L'Ecole Polytechnique

École polytechnique

Motto	Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire
Motto in English	For the Homeland, Science and Glory
Type	Grande école
Established	1794
President	Jacques Biot
Director	Yves Demay
Students	3,011
Postgraduates	2,000 engineer candidates 439 masters
Doctoral students	572
Location	Palaiseau, France 48°42′47″N 2°12′32″E / 48.713°N 2.209°E / 48.713; 2.209Coordinates: 48°42′47″N 2°12′32″E / 48.713°N 2.209°E / 48.713; 2.209
Colors	Red      Yellow
Nickname	L'X
Affiliations	ParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, CGE, CDEFI
Website	polytechnique.edu

École Polytechnique (also known by the nickname "X") is a French public institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, a suburb located south from Paris. It is one of the leading prestigious French 'Grandes Écoles' in engineering, especially known for its polytechnicien engineering program.

The school was established in 1794 by the mathematician Gaspard Monge during the French Revolution, and was once previously a military academy under Napoleon I in 1804. However, Polytechnique is no longer a military academy, although the institution is still supervised by the French ministry of Defence. Initially located in the Latin Quarter of central Paris, the establishment main buildings was moved in 1976 to Palaiseau on the Saclay Plateau, southwest of Paris.

Polytechnique has engaged in partnerships to improve its international renown. It is thus a founding member of ParisTech, a grouping of leading Paris-area engineering colleges established in 2007. In 2014 it became a founding member of the confederal "University of Paris in Saclay". Among its alumni are three Nobel prize winners, one Fields Medalist, three Presidents of France and many CEOs of French and international companies. Moreover, it is also currently ranked as world's third-best small university by Times Higher Education's World University Rankings.

In the 19th century, its specific model has inspired the foundation of similar well-known schools, also named "Polytechnic" such as École Polytechnique de Montréal or Caltech (initially a vocational school named the Throop 'Polytechnic' Institute).