Strate École de Design（斯特拉特设计学院）European Study Guide: Programs, Entry Requirements, Costs and Student Planning

Strate École de Design（斯特拉特设计学院）is a French private design school whose own site describes it as a state-recognized technical college and a member of the Institut Carnot Télécom & Société numérique network. It runs campuses in Sèvres (greater Paris, founded 1993), Lyon (founded 2019) and Bangalore (founded 2016), and its designer diploma is a Level 7 (Bac+5) qualification registered with the French national vocational certification directory (RNCP n°38670) and recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. This guide is written for students planning to study design in Europe: it covers the three programs Strate École de Design currently publishes, how to get in, what it costs for 2026-2027, and how to plan housing and funding. Everything below was checked against the official website strate.design on 6 August 2026, and the school’s own statements about its history, labels and network are treated as its claims rather than independent facts.

Programs at Strate École de Design

Strate École de Design currently publishes three main programs, all starting in September 2026. The flagship is Industrial Design, a five-year course at the Paris campus open to students with a high school diploma; from the 2026 intake it adds a class taught 100% in English from year one, which is the most direct route for international students who do not yet speak French. The first two years build representation, design culture and digital tools, year three is supervised by design professionals and includes a first major internship of 4 to 6 months, year four runs on industrial partnerships with companies plus a semester abroad chosen from an internship abroad, an academic exchange or a study trip, and year five ends with a diploma project defended before a professional jury and a final internship of 4 to 6 months.

The other two programs are two-year postgraduate courses in Paris. Transportation Design is aimed at students with a Bachelor’s to Master’s level background, is taught entirely in English, and covers vehicle, transport and mobility design. Design Transition[s] is aimed at holders of a Bachelor’s degree, is taught in English, and trains strategic designers for sustainability and social-transition projects; the school describes it as offering an international double-degree option in partnership with Tongji University, with two semesters at Tongji after the two years at Strate. Both courses are separate from the five-year Industrial Design track and have their own entry criteria, so choosing between them comes down to where you are in your studies and which design direction you want.

Entry Requirements and How to Apply to Strate École de Design

For direct entry to the first year of Industrial Design at Strate École de Design, the school lists four requirements: a high school diploma (or equivalent), a motivation letter and a creative portfolio, a 45-minute individual interview, and fluency in English at a minimum B2 level. Because the 2026 intake adds a fully English-taught first-year class, the language requirement is now explicit rather than implied. Students who have already completed a foundation year, applied arts, a BTS, an IUT or a business or engineering course can enter at a later stage through parallel admissions into years 2, 3 or 4, where each application is assessed individually on prior study, creativity and motivation.

Transportation Design at Strate École de Design admits on a portfolio plus a 45-minute individual interview; applications, including a portfolio and cover letter, are sent by e-mail, and the course expects fluency in English since all classes are taught in that language. Design Transition[s] has an application window published on the site: admissions open from December to July for the September intake, files are reviewed within 1 to 2 weeks of receipt, and enrolment remains possible until the official start of the academic year subject to availability, with an exception allowing late registration up to two months after classes begin after an individual review. For all three programs the exact format of the interview and the portfolio is set out in the school’s application materials, which are the reference for any given cycle.

Costs at Strate École de Design for 2026-2027

Strate École de Design publishes its fee grid for the 2026-2027 academic year, noting that rates are subject to annual revision. For the five-year Industrial Design program the per-year tuition is €10,400 in year one, €10,990 in years two and three, and €11,190 in years four and five. The two-year courses cost €11,190 per year for Design Transition[s] and €12,900 for the first year of Transportation Design, with the second year of Transportation Design listed at €12,190. On top of tuition there is an application fee of €590 charged only in the year of registration, a mandatory annual association fee of €40, and a mandatory annual alumni association membership of €30; payment can be spread over 3 instalments at no extra charge.

Two cost notes matter for planning. First, tuition is set per academic year and revisable, so the 2026-2027 figures above cannot simply be projected into later years. Second, the published grid is the list price for the training itself; living costs in the Paris region are a separate budget line, and for students on the work-study or internship-heavy parts of the programs, the structure of placements can affect both income and outgoings in ways the fee page does not cover.

Housing, Funding and Student Planning at Strate École de Design

Because both French campuses of Strate École de Design are state-recognised, students who are eligible for a CROUS grant can apply for one, and the CROUS can also help with housing assistance applications. Housing benefits such as APL, ALF and ALS are available to students who hold a valid residence permit, rent decent accommodation that meets current standards, are not related to the landlord, and have resources below the applicable ceilings; in shared accommodation the rent is divided by the number of flatmates and each flatmate applies separately. For finding a place, the school is a partner of the Studapart platform, which lists private rooms and flats near both the Paris and Lyon campuses.

For exchange and mobility planning, Strate École de Design runs an academic exchange programme that only accepts students through official nomination from a partner institution. The required documents are a CV, a portfolio, a passport-style photo, a 1-minute introduction video and a one-page motivation letter; nomination deadlines are 15 May for the fall semester (September to February) and 15 October for the spring semester (January to June), with application deadlines of 1 June and 1 November respectively, and late or un-nominated applications are not considered. If you are coming to study in France rather than on exchange, visa and residence formalities follow French national rules and are separate from the school’s admission process.

A Planning Checklist for Strate École de Design

The practical takeaways from this guide to Strate École de Design are easy to turn into a checklist. Decide which of the three programs fits your level: high school leavers go to the five-year Industrial Design track (with the new English-taught first year), while graduates look at Transportation Design or Design Transition[s]. Prepare the portfolio, motivation letter and language level early — B2 English is the published floor for Industrial Design, and all Transportation Design classes run in English. Budget using the published 2026-2027 grid, the €590 application fee and the two mandatory annual fees, and remember rates are revisable year to year. Plan housing through the school’s Studapart partnership and check CROUS and housing-assistance eligibility rather than assuming it. And if you are coming on exchange, respect the nomination and application deadlines. For a tailored read on how your background, portfolio and budget fit a specific program at Strate École de Design, discuss your situation with this site’s advisers. Facts in this guide were verified on the official site strate.design on 6 August 2026; anything the school does not publish — such as a fixed language test score beyond the B2 statement — is left unstated here, and the latest official pages remain the authority.