MSc in Data Science for Business (X-HEC)

X-HEC MSc Data Science for Business is the joint Master's between École Polytechnique (l'X) and HEC Paris — combining the world's most prestigious French engineering school's technical depth with HEC Paris's #1 European MBA-grade business curriculum. The 22-month programme is delivered across both campuses (Polytechnique's Saclay campus and HEC's Jouy-en-Josas campus, both south of Paris) and is consistently ranked top-5 globally for business analytics / data science (QS Master's in Business Analytics 2024 — #5 worldwide, FT 2024 — #2 Europe). Cohort sizes are kept small (~50 students/year) to maintain high admissions selectivity (~10% acceptance).

Sri Lankan applicants — typically Computer Science / Engineering / Mathematics graduates from Moratuwa, Colombo UCSC, Peradeniya, SLIIT, plus IT professionals with 1-3 years experience at WSO2, IFS, Virtusa, Sysco LABS — choose X-HEC over MIT MBAn / Imperial Business Analytics / LSE Data Science for: the dual École Polytechnique + HEC Paris brand (both top-3 in their disciplines worldwide), the 6-month corporate capstone project with major French employers (BNP Paribas, Société Générale, L'Oréal, LVMH, Airbus, Capgemini, Criteo, Dassault), tuition at €39,000 (versus £35,000-£45,000+ at UK programmes), and France's 24-month APS post-Master's permit. Class profile: median GMAT 700+, average 1-2 years' experience, 30+ nationalities. Average starting salary: €60,000-€80,000 in Paris data science and consulting roles. Sri Lankan returnees route into senior data science and analytics positions at WSO2, IFS R&D, Virtusa, Sysco LABS, Dialog Axiata, HSBC SL, Standard Chartered, John Keells data teams, plus Big Four Colombo data and AI advisory practices.