The ENSAE was established in 1942 under the National Statistics Service (ancestor of the INSEE, National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) under the name of the School of Applied Statistics. In 1946, the creation of INSEE, the school took the name of INSEE Specialization School. At this time, the school led to two types of administrative career: "administrateur" (the highest managing level of the INSEE administration) and "attaché" (a lower level) civil servant executives. Early promotions included five or six "administrateurs" students five or six "attachés" students.