École de Condé（孔代学院）European Study Guide: Programs, Entry Requirements, Costs and Student Planning

If you are weighing French private art and design schools, École de Condé（孔代学院）is a name you will meet often. Founded in 1989, the school describes itself as “la grande école des arts appliqués” (the grande école of applied arts) and belongs to the AD Education group. This guide covers its programs, entry requirements, costs and what studying there is actually like day to day. All facts come from the school’s official website ecoles-conde.com, accessed 6 August 2026; where the site does not publish a figure, this guide says so rather than guessing.

About École de Condé: Nine Campuses Across France

École de Condé operates in nine French cities: Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nice, Paris, Rennes and Toulouse. Each campus runs the school’s core programs, so location is a genuine choice about lifestyle as well as education. The Paris campus, for example, sits at 7–9 rue Cambronne in the 15th arrondissement, near metro lines 6 and 10 (Cambronne and Ségur stations), bus and RER links, and Montparnasse station. Facilities there include 25 classrooms, 5 drawing studios, 2 computer rooms, a library, a film darkroom, photo studio, fashion lab, animation studio, woodwork and digital prototyping workshops, a screen-printing workshop and a recording studio. The school organizes its teaching around six fields: Design, Illustration, Animation, Photography, Heritage (Patrimoine) and Savoir-faire (craftsmanship); the last of these also hosts the Institut National de Gemmologie and the École Supérieure du Parfum & de la Cosmétique.

Programs: Foundation, Bachelor, Master and the Five-Year Grande École Track

École de Condé’s program ladder runs from foundation year to master’s level. The foundation year (Prépa) comes in design and illustration-animation streams, aimed at students without a portfolio yet. The Bachelor is three years and covers eight directions: graphic design, fashion design, spatial design, product design, illustration, 2D/3D animation, heritage conservation and photography. The Master (Mastère) adds directions such as art direction in graphic design, product/furniture and service design, interior architecture and scenography, fashion and brand creation, an MBA in fashion buying, design research and innovation, illustration-comics, 2D/3D animation, and heritage restoration. École de Condé also runs a five-year “Parcours Grande École” design track: the first three years are a generalist exploration phase, followed by one or two years of a design master’s completed in apprenticeship (alternance). It includes a compulsory international semester at partner schools across Europe, Canada, Japan and South Korea, plus 70 hours of civic engagement, and leads to an institutional bachelor’s diploma certified by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles, preparing students for an RNCP-registered design master’s qualification. The website shows the next intake in September 2026. English-taught programs include the Bachelor in International Creative Design, Master Visual Communication for Luxury Industry, Master in Design for Mobility Solutions and Master in Interior Architecture and Scenography of Luxury; two CGE-certified specialised masters (sustainable event production and design, and interactivity and immersive works) are also listed.

Entry Requirements: The International Admissions Process

For French applicants, École de Condé does not use Parcoursup; admission is based on interview and portfolio review. International students follow a four-step process published on the site. Step one: complete the online application and supporting documents. Step two: attend a free orientation interview and then an official admission interview, conducted in French or English depending on the program. Step three: receive the decision within about 8 days of the interview; admitted students confirm within 15 days (negotiable). Step four: after tuition payment is confirmed, receive the official enrolment notice within 72 hours, which supports consular procedures and the visa application. International admissions open each September and classes run from September to June; tuition payment must be finalised by 1 September. On language: certified French at B2 (TCF, TEF, DELF or DALF) allows direct entry to Bachelor or Master programs in Design, Illustration, Animation, Photography and Heritage Restoration, subject to academic validation. Below B2, applicants are routed into the one-year “Study Art and French Language” (Français, Art & Design) pathway; by its end you need TCF B2 by 30 June at the latest (31 July at the outside). The fully English-taught Master in Interior Architecture and Scenography of Luxury requires English B2, with the school listing IELTS 5.5–6.0, TOEFL iBT 72–94, Cambridge English 160–179, TOEIC 785–940, EF SET 51–60 and PTE 59–75 as equivalents.

Costs: 2026-27 Tuition and Fees

École de Condé publishes 2026-27 annual fees inclusive of tax, varying by campus and program. Design: first year €7,400–8,600; Bachelor years 2–3 €8,050–9,700; Master years 4–5 (apprenticeship) €9,600–10,100, with the possibility of coverage by the OPCO or employer. Illustration and Animation: first year €7,400–8,600; years 2–3 €8,050–9,500; years 4–5 €8,350–9,600. Photography (4-year 3+1 structure): €8,000–9,050 per year. Heritage: €8,200–9,000 per year for the Bachelor years, €8,900 in Master year 4 and €6,000 in year 5. One-off application/registration fees are €500 for standard programs, €450 for specialised masters and €200 for apprenticeship masters, generally non-refundable on cancellation (except under an apprenticeship contract). An annual technical fee of €150–350 (excluding apprenticeship) covers software licences, print cards and professional equipment. Payment can be made in one instalment (15 July), three instalments (15 July, 15 September, 15 November) or six instalments through mid-January, with a small surcharge for instalment plans; fees are reviewed annually, and the Paris campus has its own separate price list. Financial support published by the school includes a 20% sibling discount for a second family member and the “Programme Talents” scholarship for strong portfolios, with awards ranging from a full three-year Bachelor waiver for the top winners to a waived first year for others.

Student Planning: Campuses, Internships and Support

Planning to study at École de Condé means thinking beyond tuition. Campus choice matters: Paris offers the most concentrated facilities and the easiest travel links, while cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Rennes or Nancy come with different living costs and artistic scenes. Internships are built into Bachelor and Master programs, and the design masters run on apprenticeship in years 4–5, so part of the cost can be covered by an employer or OPCO while you gain real project experience; the Grande École track also embeds a compulsory international semester and 70 hours of civic engagement. The school cites a network of around 7,000 partner companies and RNCP-recognised qualifications. For international students, the AD Education “Buddy Programme” (launched October 2024) pairs each newcomer with a local student guide who helps with registration, bank account setup, transport and cultural activities. Before committing, the school offers open days, discovery workshops (Stages découverte) and short experience programs across its nine campuses, which are a practical way to test the teaching atmosphere first.

Data Notes and Next Steps

Facts in this guide about École de Condé（孔代学院）were taken from ecoles-conde.com on 6 August 2026 (homepage, international admissions, fees, scholarships, Grande École track, RNCP certifications and Paris campus pages). Tuition is reviewed annually and entry requirements, language scores and intake dates may change, so always check the latest version of the official site before deciding. To assess whether a particular École de Condé program fits your background and budget, talk to our study advisors for advice tailored to your situation.