Master in Management (Grande École)

Audencia Business School placed 25th worldwide in the Financial Times Masters in Management 2025 ranking, with a weighted three-year salary of approximately US $92,000 and a 100% employment rate at three months.⁴ Founded in Nantes in 1900, Audencia is one of France’s original Grandes Écoles de Commerce and holds the rare triple-crown accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA — a distinction shared by fewer than 1% of business schools globally.³

Overview

The Master in Management (Grande École) is a two-year programme taught from Audencia’s Nantes campus.¹ It sits within the French Grande École tradition — a selective, post-preparatory-class pathway that combines rigorous academic training with significant professional exposure. The programme is available in English-language and bilingual (English/French) tracks, making it accessible to international students who are still building French proficiency.¹

Audencia has built a distinctive reputation around corporate social responsibility and sustainable management. CSR is embedded across the curriculum rather than treated as an elective add-on, a positioning that distinguishes it from many of its French peers. For a broader look at whether a MiM is the right credential for you, see our guide on whether a MiM is worth it in 2026.

Curriculum & Structure

The two-year programme opens with a core management year covering strategy, finance, marketing, organisational behaviour, and quantitative methods.¹ The second year allows students to specialise through a chosen major or track — options include management, strategy, finance, marketing, and CSR — often combined with an international exchange semester at one of Audencia’s partner institutions.¹

A notable feature is the apprenticeship (alternance) track, through which students alternate between Audencia and a partner employer over the two years. The employer funds tuition and pays a salary, bringing the student’s net cost down substantially.² Students not on the alternance track can apply for merit-based scholarships of up to approximately 30% of programme fees.²

Application & Deadlines

Audencia admits to the Master in Management (Grande École) for a September start and reviews international applications on a rolling basis.¹ An early-application deadline around the end of January is advised — both to maximise scholarship consideration and to secure a place before the cohort fills. The final cut-off is typically in June. Dates for the 2027/28 intake are not yet published. International students relocating to France should read our guide on moving to France as a student for practical preparation advice.

Tuition & Funding

The full two-year programme costs €36,000 in tuition.¹ The alternance track can eliminate this cost for eligible students, as the partner employer covers fees in exchange for part-time work throughout the programme.² For those on the standard track, Audencia’s merit scholarships of up to 30% are the primary funding mechanism.² Living costs in Nantes are meaningfully lower than in Paris, which is a relevant factor when comparing total cost of attendance across French programmes.

Career Outcomes

The Financial Times 2025 ranking reports a weighted three-year salary of approximately US $92,000 and a 100% employment rate at three months for Audencia MiM graduates — these are the FT’s standardised cross-school metrics.⁴ Separately, Audencia’s own reported average annual salary for the 2025 graduating cohort is approximately €47,000, a school-reported figure that reflects earlier-career earnings and a different measurement methodology.¹ The two figures are not directly comparable and should not be blended.

Graduates move into consulting, finance, marketing, and sustainability-focused roles. The school’s CSR emphasis tends to attract employers with active ESG mandates. Detailed employer-by-employer or industry-breakdown data are not officially published, so no percentages are stated here.

Campus & Reputation

Audencia’s main campus is in Nantes, France’s sixth-largest city and consistently ranked among Europe’s most liveable mid-size cities. The school’s QS Management 2026 rank of 34th reflects its standing as a recognised European player outside the very top tier.⁵ Its triple-crown accreditation and 125-year history give the degree durability and recognition with graduate recruiters across Europe. For a direct comparison of French versus US options, see our piece on MiM vs MBA.