ESCP Europe Business School

Age: 191

History: The school is the result of the 1999 merger of ESCP and EAP. The former was the world's first school of management and was established in 1819; EAP was created amid the euphoria of European unification in 1973, to create a truly European school with bases in major European countries. In 2009, the School’s name was changed to ESCP Europe.

Address: Located in five cities: London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Turin.

Ambience: In Paris, the school is in the city centre, and in London it's in leafy Hampstead. The Madrid school sits in the elegant district of Puerta de Hierro. The Berlin building was originally commissioned in 1906 by the Empress August Victoria on land that forms part of the Charlottenburg Palace. The Turin campus is in the heart of the city.

Vital statistics: One of Europe's leading schools, with 125 staff, a full portfolio of postgraduate programmes and a European Executive MBA, all triple-accredited by EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. The 18-month European Executive MBA is delivered in London or across all five campuses, and there's a two-year multinational option for German-speaking central European participants in Berlin. The European Master in Management can be done over two or three years, with each year in a different country and a different language, while the Master in European Business is a one-year, two-country programme. A Master in Marketing, ‘Managing the Value of Creativity’, is due to begin in London in January 2010. Fifteen other specialised programmes and six part-time Masters are mostly taught in French in Paris.

Added value: Most courses involve in-company projects and internships, with an emphasis on developing team skills with global partners.

Easy to get into? All programmes are extremely selective and some require strong linguistic skills. The European Executive MBA requires five years of relevant experience.

Glittering alumni: Michel Barnier, European Commissioner; Patricia Barbizet, managing director, Artemis; Olaf Swantee, executive vice president, Orange; Aldo Cardoso, CEO, Arthur Andersen, France; Isabelle Parize, corporate vice-president, Henkel; Yvonne Ziegler, regional director, Lufthansa; Nicolas Petrovic, COO, Eurostar.

International connections: Alliances with more than 60 partner institutions worldwide produce numerous visiting scholars and exchange students, as well as 35,000 alumni across the world.

Student profile: The average age on the European Executive MBA is 34, with a male to female ratio of 3:1. MEB students are around 45 per cent female and 55 per cent male, with an average age of 25.

Cost: European Executive MBA is €51,000 and the Master in European Business is €17,500. Fees for the first year of the Master in Management are €8,800, while years two and three were €11,300 for EU citizens or €15,300 for non-EU. The Master in Marketing and Creativity is £15,500 for 2011/12.

Return on investment: Graduates from the European Executive MBA claim salary increases of 84 per cent within three years of graduation, with the course currently ranked 1st worldwide for career progression by the Financial Times. The Master in Management is ranked 1st worldwide.

Who's the boss? Professor Pascal Morand is dean of ESCP Europe.

Prospectus: UK: +44 (0)20 7443 8800, www.escpeurope.eu/london; Europe: +33 (0)1 49 23 20 00, www.escpeurope.eu