Sciences Po

Paris Institute of Political Studies
Institut d'études politiques de Paris
Former names
École libre des sciences politiques
Type Public
Established 1872
Endowment €173 million
President Jean-Claude Casanova
Director Frédéric Mion
Academic staff
200
Students 13,000
Undergraduates 4000
Postgraduates 3900
Location Paris, Reims, Dijon, Le Havre, Nancy, Poitiers, Menton, France
Campus Urban
Nickname Sciences Po
Mascot The lion and the fox
Website sciencespo.fr

The Paris Institute of Political Studies (French: Institut d'études politiques de Paris, French pronunciation: [ɛ̃stity detyd pɔlitik dəpaʁi]), simply referred to as Sciences Po (French pronunciation: [sjɑ̃s po]), is an elite public research and higher education institution in Paris, France.

A prestigious university with less than a 10% acceptance rate, it is ranked 4th in the world for Politics and International Studies (2016) and 1st on Continental Europe by QS World University Rankings.[1] The School has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, economics, philosophy, history, business, literature, media and politics – including the last four presidents of France (and five of the last six). Around 28 past or present heads of state have studied or taught at Sciences Po, as well as many heads of international organizations (UN, IMF, etc.) and CEOs.

Sciences Po maintains faculties in political science as well as in economics, history, sociology, law, finance, business, communication, social and urban policy, management and journalism.

Sciences Po is a member of several university consortia (APSIA, College Board, GPPN, etc.) and has developed partnerships with 410 universities, including Oxford, Warwick, Edinburgh, Columbia, LSE, Harvard Law School, Peking University, and McGill.[2]

The main Paris campus is located near the Seine River, between Boulevard Saint Germain and Boulevard Raspail. It is housed primarily in 17th- and 18th-century mansions located on the Left Bank, on and around Rue Saint-Guillaume, Rue des Saints-Pères and Rue de l'Université (in the 7th arrondissement). Other campuses can be found outside Paris, for specialized undergraduate programs.

History

The name Sciences Po refers to three distinct, yet complementary institutions:

1872–1945: École Libre des Sciences Politiques

Sciences Po Founder, Émile Boutmy.

Sciences Po was established in February 1872 as the École Libre des Sciences Politiques by a group of French intellectuals, politicians and businessmen led by Émile Boutmy, and including Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel and Paul Leroy Beaulieu. Following defeat in the 1870 war, the demise of Napoleon III, and the Paris Commune, these men sought to reform the training of French politicians. Politically and economically, people feared France's international stature was waning due to inadequate teaching of its political and diplomatic corps. ELSP was meant to serve as “the breeding ground where nearly all the major, non-technical state commissioners were trained.”[3]

The school developed a humanistic and pragmatic teaching program: instructors included academics as well as ministers, high civil servants, and businessmen. New disciplines such as International Relations, International Law, Political Economy and Comparative Government were introduced. In August 1894, the British Association for the Advancement of Science spoke out for the need to advance the study of politics along the lines of ELSP. Sidney and Beatrice Webb used the purpose and curriculum of Sciences Po as part of their inspiration for creating the London School of Economics in 1895.

The situation since 1945

As per ordinance 45-2284, issued by Charles de Gaulle on 9 October 1945, two entities were created from ELSP: Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (English: National Foundation of Political Science) or FNSP and Institut d'études politiques de Paris (English: Paris Institute of Political Studies) or IEP Paris. Both entities were tasked by the French government to ensure “the progress and the diffusion, both within and outside France, of political science, economics, and sociology”.[3]

The epithet Sciences Po was applied to both entities, which inherited the reputation previously vested in ELSP. France's Legislature entrusted FNSP with managing IEP Paris, its library, and budget, and an administrative council assured the development of these activities. The curriculum and methodology of the ELSP were also the template for creating an entire system of institutes of political studies (French: Institut d'études politiques) across France, namely in Strasbourg, Lyon, Aix, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Toulouse, and then in Rennes and Lille. They are not to be confounded with Sciences Po's satellite campuses.

FNSP further strengthened its role as a scientific publication center with significant donations from the Rockefeller Foundation. FNSP periodicals such as la Revue française de science politique, le Bulletin analytique de documentation, la Chronologie politique africaine, and the Cahiers de la Fondation as well as its seven research centres and main publishing house, Presses de Sciences Po, contribute to the reputation attained by Sciences Po research.[3]

Recent reforms

Sciences Po has undergone myriad reforms under Richard Descoings, Director of Sciences Po (1997–2012). Sciences Po has introduced a compulsory year abroad component to its undergraduate degree, and now offers a multilingual curriculum in French, English, and other languages. New educational sites have been set up in Nancy, Dijon, Poitiers, Menton, Le Havre and Reims. Sciences Po also set the length of its undergraduate program to three years and its graduate program to two years in line with the Bologna Process.

Sciences Po also implemented reforms in its admissions process. Previously, Sciences Po recruited its students almost exclusively from elite schools (mostly state-funded) in France, but in March 2001, the school's governing council widened its admissions policy. From September 2002, Sciences Po began accepting a small batch of students from certain schools located in economically depressed suburbs of Paris on the basis of their school record and a 45-minute interview, rather than the name-blind examination all other students must pass to be admitted. The reform is intended to broaden the socio-economic characteristics of Sciences Po student-body, and gained national and international media attention for being the first affirmative action experience in France. Despite the controversy it brought up it is accepted by the French and considered a relative success. Moreover, Sciences Po introduced an alternative recruitment method -the so-called procédure internationale- for foreign students or students with an international background, as they are not well prepared for the French written examination. Sciences Po also accepts a large contingent of graduate students from abroad without written exams. With the addition of many master's degree programs almost exclusively taught in English, Sciences Po has widely globalized its student body and curriculum.

The proportion of students benefiting from financial support has grown fourfold over the past decade. Today, 30% of students receive grants and other support on the basis of social criteria. This rate exceeds most other selective institutions of higher learning. Half of the student body is international: in 2014, students accepted to Sciences Po hailed from 142 different countries.[4]

Rankings

For the year 2016 the QS World University Rankings ranked Sciences Po as the 4th best university in the world for Politics and International studies.[5] The magazine Foreign Policy, for their 2015 rankings, ranked Sciences Po as the 21st best university in the world to obtain a master's degree for a policy career in International Relations.[6] For 2014 the QS World University Rankings ranked Sciences Po 1st French university in Politics and International Studies and Sociology, 2nd in Law, 3rd in History, and 4th in Economics.[7] In 2013, the QS World University Rankings ranked Sciences Po the 16th best university in the world in Politics and International Relations & Affairs and 30th in Sociology.[8] In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2013/2014, Sciences Po ranked 98th in the world for Social Sciences.[9] In the 2013 Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index of Global Executives, a ranking of a university's number of degrees awarded to chief executives of the world’s biggest companies, Sciences Po is ranked 81st.[10]

Notable faculty and alumni

See List of Sciences Po People

Sciences Po boasts a community of over 65,000 alumni, many of whom hold high-level positions in sectors as varied as auditing, diplomacy, media, social issues, sustainable development, finance, civil service, culture and more, in France and around the world.

Politics and government

Sciences Po alumni and former staff include twenty-eight heads of state or government, specifically the last four French presidents (François Hollande, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy - although he didn't graduate - and François Mitterrand), thirteen past or present French prime ministers, twelve past or present foreign heads of state or government, a former United Nations Secretary-General, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, the former head of the European Central Bank and the former head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Former Portuguese Prime Minister, José Socrates was a doctoral student at this institution in 2012.[11]

Business

While nearly every French politician or diplomat has attended Sciences Po since its inception, the school is also well known for educating top business managers, including CEOs of France's forty largest companies (Frédéric Oudéa of banking group Societe Generale, Michel Bon of Carrefour, Jean-Cyril Spinetta of Air France, Serge Weinberg of PPR, Gérard Mestrallet of Suez, Philippe Camus of Alcatel-Lucent), private bankers such as David René de Rothschild, the CEO of Lazard Italy, the CFO of Morgan Stanley Europe, the Director of Credit Suisse World, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of TradingScreen and the Chairman of Credit Suisse Europe as well as the current head of the European Federation of Businesses, Industries and Employers and the current head of the French Businesses and Employers Union and many others.

Alumni alliance

Graduates of Sciences Po are usually referred to as Sciences Po. "alumni" is the Sciences Po's alumni magazine (formerly "Rue Saint Guillaume"). The vast majority of teachers and professors working in Sciences Po are alumni.

Organization

Admissions

There are different admission procedures at Sciences Po :

Since 2002, the number of applicants (all programs taken into account) has steadily increased, doubling from 2003 to 2008 and increasing by 50% between 2008 and 2013. In 2014, about 9000 students applied to the undergraduate program (not taking into account joint degree applicants) and 4500 to one of the graduate programs (only students applying from other universities than Sciences Po) . The number of applicants for dual bachelor programs has also increased by 63% between 2013 and 2014.

Campuses

Sciences Po garden, between the rue Saint-Guillaume and the rue des Saints-Pères.

Sciences Po is located in the heart of Paris, in the 6th and 7th districts (arrondissements):

Student union and clubs

There are more than 130 clubs and organizations, about 2,500 students in athletic classes and 800 involved in artistic activities. Examples of associations in addition to the 5 permanent ones include Paris International Model United Nations, Sciences Po Finance (Finance society), Sciences Po TV, Amnesty International, etc.

Instructors

Instruction is provided by a staff of about 200 permanent faculty and 4,000 lecturers from the professional world. Most recently, instructors included or still include former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, former WTO president Pascal Lamy, current French President Francois Hollande, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French foreign minister Hubert Védrine, Nobel Prize Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, former Lebanese Minister of Culture Ghassan Salame and former Economics minister as well as former Managing Director of IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Undergraduate program

Description

In 2000, Sciences Po set the length of its undergraduate program to three years and the length of its graduate program to two years in line with the Bologna Process.

The Sciences Po College offers a three-year undergraduate programme. Students spend the first two years on one of Sciences Po’s seven campuses in France, and are then required to spend their third year abroad, either performing an internship or studying in one of Sciences Po's 410 partner universities.

The educational programme at the Sciences Po College includes a common core of social sciences courses - law, economics, history, political science and sociology - as well as specialised courses according to specific regional focuses:

The Paris Campus offers a general social sciences programme.

French and English are the main languages of instruction. In addition, Sciences Po offers language courses in 25 languages. Sciences Po is also open to non French-speaking students, who may enrol in one of the English-language programmes offered in Le Havre, Menton and Reims. They learn French while studying at Sciences Po.

The Sciences Po College curriculum also features artistic, literary and scientific disciplines. In addition to academics, Sciences Po's curriculum incorporates more practice-oriented skills like teamwork, effective oral communication and presentation skills, and nurturing leadership potential. Sciences Po's student-body is active, with more than seventy student clubs, councils, and organizations.

Sciences Po also offers several dual bachelor's degree programmes with prominent world universities, like Columbia University.

Satellite campuses and specific regional focuses

While all of Sciences Po's graduate programs are taught in Paris, the school has six additional undergraduate campuses in France. Each of the six campuses has its own distinct cultural identity and academic focus, except for Reims which welcomes both Euro-American and Europe-African undergraduate programs. They are designed to widen the academic concentration of the wider Sciences Po community, and allow students enrolled in the three-year Sciences Po undergraduate program, the "Collège Universitaire", to specialize in a given region. Upon completing their undergraduate studies by spending a year abroad, all students usually move to Paris for their graduate studies (Master).

As the satellite campuses are part of Sciences Po Paris, their official designations always include the word "Paris" in order to distinguish them from the so-called "IEP de province". For instance, Sciences Po Paris' Dijon campus is officially named Sciences Po Paris in Dijon:

These are six regional campuses and seven specific programs :

  • French-German Undergraduate Program / Nancy (created in 2000):

The French-German European Campus is located in Nancy, the city of the Dukes of Lorraine, in a region historically well known for its German connections.

Established in 2000, hosts 350 students (about one third of whom are currently spending their 3rd year abroad), who come from France and German-speaking countries, but also from other places: in all, 28 nationalities are represented. Courses are taught in three languages (French, German and English); students can also learn Arabic, Spanish, Swedish or Russian.

  • European Undergraduate Program / Dijon (created 2001):

The Sciences Po Dijon campus is housed in a 19th-century building, and welcomes 157 students from 23 countries. Students - from France, Central and Eastern Europe and even farther afield - come to Dijon to study the European Union, with a particular focus on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

This program illustrates Sciences Po’s continuing interest in studying democratic transition in Central Europe, which was initiated by researchers at the Centre of International Research. It has also strengthened the school’s longstanding ties with the Czech Republic and Poland.

The Dijon Undergraduate Programme features a curriculum on the EU and Central and Eastern Europe, the opportunity to study a Central European language (Polish, Czech or Hungarian) as well as to master Russian, a programme with intensive French classes (for students with a basic French level).

Sciences Po - Poitiers Campus
  • Euro-Latin American Undergraduate Program / Poitiers (created 2001):

The Ibero-American Undergraduate Program is located in the Chaboureau town house in Poitiers, a small city in western France. It hosts 180 students and specializes in the politics and history of Iberia and Latin America.

Courses are taught in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. The majority of students come from Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.

  • Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Undergraduate Program / Menton (created 2005):

The Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Undergraduate College of Menton focuses on political, economic and social issues in Mediterranean countries, the Middle East and the Gulf.

In addition to the core courses of Sciences Po College, the campus offers courses specialized in the zone of the College’s interest (Political Economy of the Middle East, Geopolitics of the Middle East, History of the Arab-Islamic Civilization…) in three languages (French, Arabic and English), as well as language classes (English, Arabic, and French as second language, with the possibility for non-beginners to start Arabic and French).

The campus of Menton brings together international students from Europe, the Maghreb, the Middle East and the Gulf, as well as from the United States and Asia. It offers a curriculum in French and a complete curriculum in English, underpinned by the expertise of Sciences Po professors and researchers specialized in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean zone, prestigious lecturers, and guest professors. Classes are complemented by extracurricular collective projects (Arabic publications, field trips in the Middle East, Spring School…).

  • Euro-Asian Undergraduate Program / Le Havre (created 2007):

Located on the coast of Normandy, Le Havre is a city of 200,000 inhabitants. The port of Le Havre, founded by François the first in 1517, is France’s largest commercial harbour. Historically, Le Havre has been a city oriented towards Asia. The port city is home to a rich architectural heritage, including the areas constructed by August Perret, which have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Located in a modern building, the campus is home to mostly French, European, and Asian students. Multilingual, the students work in English as well as French. European students must learn an Asian language (Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Hindi), while Asian students take French and/or English classes. While the main working language is English, learning an Asian language (or French) is a mandatory part of the curriculum. Students can begin learning any of these languages even if they have no prior knowledge in the subject, as all language classes are taken for six hours every week.

The undergraduate program at Le Havre is part of a long tradition of cooperation between Sciences Po and Asia. Sciences Po currently has representation in China, Japan, India, and benefits from a network of ninety different partner universities in Asia and Oceania. All European students at Le Havre will be required to spend their third year in Asia before joining their colleagues at the Paris campus for the Masters program.

  • Euro-American Undergraduate Program / Reims (created 2009):

The Reims Euro-American Campus is the seventh international campus of Sciences Po Paris. Opened in September 2010, it welcomes students from around the world, including USA, Canada, and throughout Europe in an English environment. Reims (45 minutes from Paris by high speed train) is a Gallo-Roman city and the traditional site of the coronation of France’s kings, and has a rich architectural legacy. It is the capital of the Champagne-Ardenne region, world-renowned for its production of champagne.

The goal of the program is to give these students a comparative understanding of the European and North-American systems. Courses are taught in English, although students may follow some courses in French. The program also includes several hours a week of language classes, the objective being for all students to be English-French bilingual at the end of the first two years. German, Italian and Spanish are taught as supplementary languages.

On the site of the former collège des jésuites, an exceptional architectural complex in the center of the city made available to Sciences Po by the city of Reims, students have the opportunity to enjoy an academic experience connecting both the European model (intellectual content of the courses, methodology) and the American approach (group work and interactive exchanges). Great emphasis is also placed on sport, artistic activities and student organizations.

  • Europe-Africa Undergraduate Program / Reims (created 2011):

Sciences Po has inaugurated since September 2011 an undergraduate Europe-Africa programme on the Paris campus and starting September 2015 this programme will move to the Reims campus after 4 years in the Paris campus. Some 60 students from 37 nationalities, speaking English and French, are accepted onto the programme each year.

The program aims at reinforcing the links between youth in Europe and Africa and contributing to a better understanding of the political, economic, social and cultural dynamics of a burgeoning continent/a continent undergoing radical transformation.

The Europe-Africa undergraduate program offers a unique teaching program: courses both in French and English, a multidisciplinary curriculum common to all Sciences Po campuses, enhanced with a special focus on the African continent and its challenges.

Third year abroad

Richard Descoings decided, among other reforms, that every student should spend his or her third year abroad. Thanks to 410 university partners,[13] students at Sciences Po have multiple possibilities. Students can also do an internship in a company, a cultural association, an embassy, etc. As a direct result of mandatory study abroad, Sciences Po has extensive availability in their classrooms allowing them to accommodate impressive exchange programs with their partner schools. Several hundred foreign exchange students are studying at Sciences Po at any given time.

Dual bachelor's degree programs

Sciences Po offers highly selective dual bachelor's degree programmes with prominent world universities. These programmes offer a carefully coordinated curriculum. Students graduate from both institutions, providing access to leading graduate studies and prominent markets in the world.

Master's degrees

Description

Upon completion of the third year of undergraduate studies, students return to Paris for a two-year graduate program of their choosing leading to a master's degree. Programmes last four semesters: three semesters at Sciences Po in Paris and one semester away, to complete an internship or pursue studies in France or abroad within our partner network. These programmes lead to a master's degree, opening doors to a large number of career specialisations. Students from the school's undergraduate programs make up about half of the graduate programs' student population, the remainder having completed undergraduate studies elsewhere in France or abroad. Most programs are taught in more than one language though English-only programs are also available. Students can choose from a wide array of programs designed either by Sciences Po alone or in conjunction with other universities.

Single Master's degrees

The school's traditional "single" Master's degrees are suited for those seeking to develop professional skills in a specific area without losing the benefits of a generalist education. The curriculum generally comprises a set of generalist courses known as the "tronc commun," specific courses related to the chosen field of study, and an internship semester.

Graduate schools and master programmes offered include :

BefThe Department of Economics currently administers the following master's degrees:

Dual Master's degrees

Sciences Po has partnered with internationally renowned universities to offer dual-degree programmes at the Master level. A multidisciplinary approach, dual expertise, fluency in different languages, multicultural experience: graduates of these programmes boast profiles that are highly appreciated by recruiters in a wide variety of sectors.

Nearly all dual-degree programmes are taught in English. Students enrolled in these programmes can take advantage of their experience at Sciences Po to learn French and become multilingual professionals.

Research

Sciences Po is a major social sciences research and teaching institution, with 35% of its budget devoted to research and over 800 publications per year.

Research at Sciences Po hosts eleven research units bringing together over 200 researchers. Five of these centres are associated with the CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research). The Doctoral School, with over 500 Ph.D. students, is a central element of Sciences Po's research infrastructure.

Research at Sciences Po covers economics, law, history, sociology and political science, while also taking in many interdisciplinary topics such as cities, political ecology, sustainable development, socioeconomics and globalization.

Doctoral School

The Doctoral School is currently directed by Jean-Marie Donegani and includes 200 faculty members and 600 doctoral students. It was created in 1988 and welcomes students for their Master and PhD studies, in law, economics, history, political science, or sociology.

Research Master's

The Research Master’s program entails two years of interdisciplinary instruction in five basic social sciences: political science, history, law, sociology and economics. This interdisciplinary approach is designed to reinforce and round out graduate-level training. The Research Master’s program prepares students for doctoral studies and subsequent careers in research and higher education. But it also opens out into a wider range of career options (work in consulting, expertise, public opinion polling, publishing etc.) thanks to the links between the Sciences Po master's degree and Research Master’s programs in the form of joint courses and degrees.

The Research Master’s program offers:

Master programmes are offered in the following subjects :

PhD Program

Sciences Po is accredited to confer PhD degrees in law, economics, history, political science and sociology.

The Sciences Po PhD Program counts roughly 600 doctoral candidates, a third of whom hail from abroad. About 40 defend their dissertations each year. The program has a long-standing tradition of multi-disciplinary scholarship.

The PhD Program covers 15 fields of study, which follow up on those offered in the Master’s program: Latin America, Sociological Analysis of Change, Asia, Economics of International Relations, United States, Europe, International Finance, Law, Economic Governance, History, Muslim World, Political Thought, Russia/CIS, Political Science of International Relations, Sociology of Action, Political Sociology and Public Policy.

In addition to academic training, the PhD Program provides a number of student services, including financial aid for PhD studies as well as for research abroad, support and promotion for publications, and job placement guidance and assistance.

PhD candidates may participate in conferences and research stays abroad. Partner institutions of higher education also offer a number of opportunities: for example, the doctoral fellowships programme with eight leading North American universities, or the doctoral mobility programme with the London School of Economics, Columbia University, and the National University of Singapore.

In addition, Sciences Po has created three dual PhD degrees: in political sciences with Columbia University, in sociology with Northwestern University, and in political science and sociology with the Max Planck Research School and the University of Cologne.

Habilitation

Sciences Po’s graduate school also awards accreditations to supervise research (HDR) in economics, history, political science and sociology.

The accreditation to supervise research recognises a candidate’s high level of scholarship, original approach, mastery of research in a sufficiently broad field of science or technology, and the ability to oversee young researchers. It is key to applying for university faculty positions.

Research centres

FNSP manages the research faculty and facilities of Sciences Po, and is one of the largest social sciences research bodies in Europe. Bringing together over two hundred researchers, Sciences Po’s research centres generate new approaches and new knowledge in law, economics, history, political science and sociology.

Six units are associated with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) as “joint research units” (UMR in French) and four units are recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education as “host teams” (EA in French).

The CDSP (UMS 828) provides documented and scientifically validated socio-political data for research by archiving, disseminating, and contributing to international survey programs. It also supports training in data collection and analysis.

CEE’s (UMR 8239) projects combine basic and applied research, and focus on four main areas: a crosscutting approach to European studies; the inter-linkage between participation, democracy and government; election analyses: new paradigms and tools; the restructuring of the state and public action.

The CERI (UMR 7050) analyses foreign societies, international relations, and political, social and economic phenomena across the world from a comparative and historical perspective.

CEVIPOF (UMR 7048) research focuses on two main areas. The first includes political attitudes, behaviour and parties; the second involves political thought and the history of ideas.

The Centre for History (EA 113) research has evolved over time to focus on five major topics: arts, knowledge and culture; wars, conflicts and violence; states, institutions and societies; the political and cultural history of contemporary France; from local to global: international history and its levels.

The CSO (UMR 7116) works at the intersection of the sociology of organizations, sociology of public policy, and economic sociology. Its five major research programmes address fundamental issues such as higher education and research, healthcare, sustainable development, the evolution of firms, and the transformation of the state.

Research in the Department of Economics (EA 4460) contributes to the development of methodology and economic analysis. Its research focuses in particular on the labour market, international economics, political economy, microeconomics and development.

The Law School’s (EA 4461) research focuses on globalization, legal cultures and the economics of law. In addition, a number of works address the theory and history of law, public and private international law and intellectual property.

The médialab (EA 7033) is a digital laboratory devoted to the study and exploitation of data generated by new information technologies, as well as the study of their means of production and circulation.

The OSC (UMR 7049) is a research centre for general and comparative sociology. Its researchers study urban, educational and gender inequalities, as well as social and ethno-racial stratification, mobility and segregation phenomena.

The OFCE is an independent body that produces forecasts, and researches and evaluates public policy. It covers most areas of economic analysis, from macroeconomics, growth, social protection systems, taxation and employment policy, to sustainable development, competition, innovation and regulation.

In addition to the ten centres, three major crosscutting programs produce research: LIEPP, DIME-SHS and MaxPo. They allow researchers from different centres to pursue joint research with five- to ten-year funding commitments. These frequently multidisciplinary projects are conducive to the development of new approaches and methodologies that are shared with the rest of the research community.

The LIEPP and DIME-SHE have been awarded highly competitive grants from the “Investments for the Future” program, and MaxPo has a contractual partnership with the prestigious Max Planck Society. Researchers from our various research units lead these programs, which pursue crosscutting and multidisciplinary issues.

Networks of universities

Sciences Po is part of a network of 410 partner universities. This network is unique for its dynamism and academic excellence. Partner universities include: Berkeley (USA), Cambridge (England), Columbia (USA), Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), Fudan (China), Keio (Japan), London School of Economics (England), etc.

Sciences Po and several universities within its network have developed 34 dual-degree programmes at the Bachelor, Master and PhD levels. These programmes allow students to earn degrees from both Sciences Po and partner universities, including Columbia University in New York (USA), the London School of Economics (England) and Peking University (China).

This network also provides significant benefits for undergraduate Sciences Po students during their mandatory 3rd year abroad, for graduate students taking advantage of a semester outside of Sciences Po, and for PhD candidates who participate in doctoral exchange programmes. Sciences Po also welcomes students from partner universities as part of exchange programmes.

Global Public Policy Network

Sciences Po is a member of the Global Public Policy Network along with the London School of Economics, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. This collaboration has existed since the early 1990s, but was formalized in September 2005 with the official launch of the Global Public Policy Network in Beijing, China. The partnership fosters academic collaboration among students, faculty, and research centers of leading public policy schools in several world capital cities. The network is further intended to facilitate collaboration on public policy research, student and faculty exchanges, and international conferences and fora with policymakers from the USA, Germany, UK, France, Japan, São Paulo and Singapore. This alliance has produced five degree programs with LSE, including master's degrees in International Relations, Negotiation, International Political Economy, Public Affairs, the Practice of International Affairs, and Urban Policy, two degree programs with Columbia, specifically a Master in International Affairs, dual Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Administration with the Hertie School of Governance, and a Master in Public Affairs, and one degree program with LKS, a Master in Public Policy.

Alliance

Alliance is a partnership programme bringing together Columbia University, the French Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne and Sciences Po. A laboratory of educational and scientific innovation, the Alliance programme is also a pre-eminent platform for transatlantic cooperation in the fields of education and research.

Research networks

Euredocs is a network run by Sciences Po made up of doctoral students and recent PhD recipients (who have defended their dissertations within the past three years). The network addresses the Europeanization of higher education and research, including such issues as the structure of academic curricula, evaluation/accreditation procedures, changes in national education policies and university governance, academic career patterns, the production of knowledge, the impact of internationalization/globalization etc.

Funded under the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme, the GARNET network gathers 42 leading research centres and universities in Europe and operates with a budget of 5.4 million euros over 5 years (2005–2010). Sciences Po is represented in the network by CERI who runs a specific “dissemination of excellence” programme. A number of GARNET activities address doctoral students and finance their participation:

CONNEX is a network set up under the 6th Framework Programme for European Research and Technological Development (2002–2006) to analyze various facets of democratic governance in Europe.

OXPO is a collaborative social sciences structure established between Oxford University and Sciences Po. OXPO aims to stimulate comparative research into political and social phenomena, particularly in European countries with an emphasis on France and the United Kingdom.

MaxPo’s research investigates how individuals, organizations, and nation-states are coping with the new forms of economic and social instability that have developed in Western societies as a result of policy shifts, the expansion of markets, technological advances, and cultural changes. Located at Sciences Po Paris and cooperating closely with the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) in Cologne, the Center aims to contribute substantially to the social sciences in Europe and to enrich academic and political dialogue between France and Germany.

Sorbonne Paris Cité

Sciences Po is a member of the Sorbonne Paris Cité Community of Universities and Establishments (COMUE), which brings together:

The COMUE stands out as a major player in higher education and research in the Paris Region : its 13 members include 120,000 students, 10,300 faculty members and researchers, 6,500 PhD candidates, 5,500 technical and administrative staff members and 251 research units.[14]

Library and publishing

Library (Bibliothèque de Sciences Po)

Sciences Po Library

Founded in 1871, the nucleus of the school’s research is Bibliothèque de Sciences Po. Serving Sciences Po students, professors and researchers, as well as external readers from across the world, the library offers an outstanding collection of more than 950,000 titles in the field of social sciences. It is the biggest library for the social sciences in continental Europe.

The library facilitates access to information for all, especially through its many digital resources, including 20,000 online journals, more than 5500 ebooks and more than 60 online databases. While access to its online journals and databases is reserved for students and teachers, the library’s bibliographies and documentary files on current events are open to all. The library also publishes research from Sciences Po in the Sciences Po Institutional Repository (SPIRE open archive).

In keeping with the ethos of Sciences Po, the library’s collections are highly international, containing 60% foreign language documents. The library functions as a network across the seven campuses of Sciences Po.

In 1982, the National Ministry of Education made the Bibliothèque the Centre for Acquisition and Dissemination of Scientific and Technical Information in the field of political science, and since 1994, it has been the antenna associated with Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Bibliothèque de Sciences Po is also the main French partner in the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, which is based at the London School of Economics. The library has also been a depository library for United Nations publications since 1947.

Publishing house / Presses de Sciences Po

Founded in the 1950s, Presses de Sciences-Po is the publishing house of Sciences Po. It publishes academic works related to the social sciences, and is the leading French publisher in the fields of public policy, international relations, political history, French government, and economics.

It has more than 1000 titles in its catalogue, with about 30 new titles added annually.

Presses de Sciences Po also publishes several leading French academic journals in the social sciences: La Revue française de science politique (Political science), Critique internationale (International relations), Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire (Twentieth Century History), Raisons politiques (Political theory), La Revue économique (Economics), La Revue de l'OFCE (Economics), Sociétés contemporaines (Sociology), Sève. Les tribunes de la santé (Health).

References and notes

Notes

  1. ^ "LSE: A History of the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1895–1995", Oxford University Press, 1 June 1995.
  2. ^ "Consolidation de L'autonomie de Sciences Po" Sénat, 1996.
  3. ^ "Le statut juridique de Sciences Po: la dualité FNSP et IEP de Paris" Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po
  4. ^ “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” Sciences Po Website, 2001.
  5. ^ “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” Sciences Po Website, 2001.
  6. ^ “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” Sciences Po Website, 2001.
  7. ^ "La Bibliothèque de Sciences Po", Sciences Po Website, 2007
  8. ^ "IBSS Boosts Coverage of French Social Science Journals", IBSS, 2005.
  9. ^ "Presses de Sciences Po", Sciences Po Website, 21 October 2004.
  10. ^ "Columbia University, LSE and Sciences Po launch Global Public Policy Network", PRNewsWire, 19 September 2005.
  11. ^ "Sciences Po’s Joint Degrees", Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, 21 October 2004.
  12. ^ "Sciences Po ― an elite institution's introspection on its power, position and worth in French society" NYU Department of Journalism, 9 September 2003.

Bibliography

External links

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