ESSEC Business School: Fees, Ranking, and Admission Requirements

ESSEC's fee structure splits meaningfully by program and, for the flagship Master in Management, by which track you choose — a distinction most cost comparisons flatten into a single number.

ESSEC's Global MBA sits at #29 in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2026 — a solid, credible position, but not the number that makes ESSEC genuinely stand out. That's its MSc in Marketing, ranked #2 in the world by QS — a specialist program ranking that beats the school's own overall reputation, and the kind of detail a generic "ESSEC ranking" search often misses entirely because it defaults to reporting only the overall/MBA figure.

The practical implication: which ESSEC ranking matters to you depends entirely on which program you're applying to. Citing the MBA rank for a marketing applicant, or vice versa, understates the actual credential you'd be earning.

For the Master in Management, ESSEC expects a completed bachelor's degree, GMAT or GRE scores (the average admitted GMAT runs 660-670), a statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, a CV, and an English proficiency score (IELTS/TOEFL) for non-native speakers. Singapore-campus applications specifically ask for two references — ideally one academic and one professional — alongside the standard document set.

For the Global MBA, Indian applicants should target a GMAT of at least 615 to be competitive for selection; 585 is treated as the practical floor rather than a safe target. ESSEC's Indian applicant pool currently averages a 680 GMAT and a 7.5 GPA, with no prior work experience required for the MiM track — worth knowing if you're weighing ESSEC against MBA programs that do gate on work experience.

ESSEC runs a genuinely different admissions calendar depending on campus: the Singapore Global MBA operates on rolling admissions, reviewing applications continuously rather than against fixed deadlines, while the Paris/Cergy programs run on a more conventional cycle. Confirm which calendar applies to your specific program and campus before building your application timeline.

ESSEC offers a scholarship specifically available to Indian applicants that can cover up to 100% of tuition, and — this is the detail most comparison content leaves out — it doesn't require a separate application. If you're admitted, you're automatically considered for it as part of the standard admissions process, rather than needing to submit a distinct scholarship application on top of your program application.

With roughly 12% of ESSEC's student body being Indian and an alumni network of around 650, the school has a genuinely established Indian applicant pipeline rather than being a newer or less-tested destination for Indian students specifically.