IAE Aix-en-Provence Graduate School of Management, or, to give the school its full but rarely used name, the Institut d’Administration des Enterprises, is part of Université Paul Cézanne, Aix-Marseille III, in the South of France. The school was founded in 1955 but the university itself has been around since 1409. Its full-time MBA course is known formally as MBA change and innovation, reflecting the programme’s emphasis.

Vital statistics. The course lasts 12-15 months, depending on how long is spent on the thesis. Most students scored between 550 and 670 on the GMAT (the minimum accepted is 500), were aged about 34 and had an average of eight years’ work experience (the minimum accepted is three). Students take core subjects in key management competences as well as electives such as consulting and sustainable business. The degree is taught in English but non French students are expected to speak fluent French by the end of the course; they are offered intensive training plus two hours of language classes a week. Tuition is €18,000 (£14,430).

Rankings. IAE’s MBA was ranked 11th in France by Whitefield Consulting Worldwide in 2006.

International experience. Some 50 nationalities are represented on the business school’s campus; about half the student body is French, 20 per cent from other countries in Europe and 10 per cent each from North America, South America and Asia.

Work experience. All students undertake a consulting project at a real company and an entrepreneurial business project, which could then be launched with the support of the school’s incubator.

Scholarship opportunities. About 10 per cent of this year’s class are receiving some form of financial aid from the school.

Application deadline: applications are considered all year round.

Sources: iae-aix.com; businessweek.com; mba4success.com

Next week: Newcastle University Business School