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Sciences Po Paris

204 298   Arts & Humanities-  Natural Sciences
-  Engineering & IT100  Social Sciences
World Rankings-  Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Source: Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings Copyright © 2009 QS Intelligence Unit
207= -   Arts & Humanities-  Natural Sciences
-  Engineering & IT105  Social Sciences
World Rankings-  Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Source: Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings Copyright © 2009 QS Intelligence Unit
227= 295  Arts & Humanities403  Natural Sciences
470  Engineering & IT149  Social Sciences
World Rankings266  Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Source: Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings Copyright © 2009 QS Intelligence Unit
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World Rankings  
Source: Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings Copyright © 2009 QS Intelligence Unit

Sciences Po: a selective and international university in Social Sciences located in the heart of Paris.

Sciences Po is a full-fledged, self-governing university which enrols overall some 6,500 students, including 2,300 students from abroad, in a variety of programmes. Half of these students pursue a Master's degree programme. In general, instruction at Sciences Po aims to impart an understanding of social sciences principles sufficient to equip its students not only to comprehend but also to have an impact on the world they inherit.

Comparative and cross-disciplinary vantage points are central to a curriculum that strives to comprehend global coherence and conflict, as well as the implications of current social, political, and economic debate. In order to negotiate, to convince and finally to carry decisions, it is fundamental to state the matter clearly, to argue and provide evidence to back up the claims. The educational project of Sciences Po thus rests on the teamwork and the development of the aptitudes for public expression whether in written or oral format by the use of communication and information technology.

For over one hundred years, Sciences Po has been training the best young minds of France and Europe for leadership service. As one of Europe's most distinguished universities, Sciences Po prepares its graduates to take their place in international business, multilateral organizations, positions of public responsibility, and other fields of endeavour.

In a nutshell, the school's goal is to remain able to respond to the demand for increasingly specialized expertise with a broad based yet highly focused professional education. Sciences Po alumni typically distinguish themselves by their ability to seize the essential and to bring a sharpened set of social science skills to bear upon it. Proof of the effectiveness of the Sciences Po approach is found in the wide range of sectors that employ the school's graduates: from business or public administration to research, communications, and media.

Students are drawn to Sciences Po - including increasing numbers (over 30% of the student body) of students from abroad - for its commitments to understanding the contemporary world through a pluridisciplinary grounding in the social sciences. International students in particular stand to benefit not only from solid training in contemporary history and the synthetic core curriculum, but also from Sciences Po's famous method-training seminars and other features of an intensive pedagogical approach.

The undergraduate programme at Sciences Po, known as the premier cycle, is a three year course of study and includes a mandatory year abroad. All students spent the first two years at Sciences Po and the third year abroad, either in a partner university or as an intern.

Sciences Po offers an interdisciplinary education (economics, law, history, sociology, political science) teaching the fundamentals and putting a lot of emphasis on methodology and the international perspective. In a rapidly changing unstable world, qualities such as imagination, invention, innovation and responsiveness to change are essential: Sciences Po encourages intellectual courage, perseverance and the ability to confront challenges.

Sciences Po’s educational project is also based on the development of negotiation, conviction and decision-making abilities: teamwork, effective oral and written expression and the use of information and communication technologies.

Sciences Po’s undergraduate campuses are located in six different cities, five of which have a specific International focus: Paris, Dijon (East European studies within a broader European perspective), Le Havre (Euro-Asia studies), Menton (Middle Eastern and Mediterranean studies), Nancy (Franco-German studies within a broader European perspective) and Poitiers (Latin American, Spain and Portugal studies).

Sciences Po’s undergraduates total around 2,750, including over 800 on the regional campuses. International campuses in Dijon, Le Havre, Menton, Nancy and Poitiers are an integral part of Sciences Po Paris and feature innovative developments in the organization of studies, academic content and format, and an integrated international student body. The five campuses outside of Paris all benefit from common characteristics that give them a connection with the Paris campus: the assertion of a pedagogical and intellectual identity related to the specialization of each geographic area; a community of students with a substantial student body that facilitates teacher-student contact (100 to 200 students per campus); high-quality infrastructures; an international mix: an equal recruitment of French and International students; at least three languages of instruction and teaching; English, French and the language(s) specific to the area of study; an innovative pedagogical space: spring schools, collective projects, etc.; the use of communication technologies: laptops, real-time videoconferences, high-speed internet. The admissions procedure as well as the main disciplines taught are the same as on the Paris campus. After their third year abroad all students enter the master’s programme in Paris.

Beyond the in-class instruction students receive, they are strongly encouraged to be actors of the contemporary world: with more than 60 student organizations, Sciences Po’s campuses provide a unique opportunity to start multiple activities and expand their horizons.

The Undergraduate Exchange programme
This programme is offered to students coming from a partner university only, benefiting thus from an exchange agreement between Sciences Po and their home institution.

In the educational tradition of Sciences Po Paris, the Undergraduate Exchange Programme offers a year of introductory coursework on France and Europe, from an international and comparative perspective drawing on a broad spectrum of social sciences: contemporary history, economics and business, international relations, law, European studies, political science and sociology. The programme allows international students to become familiar with the Institute’s particular educational and methodological approach for which Sciences Po is internationally reputed.

Throughout the year at Sciences Po, special attention is paid to the specific needs of international students focusing on: language instruction, Sciences Po’s specific methodology and familiarizing participants with France and Europe in their historic, economic, political and sociological dimensions. The welcome programme in September and in February also allows students to get to know each other and to adapt to living in France.

Depending on their academic specialties and language abilities, students, in conjunction with their home universities, have the option of constructing a program of study in French, English, or a combination of the two. Both French and international students participate in English speaking courses, facilitating interaction amongst students from different backgrounds. French students taking courses in English should be motivated to connect academically and linguistically with international students, just as international students are inclined to seek out their French counterparts.

Faculty

Number of Faculty Staff Headcount: 2,999 FTE: 1,063

Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning, directing and undertaking teaching only, research only or both teaching and research. Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, principal lecturers, tutors or postdoctoral researchers. Please exclude research assistants*, PhD students who contribute to teaching, and exchange scholars or visiting faculty staff who are members of another university. * The important distinction for us is that staff counted as 'research only' should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to publish research outputs. A research assistant, in our understanding, is any individual who is not doing own research and is therefore not likely to publish own research outputs. Said individual is (only) involved in research in terms of operation execution , such as lab technician or equipment operator.

Number of International Faculty Staff Headcount: 510 FTE: 177

Number of academic faculty staff who are of foreign nationality. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU state. In Hong Kong, this includes professors from Mainland China. Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Number of Inbound Visiting Faculty Staff Headcount: 15 FTE: 8

Number of academic faculty staff contributing to teaching or research at your university in the last 12 months who are visiting from an overseas institution for a minimum period of at least 3 months.
Number of Outbound Visiting Faculty Staff Headcount: 18 FTE: 11

Number of academic faculty staff employed by your institution contributing to teaching or research at an overseas institution in the last 12 months for a minimum period of at least 3 months.

Undergraduate Information

Number of Undergraduate Students Headcount: 3,239 FTE: 3,239

Number of students pursuing a Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate’s degrees.

Number of International Undergraduate Students Headcount: 721 FTE: 721

Number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if the language students take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'undergraduate degree program' they should be included under 'international undergraduate students' . Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.

Number of Inbound Exchange Undergraduate Students Headcount: 720 FTE: 526

Number of undergraduate students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Number of Outbound Exchange Undergraduate Students Headcount: 588 FTE: 588

Number of undergraduate students registered at your institution who have attended another institution abroad for at least 1 semester on an exchange program in the last 12 months.
Average International Undergraduate Fees $ EUR 5,300

Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?

Average Domestic Undergraduate Fees $ EUR 2,420

Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?

Average Undergraduate Class Size Headcount: 19

The average size of class across all undergraduate programs. The term ‘class’ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of first year Undergraduate students Headcount: 1,303 FTE: 1,303

Number of students pursuing a Bachelor's level or equivalent degree in their first year of study. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate's degrees.

Graduate / Postgraduate Information

Number of Graduate / Postgraduate Students Headcount: 3,975 FTE: 3,975

Students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates (e.g. PhD students)
Number of International Graduate/Postgraduate Students Headcount: 1,427 FTE: 1,427

Number of graduate / postgraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if they take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'postgraduate degree program', they should be included under 'international postgraduate students'. Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.

Number of Inbound Exchange Graduate/Postgraduate Students Headcount: 223 FTE: 151

Number of graduate / postgraduate students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Number of Outbound Exchange Graduate/Postgraduate Students Headcount: 27 FTE: 14

Number of postgraduate students registered at your institution who have attended another institution on an exchange program for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Average International Graduate / Postgraduate Fees $ EUR 5,300

Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?

Average Domestic Graduate / Postgraduate Fees $ EUR 2,290

Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?

Average Taught Graduate / Postgraduate Class Size Headcount: 20

The average size of class across all taught graduate / postgraduate programs. The term ‘class’ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of first year Postgraduate students Headcount: 1,664 FTE: 1,664

Number of students pursuing a Master's level or equivalent degree in their first year of study, including both taught and research postgraduates.

Students

Total Students Headcount: 7,547 FTE: 7,547

Total number of students.
Total International Students Headcount: 2,148 FTE: 2,148

Number of students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Total Outbound Exchange Students Headcount: 615 FTE: 538

Total number of students registered at your institution who have attended another institution on an exchange program for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Total Inbound Exchange Students Headcount: 943 FTE: 677

Total number of students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months.
Average International Student Fees $ EUR 5,300

Average tuition fees per year that an international student would be expected to pay for any course
Average Domestic Student Fees $ EUR 2,360

Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for any program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?

Average Class Size Headcount: 20

The average size of class across all programs. The term ‘class’ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars.
Number of Male Students Headcount: 3,186 FTE: 3,186

Number of students who are male out of the total number of students studying at your university
Number of Female Students Headcount: 4,361 FTE: 4,361

Number of students who are female out of the total number of students studying at your university

Graduate Output

Proportion of Graduates Pursuing Further Study Headcount: 100 %

Proportion of graduates from undergraduate programs pursuing further study at your own institution or any other within 6 months after graduation.

Proportion of Graduates Employed Headcount: 88 %

Proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study) in permanent employment within 6 months of graduation
Number of PhDs Awarded Headcount: 61

Total number of PhDs awarded in the last 12 months

Entry Requirements

Avg Entry Requirements Headcount: 4

Please express the average academic achievement entry requirements for your institution. Please convert your domestic requirements to the US Grade Point Average system. The five-point numerical scale is typically correlated with the A-F/A-E quality index. (A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, E or F = 0.0) In our context, a value of 0 will imply to us that your institution has an "open access" admissions policy and will in no way count against your institution in any future table built upon this data. You can use World Education Services (WES) Toolkit as guidline: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp (copy and paste)

Applications

Total Number of Applications Headcount: 11,000

Total number of applications your institution received in the last 12 months for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses

Careers Support

Number of Full-Time Careers Advisors Headcount: 13 FTE: 13

Total number of staff employed by your institution on a full-time basis who are exclusively responsible for career support for your students (undergraduate and/or postgraduate)

Internationalisation

Number of University Collaborations or Partnership Agreements Headcount: 300

Number of universities your institution has collaborations or partnership agreements with. These partnership agreements may include student and teaching exchanges, as well as collaborative research projects, exchange of academic materials and other information, and jointly offered executive development programmes. This includes collaborations at either a university or faculty level. Please also state the names of these institutions in the Submission Notes box.
Main claims to international academic or non-academic excellence

Sciences Po's student body is largely international. Almost half of its students come from abroad. Sciences Po is highly selective and has high standards for its French and International student body. Teaching takes place in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Range of Fees

International non-European fees: €5,150 a year for Undergraduate programmes (2007-2008). Students from the European Union pay tuition according to the household income and ranges from €500 to €5,150 per year (2007-2008).
Many grants.

Basic TOEFL/IELTS requirements

Undergraduate requirements for English taught programmes:
European level B2:
IELTS 6 with no sub-score under 5.5.
TOEFL Internet Based Test (IBT) : 79-80, TOEFL Computer Based Test (CBT) 213 or TOEFL Paper Based Test (PBT) 550

Accommodation

Sciences Po accomodation office offers help for finding accomodation in Paris.

Accommodation Range

€300 - €600 a month.

Finance and Scholarships

French and European students pay according to their family’s income. Tuition ranges from €515 to €5,150 per year for 2007-2008. Students who’s household income is below a certain amount are exempted from tuition and receive a Sciences Po social aid scolarship.
Students with nationalities other then European can ask for the Emile Boutmy scholarship ranging from €5,150 to €11,000 per year.

Entry Requirements

Students having obtained the baccalauréat with an average of over 16,5/20 may ask for an exemption of the exam, if this is not granted they have to sit the entry exam. All others candidates with the Baccalauréat have to sit the entry exam. For International students a GPA of 3,5 or equivalent is the minimum required. All students who apply to Sciences Po are submitted to selection.

Language Support

Intensive French Language courses and welcome programme before start of each term.

Non-English Language Requirements

French Language Undergraduate requirements:
European level B1, corresponding to a score of 300 on the TCF or a DELF B1

  • CDSP (Centre for Socio-Political Data)
  • Centre d'Etudes Européennes (European Studies)
  • Centre d'Histoire de Sciences Po (History)
  • CERI (International Relations)
  • CEVIPOF (Political Sciences)
  • Chair Change in Public Action and Public Law
  • Chair Economic Regulation
  • Chair Health
  • Chair International Finance
  • Chair Mercosur
  • Chair Middle East and Mediterranean studies
  • Chair Security and Defense
  • Chair Sustainable Development
  • CSO ( Sociology of Organisations)
  • Economics
  • Groupe d'Economie Mondiale (International Economics)
  • History
  • International Affairs
  • Law
  • OFCE (Economics)
  • OSC ( Sociology Of Change)
  • Political Sciences
  • Sociology
Bourse Ambassade de France en Australie . 1 available @ EUR 13,000
Scholarships offered to Australian students. €770 per month plus tuition.
Bourse Ambassade de France in Russia . 2 available @ EUR 13,000
Scholarships for russian students admitted in the Sciences Po-MGIMO double degree and Master at Sciences Po. €770 per month plus tuition.
Bourse d'Excellence Eiffel . 50 available @ EUR 1,181
The Eiffel scholarship is awarded by the French government to the best foreign students starting to study in France. Priority is given to students coming from developing countries.
Bourse Emmanuel Imbert . 2 available @ EUR 8,000
Scholarships for Latin American students. Students are awarded €3000 and are exempted from tuition at Sciences Po.
Bourse Fond de Solidarité Afrique . 2 available @ EUR 6,000
Scholarships for African students. Students are awarded €6000 and are exempted from tuition.
Bourse l'Oréal . 2 available @ EUR 5,000
Students receive €5000 euros and are offered an intership at l'Oréal
Bourses Conseil Régional Ile de France . 15 available @ EUR 10,100
This scholarship is available for students from 16 nationalities: South african, argentinian, bresilian, canadian, chilian, hongarian, indian, libanese, madagascarian, malian, morrocan, mauritian, polish, rusian, senegalese and vietnamese. Students must have been admitted to a master degree in France and live abroad before starting to study in France.
Bourses Philippe Habert . 10 available @ EUR 13,000
Stuents receive €8000 and are exempted from tuition at Sciences Po. Scholarship available to students from eastern Europe and Russia.
Emile-Boutmy merit award . 50 available @ EUR 11,000
Merit awards granted by Sciences Po to the best non-European students.
Emile-Boutmy merit award - Tuition . 50 available @ EUR 5,150
Merit awards granted by Sciences Po to the best non-European students.