Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (SciencesPo)

Sciences Po is an international research university, both selective and open onto the world, ranking among the finest institutions in the fields of humanities and social sciences.

Identity

Sciences Po stands out for combining approaches and confronting different worldviews. This tradition of diversity and multidisciplinary approach makes Sciences Po an active participant in public debate,  a forum where thought meets action.

Education to Foster Responsibility 

Sciences Po's overarching mission is to educate future leaders in the public and private sectors. However, its ambition extends even further: to educate open-minded and enlightened citizens capable of changing the world and transforming society.

A University with an International Outlook

Sciences Po's international dimension was established in  its founding documents.
Driven forward by this vocation for nearly 150 years, today Sciences Po stands out as a world-class university: internationally-recognised degrees and research, a multicultural community and a worldwide network of partners.

Fundamental Education and Professional Focus

At Sciences Po, the finest researchers in the social sciences engage in continual dialogue with the greatest practitioners. With an academic community of more than 4,000 academics including 2,400 practitioners, the knowledge we transmit to students is nurtured by innovative research and rooted in reality.

A Selective and Diverse University

Sciences Po recruits its students on the basis of academic excellence. Nevertheless, it was one of the first institutions of higher learning to have fully assumed its social responsibilities by promoting intellectual, geographic and social diversity in its student body. Open to all talents, Sciences Po recruits students in nearly 150 countries and provides financial support to 26% of its student body.

Research to Understand the World

Sciences Po is a research university in the social sciences, internationally recognised for the quality of its scientific output. Developed with a strong focus on society, research conducted at Sciences Po enriches public debate.

An Institution in Motion and a Driver for Innovation

Since it was founded nearly 150 years ago, Sciences Po has never stopped reinventing itself. More than anything, Sciences Po today is a place where new ideas can be put forward and implemented. Educational methods, academic openness, inventive tools: this flair for innovation is one of our trademarks.

Social Responsibility

Sciences Po has served the general interest ever since its founding. This social responsibility influences all of our activities: student recruitment, education, research and institutional governance.

Social and Geographic Diversity

The proportion of students benefiting from financial support has grown fourfold over the past decade. Today, 26% of students receive grants and other support on the basis of social criteria. This rate exceeds most other selective institutions of higher learning.

This achievement is the result of a proactive financial support policy combined with the Equal Opportunity and Diversity programme. This specific path to admission concerns more than 100 secondary schools located in underprivileged areas throughout France. Today, this social diversity goes hand in hand with geographic diversity: in September 2018, first-year students at the Sciences Po Undergraduate College came from 1,585 secondary schools .

International Diversity

Sciences Po’s student body brings together 14,000 students, half of whom are international. In 2018, students accepted to Sciences Po represented 150 nationalities.
To attract the best students from all over the world, every year Sciences Po awards 200 Émile Boutmy excellence scholarships, named after the founder of Sciences Po (learn more about the Emile Boutmy Scholarship. Watch the video).

Openness to People with Disabilities

For many years, Sciences Po has been committed to welcoming and integrating students, faculty members and staff with disabilities. In 2013, this commitment led to the signing of the Letter of Commitment on Accessibility, which outlines the following shared objectives:

• make workplaces and teaching establishments more accessible,
• increase access to educational resources and technology,
• raise awareness of disabilities among students, faculty members and staff,
• provide resources to neutralise the effects of disabilities.

Gender equality

Sciences Po is committed to promoting true gender equality among all of the institution's stakeholders.
On 18 June 2015, Sciences Po President Frédéric Mion joined UN Women’s HeForShe solidarity movement as an IMPACT 10x10x10 champion, making Sciences Po one of 10 universities around the world committing to take bold, game-changing action to achieve gender equality within and beyond their institutions.

The field of higher education and research is not immune from sexual harassment: through its Guidelines for dealing with sexual harassment (pdf, 562 Ko), Sciences Po provides its different stakeholders with information on sexual harassment and sexual violence. The sexual harassment monitoring unit also offers support to victims and witnesses of misconduct, with a commitment to putting an end to such behaviour.