L’École de design Nantes Atlantique, an international design school
Since 1999, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique has been developing an ambitious strategy of international outreach. Among the actions implemented, 70 to 80 foreign students are welcomed to Nantes each year, from partner schools in 36 countries around the world, for a full semester, in the 3rd year of the DN MADE program, or during the International Design Strategy master’s program at Studio France.
Venturing out of your comfort zone, experiencing a new culture, assimilating other codes... The international experience offered by L’École de design Nantes Atlantique allows future designers to combine openness to others, curiosity, pragmatism and interculturality. In a globalized world, where the stakes often transcend borders, living an immersive 6-month experience here in Nantes is a wonderful opportunity to further one’s training as a designer.
In recognition of its international dimension, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique holds:
• the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) for the period 2021-2027, and is thus part of the Erasmus+ program, a European Union program promoting student mobility in higher education;
• the 3-star Bienvenue en France label, attesting to the quality of the welcome given to its international students.
How the exchange works
L’École de design Nantes Atlantique has concluded an exchange agreement with more than 110 partner institutions, spread over 4 continents and 36 countries. In the framework of the exchange:
• 70 to 80 students, from these partner schools only, are hosted in Nantes each year for a semester,
• At the same time, students from L’École de design Nantes Atlantique are welcomed in these establishments for an international experience.
Available programs for exchange students
Only students from our partner schools are allowed to apply for an exchange program. The duration of the exchange program is one semester, either in Autumn (October to January) or in Spring (Feburary to June).
How to apply as an exchange student
Only students from our partner schools are allowed to apply for an exchange program. The duration of the exchange program is one semester, either in Autumn (September to January) or in Spring (Februrary to June).
French grading system
The French grading system is on a scale from 0-20. To pass a subject you usually have to get 10 points. A student is considered to have passed if at the end of each academic year the average of his/her grades is at least 10. French universities grade in a stricter way than secondary schools, meaning that students are unlikely to get grades as high as they did in secondary school.
Ascore 20 signifies perfection and is virtually never given. Scores of 19 and 18 are rarely given. Depending on the subject, a 16 could be an excellent grade. But also in some circumstances a 12 could also be considered as an excellent grade.
Grades Description Comments
18 and above: Excellent
15-17: Very good
13-14: Good
11-12: Quite good
10: Average score
8-9: Pass
6-7: Fail FX*
5 and under: Fail F*
Students are required to acquire 30 ECTS to validate their semester (60 ECTS over the whole year).
The ECTS grading scale ranks the student on statistical basis. Grades are assigned amoung students with a pass grades as follows:
A best 10%, B next 25%, C next 30%, next 25%, E next 10%
A distinction is made between the grades FX and F that are used for unsucessful students. FX means "fail - some work required to pass" and F means "fail - considerable further work required".
An overall score of 10/20 is required to validate the total number of credits attributed to the modules selected on the Learning Agreement.