makes KEDGE one of the more affordable triple-crown options.³ A double-degree MSc in the second year raises it to roughly €18,600 per year plus a €2,500 supplement, and a non-refundable €120 application fee applies.³ For the wider value picture, see our low-cost and tuition-free MiMs in Europe and how much a MiM in Europe costs guides.
On top of the low base fee, KEDGE runs an early-bird tuition discount — around 10% for applying before the end of November and 5% before the end of February — alongside merit (Excellence), social-criteria (Solidarity), diversity and partner scholarships.³ Admission itself is rolling for a September start, through a long selection window from roughly October to July, with decisions typically returned within about ten days of a completed file and tracks closing once their quota is full.³ So applying early does three things at once here: it captures the discount, it gets you assessed while places are open, and it leaves margin if a test or transcript runs late. Map your dates against the rest of your list on our deadline tracker, and see Round 1 vs Round 2 for the strategy. If you’re relocating, our moving to France as a student guide covers the practical preparation.
How to read your odds
KEDGE does not publish an acceptance rate, and as a triple-crown, FT-ranked grande école drawing a large international pool it is genuinely selective despite its approachable file. The honest read of what gets a competitive application across the line:
- A clean, relevant transcript. With no required test, the content and class of your degree carry more weight — present it clearly and confirm you meet the two-years-outside-France rule.
- A strong, specific interview. It’s a scored stage — prepare a motivated case for KEDGE’s entrepreneurship/tech focus, your campus choice and your target specialisation.
- Apply early. Rolling admission that closes on quota, plus a 10% early-bird discount, both reward it — don’t wait for the July end of the window.
A coherent file — an eligible degree, the English certificate, a composed interview, and (optionally) a solid test — submitted early, is the whole game here. KEDGE reports 98% of graduates employed within six months at an average starting salary of about €42,000–€47,000, with recruiters spanning consulting, finance, luxury and industry (Accenture, Airbus, BNP Paribas, Chanel, Deloitte, L’Oréal, LVMH and more), so the degree pays back the effort.²
Confirm before you apply
KEDGE keeps the live entry requirements, the accepted tests and English minimums, the exact fees and discounts, and the rolling window inside its own pages and updates them each cycle, so use this guide for the structure and the strategy and verify every hard number against the source before you submit. Weigh KEDGE against the wider field on our best MiM in France guide, the France MiM hub and the composite rankings; see what a grande école degree and triple-crown accreditation actually mean in our what is a grande école and what triple-crown accreditation means explainers; and if you are still deciding whether the degree itself is worth it, start with is a MiM worth it in 2026, how to build a MiM profile and MiM vs MBA.
Sources (retrieved June 2026): KEDGE Business School’s official Master in Management (Grande École) programme, admission and funding and career pages for the eligibility rule (an international bachelor’s with ≥2 years’ study outside France), the recommended-not-required test (GMAT/GRE/GAT/TAGE-MAGE), the English-proficiency minimums (TOEFL pBT >550 / iBT >80 / TOEIC >785 / IELTS >6.0 / Duolingo 105 / PTE 46) and exemptions, the online application + ~30-minute interview, the €16,100/year (≈€32,200 total) tuition, the double-degree pricing, the €120 application fee, the early-bird (≈10% / 5%) and other scholarships, the rolling October–July selection window with ~10-day decisions and quota close, the two-campus (Bordeaux/Marseille) structure with its 10 Master-1 specialisations, 9 Master-2 tracks and 18 double-degree MScs, and the 98%-employed-within-six-months / ~€42,000–€47,000 starting-salary career figures; KEDGE’s ranking-position page and the Financial Times Masters in Management 2024 reporting for the triple-crown accreditation and the FT-top-50 (2024) standing; and our own KEDGE profile. KEDGE revises the live application each cycle — confirm the current requirements on its pages. No figures or process steps are invented; where KEDGE does not publish a value (an acceptance rate, a minimum or class-average test score), this guide says so rather than asserting one.
¹ KEDGE Business School — Master in Management Grande École programme & career pages. ² KEDGE Business School — ranking-position page (triple-crown; French domestic top-10) and the Financial Times Masters in Management 2024 table (FT top ~50). ³ KEDGE Business School — Master in Management Grande École admission-and-funding page.