As the basic education for elite engineer education, preparatory cycle is an inseparable part for French elite education system. After obtaining a high school diploma in France and undergoing rigorous examination and selection, the students will set foot in preparatory cycle.SIAE adopts the integrated syllabus of French preparatory education, which focuses on training the students to master the basic knowledge and competence in mathematics, physics, engineering and language, so as to lay a deep scientific foundation for students to enter the engineering cycle. The knowledge of preparatory education is based on the general undergraduate courses, but its difficulty and intensity are significantly higher than ordinary universities. This is in line with the solid foundation and high standards emphasized by French elite education. In 2012, the SIAE preparatory cycle teaching was reputed as “Model of International Cooperation in Sino-French Education” by the French Ministry of Education.

课程设置Curriculum

The French preparatory cycle education consists of two years: the first year and the second year. For SIAE, the preparatory cycle includes three years. The first year is based on French language teaching and also offers a certain amount of math and physics courses. The French Teaching Team consists of the same number of Chinese and French language teachers, who use advanced language teaching mode to carry out teaching. They aim to improve students' comprehensive French ability in short term so that they can adapt themselves to the further education. The second and third year of the preparatory cycle focus on mathematics and physics teaching, which are undertaken by both Chinese and French teachers. The preparatory courses adopt the unified syllabus issued by the French Ministry of Education (MPSI + PSI for math courses, PCSI + PSI for physics and chemistry courses). The teaching process covers theory courses (Cours), experimental courses (Travaux Pratiques), group tutorial courses (Travaux Dirigés) and weekly oral exams (Colle). The science courses, with textbooks written in French, provides a certain number of reference materials in both French and Chinese. The main courses are taught in French or bilingually. Both Chinese and French teachers participated in the teaching activities. At the same time, SIAE stresses English teaching, especially students’ practical use of English.

课程特点Course Features

1. Mathematics and physics teaching to train the students' profound mathematical and physical basis.

（1）预科数学、物理 Mathematics and Physics in Preparatory Cycle

The mathematics courses are in line with the unique French elite preparatory education model, which involves multiple mathematics and branch disciplines. The course is profound and difficult. Table 1 shows the difference between our teaching model and that of other universities.

Table 1: The comparison between SIAE mathematical teaching of preparatory cycle and other universities.

Features: (1) The teaching is wider and more difficult than the domestic non-mathematical and non-physical majors; (2) Our courses attach importance to the integrity as well as the internal relationship between the various parts; (3) The teaching forms are diverse, including the main course, TD, regular oral exams, homework and exams.

(2) 工程数学 Engineering Mathematics

SIAE engineering mathematics curriculum focuses on the integration of mathematics with engineering science, so as to improve students' ability to apply mathematics knowledge to solve practical engineering problems.

2. Foreign language teaching to train students' international perspective

(1) 法语 French

The European Common Language Framework (CECR) divides language proficiency into six levels, entry level (A1), primary (A2), intermediate (B1), intermediate and advanced (B2), advanced (C1), and proficient (C2).The Chinese French teachers and native French teachers are of the same number in SIAE. French teaching is mainly in the first three years. The requirements for the student is to achieve B 2 level and to pass DELF B2.

(2)英语 English

English teaching runs through the entire schooling period. By consolidating and improving the students' language proficiency, we also aim to strengthen their spoken language and technical writing. The requirements for the student in English is to achieve no less than 785 points for TOEIC. Additionally, we also lay stress on civil aviation English.

In recent years, a Chinese Mathematics and Physics Teaching Team has been initially established. Their quality of teaching was recognized by the native French Mathematics and Physics teachers and the French Ministry of Education. The faculty of French language has achieved remarkable performance. Their teaching quality has been highly recognized by the French Embassy, the French Ministry of Education as well as the companies.