In France, the agrégation (French pronunciation: ​[aɡʁeɡasjɔ̃]) is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. The agrégation is typically open only to holders of a five-year university diploma (master's degree) or above.

The competitive exam generally consists of a written section (admissibility) which, for humanities and social sciences, is composed of numerous essays and analyses of documents up to 7 hours in duration. This stage is when most candidates are eliminated.

The remaining candidates then have to go through an oral session (admission), composed of different exams in which candidates must demonstrate their ability to prepare and give lessons on any topic within the scope of their discipline. In most disciplines, the lessons expected extend well above the secondary education level; indeed, the candidate may even have to present a lesson appropriate for the second, third, or even fourth years of specialized courses at the university level. One reason is that the agrégés should be able to teach in special undergraduate sections of high schools, known as preparatory classes to the grandes écoles and very similar in nature to grammar schools, and the level may be far above the normal level of the first or second year of college education.

The agrégation is also used as an unofficial national ranking system for students, giving a fair comparison between students of different universities. That is especially true in the humanities, for which the agrégation is highly selective and supposedly demonstrates erudition of the candidate. Students of the écoles normales supérieures, as well as graduate students who have just completed their master's degree, often dedicate an entire year of their curriculum to prepare for the agrégation. (Source: dbpedia)