Discover

(Redirected from Paris Institute of Political Studies)


'Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris' (English: 'Paris Institute of Political Studies'), often referred to as '''Sciences Po''' (pronounced ''see-ahns po''), is a ''Grand Établissement'' in Paris, France. Sciences Po is an elite and highly selective institution: Sciences Po has traditionally educated the French political and diplomatic elite, but its academic focus spans not only the political and economic sciences, but also law, communications, finance, business, urban policy, management, and journalism. Its campus is just off the Seine River, and within walking distance of ''Notre Dame de Paris'', ''Panthéon'', and ''Assemblée Nationale''. It comprises 17th and 18th century mansions located on and around ''rue Saint-Guillaume'' in the ''VIIe arrondissement'' of the Left Bank.

Contents

History of ''Sciences Po''

1872-1945

The situation since 1945

Recent Reforms

Teaching

Premiers Cycles

Master de ''Sciences Po''

Dual Master's degrees currently offered

Doctoral School

Global Public Policy Network

Satellite Campuses

East-European Undergraduate Program

French-German Undergraduate Program

Middle Eastern Undergraduate Program

Ibero-American Undergraduate Program

Research

Research centres

Library (Bibliothèque de Sciences Po)

Publishing House

Notable Faculty & Alumni

Notes

External links

History of ''Sciences Po''

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

★ ''École Libre des Sciences Politiques'' (''ELSP''), which was replaced in 1945 by

★
★ ''Fondation nationale des sciences politiques'' (''FNSP''), a research foundation; and

★
★ ''Institut d'études politiques de Paris'' (''IEP''), a teaching school.

1872-1945

''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, Paul Leroy Beaulieu, and François Guizot. 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.”^[1]
''ELSP'' developed a humanistic and pragmatic teaching program: instructors included academics as well as ministers, high civil servants, and businessmen. New discipines 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 Paris Institute of Political Studies (French: ''Institut d'études politiques de Paris'') 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”¹
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 campusses.
''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 notoriety attained by ''Sciences Po'' research.¹

Recent Reforms

''Sciences Po'' has undergone myriad reforms under Richard Descoings, Director of ''Sciences Po'' (1997-present). ''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, and Menton. ''Sciences Po'' also set the length of its undergradate 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 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 initial controversy it brought up it is now broadely accepted by the French and considered a relative success.

Teaching

Premiers Cycles

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 first three years of study are referred to as the ''premiers cycles'', which focuses on the full-range of the social sciences, particularly public policy, International Relations, economics and political economy, management studies, finance, geography, constitutional and administrative law, philosophy, and sociology. Students generally spend their third year of the ''premier cycle'' abroad, at one of Sciences Po's nearly 300 partner schools around the world. Students are, however, also given the option of spending the year interning for an institution related to their field of study. In addition to academics, ''Sciences Po's curriculum incorporates more practice-oriented skills like teamwork, effective oral communication and presentation skills, and nuturing leadership potential. Sciences Po's student-body is active, with more than seventy student clubs, councils, and organizations.
Instruction is provided by a staff of around 1,400 teachers, a majority of whom are practitioners in their respective fields. Most recently, instructors included former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, current WTO president Pascal Lamy, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French foreign minister Hubert Védrine, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. These instructors are anchored by around 800 tenured professors. As of 2004, approximately one third of the student body was foreign. In recent years, ''Sciences Po'' has adopted a multi-lingual education policy: students are expected to be proficient in at least two foreign languages. More than one-third of classes are provided in languages others than French, including English, Spanish, German, and Italian. Currently, however, fluency in French is required for admission to most ''Sciences Po'' degrees.

Master de ''Sciences Po''

After the three year ''premiers cycles'', ''Sciences Po'' students enroll in their final two years of study, which leads to the ''Diplôme de Sciences Po''. ''Sciences Po'' offers twelve masters degrees for those fluent in French, and two additional masters degrees for those fluent in only English. Forty-five percent of ''Sciences Po'' students re-enroll for the masters degrees, while the remainder of students accepted into the masters degrees have completed undergraduate studies in France and abroad. ''Science-Po's twelve masters degrees taught primarily in French include: International Affairs, French Public Policy, Culture and Media Management, Urban and Regional Studies, Judicial and Legal Careers, Business and Regulation Law (''Droit économique'' in French), Journalism, European Affairs, Finance and Strategy, Communications, Human Resource Management, and social science research. The final two masters degrees, the Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Affairs, are taught solely in English, and generally only accept students with at least two years of work experience and a prior undergraduate degree.

Dual Master's degrees currently offered

Sciences Po students can enroll in specific programs to get the diploma of another university. Currently, Sciences Po offers such programs with Columbia University in New York City, the London School of Economics, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Universität St. Gallen HSG, the Moscow-based MGIMO, the Warsaw School of Economics and the Universita Bocconi in Milan.

Doctoral School

The Doctoral School is headed by Marc Lazar and includes 175 faculty members and 600 doctoral students.

Global Public Policy Network

''Sciences Po'' offers dual master’s degrees with the London School of Economics, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, 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 is meant to foster greater academic collaboration between students, faculty, and research centers of four leading public policy schools in what could arguably be termed four 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, UK, France. and Singapore. This alliance has produced five degree programs with LSE, including masters 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 and a Master in Public Affairs, and one degree program with LKS, a Master in Public Policy.

Satellite Campuses

While all of Sciences Po's graduate programs are taught in Paris, the school has four additional undergraduate campuses in France. As of 2006, a third of the undergraduate student body (or roughly 600 students) were attending classes outside of Paris. Each of the four campuses has its own distinct cultural identity and academic focus. 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 ''premier cycle'', to specialize in a given region. Students who wish to study at either of the four satellite campuses usually need to apply directly to the campus in question, each of which maintain separate admissions policies and procedures from that of Sciences Po's Paris campus. Upon completing their undergraduate studies by spending a year abroad, all students usually move to Paris for their graduate studies (the ''Cycle du diplôme'').
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". "IEP de province" are local political studies programs offered by other French universities. Examples include ''Sciences Po Bordeaux'' or ''Sciences Po Grenoble''. By contrast, Sciences Po Paris' Dijon campus is officially named ''Sciences Po Paris in Dijon''.

East-European Undergraduate Program

The East-European Undergraduate Program is located in Dijon, which is the capital of the Burgundy region of France. The area is renowned for its winemaking and gastronomic heritage. The campus, opened in 2001, recruits students from more than twenty-five nationalities, including Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, and France. This premier cycle initiates students into the challenges of the widened European Union, and Central European politics and history. Courses are taught in English and French, but students must also study at least one Central-European language (either Czech, Hungarian or Polish).

French-German Undergraduate Program

The French-German Undergraduate Program is located in Nancy, which is at the centre of the Lorraine region of France, and maintains close ties to the German-speaking world given its proximity to the German border. Strasbourg and the European Parliament are also located nearby. This premier cycle focuses on the history of Franco-German relations, and its relevance for the future integration of the European continent. The main languages of instruction on campus are English, German, and French, and the student body is primarily made up of students from France and German-speaking countries.

Middle Eastern Undergraduate Program

The Middle Eastern Undergraduate Program is located in Menton, a town on the French Riviera minutes from Monaco and the Italian border. This premier cycle gathers students from North Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Israel, and all European nations. In particular, it focuses on the study of relationships between the northern and southern sides of the Mediterranean, as well as the analysis of the links between Europe and the Middle East. Courses are taught in French, English, and Arabic.

Ibero-American Undergraduate Program

The Ibero-American Undergraduate Program is located in Poitiers, a small city in western France. This premier cycle 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.

Research

Research centres

''FNSP'' manages the research faculty and facilities of ''Sciences Po'', and is one of the largest social sciences research bodies in Europe. ''FNSP'' manages research centres, a doctoral school, a library and a publishing house. The FNSP manages eight research centres (
★ five jointly with CNRS). The foundation of ''Sciences Po'' predates by a few decades the creation of political science, as such the Institute focuses on all the social sciences that study the political field.

★ History

★
★ ''Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po''

★ Sociology

★
★ OSC (''Observatoire sociologique du changement'')
★

★
★ CSO (''Centre de Sociologie des organisations'')
★

★ Economics, including economic policy

★
★ GEM (''Groupe d'économie mondiale'')

★
★ OFCE (''Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques'')

★ International Relations

★
★ CERI (''Centre d’études et de recherches internationales'')
★

★ Political Science in France and Europe

★
★ CEVIPOF (''Centre d’étude de la vie politique française'')
★

★
★ OIP (''Observatoire interrégional du politique'')
★

Library (Bibliothèque de Sciences Po)

Founded in 1871, the nucleus of the school’s research is ''Bibliothèque de Sciences Po'', which houses 650,000 books about social sciences and 4,500 journals and annual publications. The ''Bibliothèque'' is also the hub of the Documentary Service which maintains 18,000 press dossiers on a wide range of sub-topics, and which each years abstracts and indexes some 10,000 articles from 1,200 periodicals each year. 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.

Publishing House

''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 publishes 6 French academic journals in the social sciences, and has 900 titles in its catalogue, with 30 new titles added annually.

Notable Faculty & Alumni

:''See List of Sciences Po People''
''Sciences Po'' alumni and former staff include twenty-eight heads of state or government, specifically the two immediate past French presidents (Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand), thirteen past or present French prime ministers, twelve past or present foreign heads of state or government, and a former United Nations Secretary-General. Nearly every French politician or diplomat has attended ''Sciences Po'' since its inception; however the school has also educated fourteen current CEOs of France's forty largest companies. Graduates of ''Sciences Po'' are usually referred to as ''Sciences Po''. Some French students further their studies at École nationale d'administration (ENA), which is often viewed as the compulsory educational step before serving in French politics or diplomacy. The vast majority of teachers and professors working in Sciences Po are alumni.

Notes

1. “Sciences Po 1945-1979” ''Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po''

# "LSE: A History of the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1895-1995", ''Oxford University Press'', June 1, 1995.
# "Consolidation de L'autonomie de Sciences Po" ''Sénat'', 1996.
# "Le statut juridique de Sciences Po: la dualité FNSP et IEP de Paris" ''Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po''
# “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” ''Sciences Po Website'', 2001.
# “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” ''Sciences Po Website'', 2001.
# “Sciences Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences Po” ''Sciences Po Website'', 2001.
# "La Bibliothèque de Sciences Po", ''Sciences Po Website'', 2007
# "IBSS Boosts Coverage of French Social Science Journals", ''IBSS'', 2005.
# "Presses de Sciences Po", ''Sciences Po Website'', October 21, 2004.
# "Columbia University, LSE and Sciences Po launch Global Public Policy Network", ''PRNewsWire'', September 19, 2005.
# "Sciences Po’s Joint Degrees", ''Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs'', October 21, 2004.
# "Sciences Po ― an elite institution's introspection on its power, position and worth in French society" ''NYU Department of Journalism'', September 09, 2003.

External links

★ Sciences Po (FNSP and IEP Paris) official English-version website

★ Sciences Po USA Alumni Association

★ Sciences Po: A Brief History

★ Sciences Po MBA

★ Sciences Po MPA

★ Sixtieth Anniversary of Sciences Po's Refoundation

★ Sciences Po (located Rue Saint-Guillaume) on Google Maps