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FRANCE'S FIRST IAE

IAE Aix: accessible excellence
Founded in 1955 on the model of American business schools integrated into major universities, IAE Aix has always combined tradition and innovation. A pioneer in the development of innovative teaching methods, our school has constantly adapted to changes in the academic and professional world.

Today, IAE Aix is distinguished by two major strategic axes: the I3 project and the Humanistic Leadership project, which shape all our teaching, research and student- and professional-centered approach.

Situated midway between private management schools and public universities, our unique positioning combines responsiveness and proximity to the business world with core values such as academic excellence, equitable and affordable access to education and public service. As the management school of Aix-Marseille University, we embody an ambitious vision of internationalization, professionalization and the pursuit of excellence.

Thanks to affordable tuition fees, IAE Aix offers an exceptional return on investment, as confirmed by the Financial Times 2024 ranking. Accessible to all, our school aims to be a true social elevator, enabling everyone to access quality training without compromising their future ambitions.

Contacts and Access

  • The strength of a university business school backed by research activities

    The development of universities has accelerated in recent years, supported by the PIA and IDEX programs. In 2021, these two initiatives have enabled Aix-Marseille Université to obtain the largest budgets of any French university. The integration of IAE Aix within the university fosters the development of large-scale, multidisciplinary research projects and a culture of scientific excellence. AMU is firmly embedded in an innovative ecosystem, supported by projects such as CISAM +, the SATT, the Impulse incubator, etc. This unique environment brings research closer to the business world and enhances the role of management research.

    Research at IAE

  • A broad international outlook

    The IAE Aix has always had an international outlook. Internationalization is at the heart of our strategy. This orientation translates into a truly cosmopolitan and multicultural environment, with 30% international students and nearly 50 different nationalities. All our French students go abroad on exchange programs or Study Tours with our network of partner universities.

    Internationalization at the heart of IAE's strategy

  • Training courses popular with companies

    For more than 70 years, IAE Aix has been offering expert training in the major fields of management. Its programs are constantly expanding, becoming more professional and opening up to international markets.

    The rapid integration of graduates into the world of work testifies to the quality of our training programs and their relevance to business needs. More than 50% of Master 1 students follow apprenticeship schemes, and almost 90% of Master 2 students. At the end of their training at IAE, 88% of graduates are recruited for a position of responsibility within 3 months of graduation. More than 21,000 graduates represent the school worldwide.

    IAE programs
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Welcome to IAE Aix, the Business School of Aix-Marseille Université, the largest French-speaking university.
Choosing IAE Aix means choosing excellence, diversity and internationalism.

Excellence means the labels (EQUIS) and rankings (Financial Times, SMBG, etc.) that attest to the quality of our courses.

Diversity: our courses are open to atypical profiles, dual skills, sandwich courses and continuing education.

International: nearly 50 nationalities are represented on campus, both in terms of our participants and our guests, international lecturers and speakers from the business world, and our programs are taught entirely in English.

A few figures to illustrate these key success factors:

  • Nearly 50% of students continue their studies as apprentices;
  • Around 30% of students are international, and over 50 different nationalities are represented on campus;
  • 310 international professors and professionals work at the school;
  • The IAE Aix is home to the CERGAM (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille), France's leading management research center (in terms of number of theses defended/year).
  • 94% of students are hired within 3 months of graduation.

The IAE Aix is a truly cosmopolitan environment with a cultural and scientific influence, where students are encouraged to exercise their creativity and develop new projects in line with our values of humanism, responsibility and general interest.

Come and join our teams and live our motto: "empowering humanistic leadership!

Antonin Ricard, Director of IAE Aix

ENQUETE D'INSERTION 2025.pdf ALUMNI SURVEY 2025.pdf

Our mission

Our mission is to transform participants into autonomous humanist leaders, capable of directing their lives and careers through transitions, and reconciling different sources of value for humans, organizations and nature.

This mission is in line with AMU's mission to create and disseminate knowledge through research and teaching, as expressed in its baseline: "Socially engaged".

The school aims to help individuals take charge of their lives by enhancing their potential, daring to innovate and making a positive impact on society. The school's mission is to democratize management education, making it accessible to all. The mission slogan is "Empowering Humanistic Leadership". This mission statement involves:

  • Empowering participants by strengthening their self-determination, changing their perception of themselves and their way of looking at the future ;
  • Developing humanistic leaders by instilling a sense of ecology, civic duty and ethics.

Our values

IAE Aix's values reflect its ability to accept paradoxes. The acronym CARE illustrates these values and takes the form of 2 pairs of 2 contrasting values: Constant & Avant-garde, Respectful & Demanding .

Constant and avant-garde

On the one hand, belonging to Aix-Marseille University enables IAE Aix to maintain a constant, stable model and successfully pursue a long-term strategy. It consistently supports a public service culture. Most of its programs are over 20 years old.

On the other hand, the school drives and manages innovations that shape the future of management education through a renowned PhD program. In its programs, IAE Aix is constantly adapting, experimenting and introducing new content, and deliberately encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.

Respectful and demanding

IAE Aix is both respectful of people and nature, and demanding. 
On the one hand, the school is respectful of people and aims to be equally respectful of nature, in line with the values of public service (neutrality, equality and continuity of service). This guides relations between teachers, administrative staff and students. The school empowers students from all backgrounds through a unique combination of learning and service experiences, and the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. Students acquire a forward-looking, respectful vision of the world (environmental protection, protection of the underprivileged) necessary for humanistic leadership.

On the other hand, the demands of our academic community are central. Small cohorts create close links between participants, staff and faculty. This strength encourages the commitment of the school's stakeholders, enabling the rapid design and implementation of new teaching resources to address the upcoming transitions that structure the school's strategy. What's more, IAE Aix's rigorous academic culture prioritizes content over form to ensure that our participants acquire the comprehensive knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to make a thorough and sound analysis of the world in which they live.

Our vision

By 2030, the school will be recognized as a caring school, and a benchmark in Europe for a new pedagogical and institutional model that impacts its ecosystems, attracts aligned talent, and integrates its participants in a systemic dynamic with people, organization and nature.
 

  • A unique model

    Building on its university roots, in 2018 IAE Aix initiated an ambitious project to strengthen the institute's mission, "empowering humanistic leadership". Today, this mission is taking shape through the development of two impact loops. These loops have three sub-objectives: to disrupt the traditional pedagogical approach by breaking the codes of teaching around a theme of the future; to produce scientific research that feeds into this pedagogy; and to meet the needs of the socio-economic world by building bridges between business, research and pedagogy.

    The first loop, called Lab ICube, aims to empower our participants and develop their situational intelligence, using entrepreneurship as a pedagogical model. The second loop, called "humanistic leadership", aims to develop our participants' emotional intelligence by exposing them to the associative and humanitarian world.

    Lab ICube

    To face up to a context that can be described as VICA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), IAE Aix is committed to a unique program, centered on entrepreneurship, which aims to develop the skills of the future. Lab ICube is an integrated approach that aims to empower our participants by developing their situational intelligence. Lab ICube is thus part of a paradigm shift that is leading to a rethinking of the posture of the teacher-researcher, who is more focused on coaching than on the unidirectional transmission of knowledge. This program is supported by the Entrepreneurial Legitimacy Chair, which aims to gain a better understanding of the conditions of emergence of startup legitimacy and its impact on firm performance. Lab ICube has a profound impact on the local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, through various events (such as the summer university on entrepreneurial legitimacy), advice and exchanges with the various players in this ecosystem.

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    The humanistic leadership project

    Building on its university roots, in 2018 IAE Aix initiated an ambitious project with a societal focus (humanitarian, social or environmental). The aim of this project is to pass on the institute's values to our participants, to cultivate more human leadership, and to make future graduates aware of the economic, social and environmental role they will play in society so that they contribute to a sustainable society. The pedagogical dimension is supported by a service learning activity that combines management learning objectives with civic commitment to associations and NGOs. It encourages initiative-taking and civic engagement, and emphasizes critical thinking and personal reflection. The research dimension is supported by a third of our teaching and research staff, who are working on themes related to this project. Two research chairs have also been set up to bring research closer to business issues. This project has a direct positive impact on the associative (humanitarian, social or environmental) and socio-economic worlds, thanks to student actions, the various events organized (such as the ADERSE congress), exchanges with the various players in these environments, and the Management Oath offered to future graduates at the time of their graduation.

  • A real social elevator

    IAE is committed to promoting social mobility. The school is fully committed to the development of work-study programs, backed by a vast network of partner companies. A genuine springboard for students to enter the world of work, work-study programs are a real success today, with 50% of eligible students taking advantage of them. This success is also reflected in the exceptional integration rate of students who leave the IAE. The Financial Times ranks the school No. 1 in France for ROI (Return on Investments), with an employability rate of 94% after 3 months, and an average salary of €42,000.

IAE AIX, A SPECIAL STATUS WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY

Like other management schools within universities, IAE Aix enjoys special status (article L713-9 of the French Education Code), giving it autonomy in matters of strategy, finance and human resources.

Of the 18 components of Aix-Marseille Université, AMU, IAE Aix is the only one to be considered a graduate school, as it awards almost exclusively Master's and Doctorate degrees in management.

Ata strategic level, IAE Aix's governance is structured around three councils:

  • The Institute Council (made up of teacher-researchers, staff, students, business representatives and local institutions)
  • The Strategic Orientation Council (comprising representatives from the local and international business world)
  • The Research Orientation Council (made up of internationally renowned professors and researchers)

Inoperational terms, IAE Aix's governance is based on two committees:

  • The Management Committee, made up of the Director and Associate Directors, supports and implements the strategic directions set by the Board of Directors.
  • The Executive Committee, made up of the school's 5 senior managers, oversees the activities of the Institute's departments.

OUR IDENTITY

Rankings and accreditations

The excellence of IAE Aix's programs is reflected in its international EQUIS accreditation and its presence in prestigious international rankings.
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Student life and the environment

The IAE Aix encourages and supports student initiatives to create a rich and dynamic student life in the heart of an exceptional region with a privileged climate.
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The IAE France network

The IAE France network, made up of 36 university business schools, is the largest management science community in France, and works to promote the IAE brand.
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International

Internationalization is at the heart of IAE Aix's strategy: 30% of students are international, and nearly 50 different nationalities rub shoulders in a truly cosmopolitan and multicultural environment.
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