2024 ISE Examinations Dates: 18 – 19 April 2024

ENSEA’s postgraduate Engineering in Statisticis and Economics (ISE) program is one of the most popular courses in Africa, due to the training quality and the high employability rate of its graduates. The ISE course is an engineering program that awards the Master’s degree, the objective of which is to train students capable of contributing to the fundamental orientations of development actions of para-public, public and private bodies.
ISE Degree holders are capable of participating in the definition of economic and social policies, analysing complex structures and surveys, writing reports and synthesis work and drawing up national accounts and price indices.

Entry Requirements

Admission in this very selective training course, which thus aims to be elitist, is only gained by entry examination. It is open to students :

  • holders of a Licence degree in economics or mathematics

  • from the scientific preparatory classes of the National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) or holders of the Engineering in Statistics (ITS) degree.

  • born after 31 December 1996.

The entry examination is organized by ENSEA with the assistance of the Support Centre for African Schools of Statistics (CAPESA) intended for ISE programs of ISSEA of Yaoundé, ENSAE of Dakar and ENSEA of Abidjan. It is done according to 2 options.

Mathematics option

Open to students enrolled in Advanced Mathematics and to holders of a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics

Economics option

Open to students enrolled in the 2nd year of preparatory classes for business schools and  to students holding a Bachelor’s degree in Economics as well as holders of an Engineering Degree in Statistics

Application form for candidates residing in Côte d’Ivoire

  • Registration fee (10.000 F CFA)
  • Application form addressed to the Director of ENSEA
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Copy of the birth certificate
  • Copy of diploma or certificate of attendance
  • Copy of the certificate of nationality
  • Three (3) color passport photos of the same print

Maths Option Tests:  April 2024

  • Registration fee (10.000 F CFA)
  • Application form addressed to the Director of ENSEA
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Copy of the birth certificate
  • Copy of diploma or certificate of attendance
  • Copy of the certificate of nationality
  • Three (3) color passport photos of the same print
Subject Duration Weighting
General Knowledge 4H 30
1st Maths test  4H 25
2nd Maths test 4H 30
Text Summary 3H 15
Brochure of Mathematics for Engineers in Statistics and Economics (ISE)

Economics Option Tests:  April 2024

  • Registration fee (10.000 F CFA)
  • Application form addressed to the Director of ENSEA
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Copy of the birth certificate
  • Copy of diploma or certificate of attendance
  • Copy of the certificate of nationality
  • Three (3) color passport photos of the same print
Subject Duration Coefficient
General Knowledge 4H 15
1st Maths test  4H 30
Economics 4H 35
2nd Maths test 3H 20
Brochure of Economics for Engineers in Statistics and Economics (ISE)

The training

ISE training lasts for three academic years and includes theoretical courses, practical work in the field as part of internships in companies or within public and para-public institutions or international organizations, etc.

During his training, an ISE student receives a wide range of teaching allowing him to cover many fields of expertise, such as: economics, sociology, computer science, finance, management, etc. In fact, ISE students attend two (02) years of general learning before making a choice of specialization during the third year of training.

The core of the syllabus consists of the following elements:

  • Theoretical understanding of important concepts in economics
  • Tools needed to conduct an economic study or analysis
  • Application of theoretical concepts in case studies.

  • Tools needed to understand statistical methods
  • Tools needed to conduct scientific research

  • Fundamental concepts of general finance
  • Understanding financial models

  • Office automation
  • Statistical software
  • Data base

  • Practice of surveys
  • Development of a statistical study
  • Design of collection tools
  • Data processing and analysis
  • Statistical modeling

Specialization Paths

Specialisation paths leading to areas of expertise in both the public and private sectors. ISE students have the possibility of enrolling in a double degree course with ENSAI in Rennes and ENSAE Paris Tech.

After their training, students who have chosen this specialised course have the double diploma: Engineering Degree in Statistics and Economics (ISE)  from ENSEA and Actuary degree from ISFA of Lyon. Students in this actuarial option specialise in the application of probability, statistics and risk management. They become familiar with the fields of: insurance, finance and social protection. They also learn to provide concrete answers in terms of portfolio valuation, pricing, risk modelling, solvency measurement, etc… The training covers the following modules:

  • Stochastic Processes II
  • Risk Management
  • Portfolio Selection and Arbitrage
  • Actuarial – Life
  • Actuarial Science – Property & Casualty
  • Actuarial Techniques
  • Finance Econometrics

Focusing on mathematical statistics, this option is oriented towards the field of statistical research. It introduces in-depth statistical concepts, including advanced econometric models. From the 2018-2019 academic year, a Data Science component has been introduced.
The modules covered by the Statistics and Econometrics specialization tracks are as follows:

  • In-depth time series
  • Deep Data Analysis
  • Stochastic Processes II
  • Exploratory Data Analysis
  • Panel data econometrics
  • Duration models

This option offers a complete range of decision-making tools for companies, based in particular on the methods developed in Statistics and Business Analytics. The Enterprise track trains students in modern quantitative methods while giving them a global vision of the company and its environment. It enables them to acquire operational skills in a wide range of professions and sectors of activity. The modules covered by the Business Economics specialization track are as follows:

  • Business financing
  • Market research (Marketing)
  • Stock market techniques
  • Financial Analysis and business diagnosis 
  • Operational Research
  • Trade law

Focusing on the management of public economic policies, this option provides students with the necessary tools to conduct national and international economics. The course covers the following modules:

  • Computable General Equilibrium Modeling
  • Monetary and financial macroeconomics
  • In-depth time series
  • Real and monetary cycles
  • Labor market and employment policies

This specialization track aims to transmit the most advanced statistical and econometric methods for application to financial data and problems. Time series modeling is central to this option: high/medium/low frequency financial series, univariate as well as multivariate, discrete or continuous time.

  • Computable General Equilibrium Modeling
  • Monetary and financial macroeconomics
  • In-depth time series
  • Real and monetary cycles
  • Labor market and employment policies

Interaction within the professional world

During their training, students are regularly exposed to the professional world. Indeed, they attend lectures given by experts in different fields of economics. These conferences generally aim to inform them about the latest developments in the fields of economics and statistics in order to stimulate vocations and guide career choices. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to exchange with former graduates who share with them their experiences in their field of practice. The school also facilitates the visit of some companies to introduce their professions to students.

Job opportunities

Engineers in Statistics and Economics are called upon to serve in national statistical or planning services, in other administrative services, in public, semi-public or private organisations (non-financial organisations, banks, insurance companies, investment companies, research companies, etc.) in their countries.

Here are some job opportunities for ISE students:

  • Economist
  • National accountant
  • Director of a statistical department
  • Management controller
  • Trader
  • Data Scientist
  • Marketing Manager
  • Research manager
  • Follow-up evaluator
  • Banker
  • Insurance professional