Engineering Programme - Year 1

A broad-based, interdisciplinary first year

The core curriculum provides engineering students with a solid scientific foundation whilst developing the personal and professional skills essential for a career in engineering.

•  65% Science and technology
•  35% Cross-disciplinary skills, general knowledge, 2 modern languages and sport

Environmental and societal challenges integrated throughout the programme

• 15 scientific courses incorporating sustainable development issues
• 2 courses focusing on carbon footprint assessment and life-cycle analysis

Readying students for the professional world and fostering engagement

• From the very first year, students work on a project in collaboration with a company and undertake a work placement lasting at least four weeks.
• During the first two years, they also devote 100 hours to civic engagement for the benefit of a community outside the school.

Students can also tailor their course of study with a track focused on research, biology and health, entrepreneurship or associative work.

Overview of the common-core curriculum in year 1 - 2025/26

Autumn Semester

Successful completion of the semester leads to the award of 30 ECTS

 

Autumn Semester

	Lecture hours	Tutorial hours	Lab hours	Project work	Exams	Total	ECTS
Scientific and technical courses - compulsory courses
Continuum mechanics for elasticity	8	16	6	0	2	32	5
Materials: Engineering and Societal Challenges	10	10	10	0	2	32
Numerical Analysis	8	18	4	0	2	32	5
Algorithmics and Programming	6	12	12	0	2	32
Energy, Environment and Climate Challenges	12	18	0	0	2	32	5
Physics and Fluid Dynamics	12	12	6	0	2	32
Signals, Systems, Linear Control	12	10	8	0	2	32	5
Project Engineering	12	18	0	0	2	32
Interdisciplinary project	0	0	0	32	0	32	3
Softskills and general culture
Self-awareness	0	16	0	0	0	16	3
Structure governance, Ethics and Strategy	8	8	0	0	0	16
Leadership*	0	0	16	0	0	16
Management fundamentals*	0	16	0	0	0	16
Languages and Sport
Modern Language 1	0	26	0	0	0	26	4
Modern Language 2	0	26**	0	0	0	26**
Sports and Physical Education	0	26	0	0	0	26

* In the autumn semester, half of the students take the course entitled 'Leadership' and the other half the 'Management fundamentals' course. The position is reversed in the spring semester.
** 52 hours for Chinese and Japanese

Spring Semester

Successful completion of the semester leads to the award of 30 ECTS
 

Spring Semester

	Lecture hours	Tutorial hours	Lab hours	Project work	Exams	Total	ECTS
Scientific and technical courses - compulsory courses
Life Cycles and Impact analysis	10	10	10	0	2	32	8
Thermodynamics and Energy Systems	6	18	6	0	2	32
Instrumentation, Sensors and Automatic Control	8	10	12	0	2	32
Probability and Statistics	10	14	6	0	2	32	5
Information Systems	10	10	10	0	2	32
Electives - choose 1 of 3:
Embedded System and Power Electronic	12	10	8	0	2	32	6
Computer-aided Design and Modelling	6	14	12	0	0	32
Optimization	8	16	6	0	2	32
Electives - choose 1 of 3:
Introduction to operations management and manufacturing	6	12	12	0	2	32
Biology	12	10	8	0	2	32
Structural dynamics	8	16	6	0	2	32
Softskills and general culture electives - choose 1 of 5:
Creative writing	0	16	0	0	0	16
Quality of Work Life and Stakeholders	4	12	0	0	0	16
Innovation management	0	16	0	0	0	16
World economics and civilization	16	0	0	0	0	16
Circular economy and Low-tech	0	16	0	0	0	16
Softskills and general culture electives - compulsory courses
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence	6	10	0	0	0	16	2
Leadership*	0	0	16	0	0	16
Management fundamentals*	0	16	0	0	0	16
Enterprise project (Tutored Partner projects)	0	0	0	48	0	48	3
Skills
Languages and Sport
Modern Language 1	0	26	0	0	0	26	4
Modern Language 2	0	26**	0	0	0	26**
Sports and Physical Education	0	26	0	0	0	26
First Year Internship	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

* In the autumn semester, half of the students takes the course entitled 'Leadership' and the other half the 'Management fundamentals' course. The position is reversed in the spring semester.
** 52 hours for Chinese and Japanese

 

From the first year onwards, students who wish to explore a particular field in greater depth or develop a specific project can apply for one of four optional tracks on offer at Centrale Nantes. Designed to build progressively throughout the programme, these tracks combine an introductory phase in the first year, dedicated modules in the second year and specialisation in the third year.
 

• Entrepreneurship: develop an entrepreneurial project and receive training at Centrale Nantes and partner institutions.
• Research: discover scientific research, take part in research activities and, where appropriate, prepare to pursue a PhD.
• Biology and Health: applying engineering sciences to the living world and health, in conjunction with degree programmes at the University of Nantes.
• Associative: emphasising the importance of taking on significant responsibility within school associations and the skills acquired through such involvement.

These tracks are followed on a voluntary basis and allow students to give their studies a strong personal focus.

Focus on the interdisciplinary project 

At the end of the first semester, a full week is set aside for interdisciplinary projects. Working in teams, students explore the engineering profession from a ‘different’ perspective by tackling a variety of challenges. In 2026, they tackled environmental ethics, artistic creation for the benefit of living organisms, modelling and simulation, and air quality on campus. This approach draws on their knowledge, creativity and ability to work in teams, whilst strengthening their capacity to address societal and technological challenges in an integrated manner.