National Polytechnic Institutes (France)

The National Polytechnic Institutes (Instituts Nationaux Polytechniques or INPs) in France are three consortiums of grandes écoles that offer engineering degrees. They were established in 1970. They are classed together with French universities by Article 24 of the law regarding the organization of higher education in France (law 84-52 of 26 January 1984, the loi Savary). However, they are quite different from the public universities, both in their organization and in the fact that they have competitive admissions.

The three institutions are:

• The National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse (Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse or INP Toulouse)
• The Grenoble Institute of Technology (Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble or INP Grenoble)
• The National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine