L'École Polytechnique describes its mission as "...training young men and women to lead innovative, complex projects,...."¹ but what college doesn't? Don't let that fool you. It is the most competitive engineering school in all of France.
Since its establishment in 1794, X (as it is called by students, a play on words: 'iks' rhymes with 'polytechnique') hasn't grown much in size. Each year only about four hundred students are admitted to the Cycle Polytechien (graduate program). The program itself traditionally consisted of three years of study: A 'common trunk' of studies (general education), a year of studying six of the eight disciplines offered, and then a final year of scientific research. After X2000 (the class of 2000), X added a year of specialization to the course of study, rounding out the schedule to four years.
X also has a Master's degree program (two years, reportedly easy for polytechniciens and hell for everyone else) and a doctorate program, both in applied mathematics and the other disciplines.
History
X was founded during the First Republic, in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It started as a sort of charter school for military cadets, but the lack of a port in Paris made teaching Naval engineering impossible. So, it was reorganized as a cram school for students who wished to apply to the various engineering schools (école d'application) in France, both military and civil. The name polytechnicien was coined to describe the wide course of study it offered its students.
Traditionally, there was a separation between the professeurs who gave lectures and the examineurs who tested the students. Until the mid-19th century, the exams were hour-long oral affairs -- certainly more difficult than today's finals. Surely the anxiety of being tested by a master like Poincaré would be overwhelming!
World War I and II
During the first world war, classes were suspended and the school was turned into a hospital for the wounded. More than nine hundred polytechniens died in combat during WWI.
The occupation of France during World War II forced X into exile in Lyon, where classes continued. The school was demilitarized (The course on military arts, added by Napeoleon, was dropped) but many students ended up in the French Army. More than four hundred polytechniciens died in combat during WWII.
Long after women had received suffrage in France, the school, under the French department of defense, still continued to accept only men. This, of course, changed in 1972, when the first polytechnicienne (that's the female type) was accepted to X. Women make up 10-15% of X's enrollment today.
X Today
In 1976 X moved to its current location, twelve kilometers south of Paris. It lies on a 180 hectacre plot of land, a good part of which remains undeveloped. The architecture of the buildings is decidedly modern, including two cylindrical shell-like dormitories, the central Poincaré-Arago ampitheatre, and very shiny laboratories.
Famous Alumni and Professeurs
In no particular order:
1 http://www.polytechnique.fr - the official website of the X
Also, Ivor Grattan-Guinness, "The Ecole Polytechnique, 1794-1850: Differences over Educational Purpose and Teaching Practice", The Amer. Math. Monthly, Vol. 122 No. 3 (March 2005)
Thanks to wertperch for breaking my noderblock ^_^V
And thanks to LeoDV for reminding me how much I don't speak French.