International mobility
Mines Paris – PSL is a partner of around a hundred universities around the world. Through study trips or international assignments, internships and gap years, the engineering school promotes the internationalisation of its students.
The exchange semester
Around half of the students admitted to the 1st year take the opportunity to spend a semester of the 2nd year at a partner university as part of an Erasmus exchange or thanks to bilateral agreements signed with prestigious universities such as MIT, National University of Singapore (NUS), University of Tokyo, ETHZ Zurich and Hong Kong University.
Advantageous admission and hosting conditions (including exemption from local tuition fees) have been agreed and are available at nearly 100 partner establishments around the world. The range of partnerships is constantly being expanded to meet the growing demand from students for international mobility.
The choice of an academic or research semester is made at the beginning of the first year, and Ecole des Mines supports you at every stage of your experience, from the selection of the programme to your return to France, by organising events to celebrate international mobility and personalised meetings with the International Relations department.
These semesters are an opportunity for Ecole des Mines students to develop solid dual skills in a complementary field of engineering, as well as intercultural skills, all in an international context at a world-renowned institution.
ATHENS weeks
Mines Paris – PSL is a member of the ATHENS (Advanced Technology Higher Education Network).
The ATHENS programme enables students to follow a week of courses and discover other excellent European universities in another European capital. The ATHENS programme gives students a taste of another European education system and immerses them in high-level scientific courses.
The sessions take place twice a year; one week in November and one in March. Depending on the session, between 1,500 and 2,000 students take part in an ATHENS course, including more than a hundred students from Mines.)
Double degrees
Another great opportunity is to study for a double degree abroad. There are almost 40 double-diploma agreements with, for example, the National University of Singapore (NUS), Politécnico di Milano, Polytechnique Montréal, etc.
You can opt for a double degree as early as the first year, and the School will be with you every step of the way, from programme selection to graduation.
Double-degree agreements allow students to receive both the Mines Paris – PSL civil engineering degree and that of the partner institution. This gives them additional expertise and enhances the value of their degree both nationally and internationally.
Gap year or work placement abroad
Although the engineering cycle is designed to be completed over three years, students have the option of converting their five-month international engineering placement between 2nd and 3rd year into a 17-month gap year, during which they pay reduced tuition fees.
During this period, students are still required to do at least one work placement in a company, but more often than not they choose to try out a variety of environments and sectors (a placement with a major energy company in Singapore, a start-up in London, a federal laboratory in the United States, etc.).
Other gap year projects
Many students also use their gap year to get involved in international solidarity projects (teaching schoolchildren in developing countries, volunteering to help refugee populations, etc.). The Department of Studies may also authorise more atypical projects, even in France, if the student can justify the interest in her career (in recent years: cycling around the world, joining the military reserves, recording a record, a year of musical or artistic training, etc.).
