[4] The school has trained 85,000 engineers since its foundation by François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt.

It is a "Public Scientific, Cultural and Professional Institution" (EPSCP) under the authority of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and has the special status of Grand établissement.

Arts et Métiers ParisTech consists of eight Teaching and Research Centres (CER) and three institutes spread across the country.

The school was founded in Liancourt, Oise, by Duke of Rochefoucauld-Liancourt in 1780; it was originally meant to provide in-depth training for military dragoon officers children.

It became the biggest campus of the Arts et Métiers but World War II delayed the school's opening.

In the middle of the "Trentes Glorieuses" (the Glorious Thirty), the seventh campus was created near Bordeaux, in the science park of Talence.

With the different regimes and the different names of the eightieth and ninetieth centuries, the visual identity of the school was not defined properly.

First it adopted the imperial eagle as a symbol, when Napoléon Bonaparte was in authority, then it was replaced by a royal flower to greet the return of the monarchy.

Whether speaking about starting salary, involvement in research or international opportunities, Arts et Métiers ParisTech has been consistently ranked among the top ten French engineering schools, along with other schools like Mines ParisTech, École polytechnique, CentraleSupélec or ENSTA Paris.

[14] Most of the annual 1100 candidates come from the Classes Préparatoires (CPGE), a two-year intensive programme of undergraduate studies in sciences.

It consists of a written exam that lasts two weeks (Banque PT or CentraleSupelec), covering mathematics, physics, engineering sciences, literature and foreign languages.

Other ways of recruitment exist, sometimes those who have performed well in technical studies in lower-ranked colleges (DUT, University Technology Diploma or BTS, Higher Technician's Certificate) may be admitted.

The first 2 years are dedicated to a core curriculum covering all the fields of engineering : The training also includes management, finance and language courses.

The third year is dedicated to specialised courses, such as sharp technical skills and good management basics.

The Arts et Métiers engineers are known for their spirit of innovation, their excellent technical skills and their ability to manage and cooperate.

The transportation industry (automotive, aerospace, rail, shipbuilding) is the largest employer of alumni, 24,1% of graduates work in this sector.

[17] The other industries are, in order of employed alumni: energy, consulting, civil engineering, IT and the remaining quarter is spread between finance, bioengineering and agri-food.

[18] Among the seventeen different Advanced Masters, fifteen are run exclusively by the school, two are developed by specific partnerships.

[21] The main fields of research are  : In 2014, Arts et Métiers was the first French engineering school to open a Bachelor of Technology program.

The program aims to offer more possibilities to high school graduates that are interested in sciences but do not necessarily want to reach the diplôme d'ingénieur level.

The "Gadz" folklore includes traditional clothing, language, songs and legends, related symbolism, and ceremonials.

Gadz'Arts activities are independent of the administration of the school and are exclusively run by the students, although the two parts often cooperate for organising cultural or sporting events.

The student associations organises several galas, in each campus as well as a national one in Paris : The National Grand Gala in Paris takes place in different buildings or monuments, depending on the year : the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Palace, the Palais Garnier, the Palace of Versailles... Thousands of guests, students and alumni meet, usually in May or June.

Even if the society is completely independent from the school, joint ventures are frequent, for research projects or feedback discussions.

The members help students to start their career proposing jobs or internships, they also give some financial support to the ones that have special needs (e.g. : entrepreneurship, fees for a foreign country).

A magazine is published every month, called "Arts et Métiers Mag", addressed to students, alumni and professors.

These names are extracts from the full article : The 15 laboratories of Arts et Métiers ParisTech are spread in the teaching centres and research institutes.

[24][25] The main associates are : The school is also involved in doctoral programme agreements with the corporate universities of PSA[23] and Safran.