After the bac in Morocco: a clear map of courses, schools and entrance exams

Getting your career guidance right after the bac in Morocco starts with knowing the six main paths: open-access faculties, selective public institutions (medicine, ENSA, ENCG, EST and others), preparatory classes (CPGE), short vocational courses such as the BTS and OFPPT, private higher education, and studying abroad. For the selective public options, everything starts with your grades: pre-selection usually combines 75% of the national exam and 25% of the regional exam. The right choice then depends on your real strengths, your budget and an application calendar that sometimes opens as early as the autumn of 2ème bac.

Below is each option (entry, length, where it leads), then a simple method for choosing, written with families in Tiznit and Souss-Massa in mind.

How bac grades count in pre-selection

Your overall bac average has three parts: 25% continuous assessment (2ème bac), 25% regional exam (taken in 1ère bac) and 50% national exam. That average decides whether you pass and which honours grade (mention) you get.

Selective institutions (medicine, ENSA, ENCG, EST...) usually base the pre-selection score on 75% of your national exam average and 25% of your regional average, without continuous assessment. So a 17 in continuous assessment will not make up for an average national exam.

Thresholds change every year and by stream: trust the official notice, not figures on social media. The direct consequence: the 1ère bac regional exam already counts for what comes after the bac, and preparing for the national exam carries a lot of weight in every application.

Public options: faculties, schools, prep classes and short courses

Open-access faculties

Faculties of science (FS), arts and humanities (FLSH), and law and economics (the former FSJES, which several universities have reorganised into separate faculties of economics and management and of legal and political sciences) take any bac holder whose stream matches the course. There is no entrance exam: you pre-register online with the university, then enrol.

Studies follow the licence (3 years), master (2 years), doctorate model. Open access does not mean easy: crowded lecture halls, light supervision, and students have to organise themselves. This path suits independent students.

Selective-access institutions

Places are limited and you apply on the national portal cursussup.gov.ma with your Massar code, usually around the bac exams. The principle: pre-selection on grades, then a written exam depending on the school.

• Medicine, pharmacy, dentistry: pre-selection, then a written exam (bac-level maths, physics, chemistry, life and earth sciences), open to the maths, physical sciences and life and earth sciences streams. General medicine now takes 6 years, longer with a specialisation.
• ENSA and ENSAM (engineering): pre-selection, then a written exam focused on maths and physics. Five years, including two integrated preparatory years, leading to the state engineering diploma.
• ENCG (business and management): pre-selection, then a shared written test (the TAFEM). Five years.
• EST: selection on bac grades, with no written exam. DUT in two years, with options to continue (bachelor in technology, licence, engineering school).

Other institutions follow the same logic (FST, and the schools of education and training, or ESEF). The schools of architecture (registration on concoursena.ma) and the ISPITS, which train nurses and midwives under the Ministry of Health, run their own entrance exams.

Preparatory classes (CPGE)

Two years of intensive study in a lycée to prepare for the grandes écoles entrance exams, on a science track (MP, PSI, TSI...) or an economics track (ECS, ECT). There is no written exam at entry; selection is on your record: 1ère and 2ème bac averages, key subjects, the class council's assessment and no repeated year. You apply on cpge.ac.ma during 2ème bac, around exam time.

At the end, students sit competitive exams: the CNC for engineering schools, the CNAEM for management schools and, for some, the exams of French schools. An excellent path for a strong, steady student who can handle a heavy workload, and a poor idea if you are going only for the prestige.

BTS and OFPPT: two years aimed at a trade

The BTS takes two years in lycées, in industrial or service fields. Selection is on your file and bac grades, with an age limit. You apply on e-bts.men.gov.ma, which also lists the centres and courses.

OFPPT offers, among others, the specialised technician level (with the bac, two years) and the technician level (2ème bac level), with online registration at takwine.ofppt.ma and then a file at the institution. These are not "fallback" options: they lead quickly to skilled work and keep the door open to further study.

What exists around Tiznit

The region's university hub is Université Ibn Zohr. In Agadir: faculty of science, faculty of arts and humanities, faculties of law and economics, faculty of medicine and pharmacy, ENSA, ENCG, EST and ESEF, among others. In Ait Melloul: notably a faculty of applied sciences and a faculty of languages, arts and humanities.

New for Tiznit: at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, the university launched two faculties in the town itself, one of economics and management and one of legal and political sciences, in temporary premises while their campus is built. Check which courses are actually open on the Université Ibn Zohr website before building a plan around them.

Outside the university, Agadir has a national school of architecture and the CPGE centre at Lycée Reda Slaoui. Tiznit itself has an ISPITS annex (nursing and midwifery), an OFPPT ISTA and BTS classes. The Souss-Massa Cité des métiers et des compétences, near Agadir, offers OFPPT training in a range of sectors, including digital and artificial intelligence.

Private higher education and studying abroad

Private: check the status before you pay

The law distinguishes three situations: an institution simply authorised to operate, a programme accredited by the state, and an institution recognised by the state, whose diplomas are equivalent to national diplomas. For an accredited programme in a non-recognised institution, equivalence is requested individually.

Before signing, ask in writing for the exact status of the school and the programme, then compare it with the official list from the Ministry of Higher Education on enssup.gov.ma. Work out the total cost over the whole course too, accommodation included.

Studying abroad

For France, everything goes through the Études en France procedure run by Campus France Maroc. For a first year of licence, the prior admission application (DAP) usually opens in the autumn of 2ème bac and closes several months before the bac. A French certification (TCF, DELF B2 or DALF depending on the case) is required when you submit. The Institut français in Agadir can give you information.

Elsewhere, each country has its own logic. Spain works through an accreditation (UNEDasiss) and often subject-specific tests. In Germany, the Moroccan bac alone generally leads first to a preparatory year (Studienkolleg), with good German. English-speaking countries ask for an English test: see our comparison IELTS or TOEFL. Wherever you go, budget for living costs, the visa and equivalence when you come back.

After the bac in Morocco: the paths compared

How to choose: a five-step method

1. Reread the last two years of report cards. Look for subjects where you are consistently good, not one isolated mark.
2. Start from fields, not acronyms. Health, engineering, management, law, teaching, technical trades: what do you want to do day to day? The school comes after.
3. Set out the real constraints. Budget (housing, transport, fees), distance (Tiznit to Agadir every day or a room there), language: in higher education, many science, technical, economics and medical courses are taught mostly in French. In the public sector, a grant can be requested on minhaty.ma, based on the household's social situation.
4. Aim at three levels. One ambitious choice, one realistic, one safe: you can apply to several institutions at once.
5. Draw up a calendar from September of 2ème bac. Dates change every year, but the pattern repeats.

The usual calendar

• Autumn of 2ème bac: applications for France. Some private schools also recruit early, so ask at the start of the school year.
• Winter and spring: language tests, application files, entrance exams for some private schools.
• Around the bac exams and over the summer: CPGE, cursussup.gov.ma, faculty pre-registration, BTS, OFPPT, grant applications.

Common mistakes

• Choosing for prestige. A famous school in a field you dislike often ends in dropping out.
• Betting everything on one exam. Thresholds move every year, so keep a realistic plan B.
• Neglecting the regional exam. It makes up 25% of the pre-selection score.
• Waiting for bac results before looking into options. Several procedures close before, or just after.
• Underestimating language. Starting at a science faculty without being comfortable in French is costly in the first year.
• Trusting rumours. Private sites (tawjihnet and others) relay announcements, but the reference is the official portal.

If your plan is clear and you follow the official portals, you do not need paid support. If you are torn between several paths, our career guidance programme offers a 45 to 60 minute session in Tiznit, by appointment, with parents welcome: we go through the report cards, set out the constraints (budget, distance, language) and you leave with a written plan, with no obligation to sign up for anything else. To book a session, get in touch here.

Frequently asked questions

How is the pre-selection score calculated after the bac?

Usually 75% of the national exam average and 25% of the regional exam average, without continuous assessment. The threshold changes every year and by stream, so check the official notice on cursussup.gov.ma.

When do I register on cursussup.gov.ma?

During 2ème bac, usually around the national exams. Dates are published each year on the portal: create your account with your Massar code as soon as it opens.

Is a private school diploma recognised in Morocco?

It depends on the status. Diplomas from institutions recognised by the state are equivalent to national diplomas; for an accredited programme, equivalence is requested individually.

Can I study in France straight after the Moroccan bac?

Yes, through the Études en France procedure with Campus France Maroc. For a first year of licence, the application starts as early as the autumn of 2ème bac and requires a French certification.