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Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris

Encyclopedia : I : IN : INS : Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris

For use of the name Sciences-Po, see Use of Sciences-Po.
For other Institut d'Etudes Politiques, see IEP.

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. It is comprised of 17th and 18th century mansions located on and around rue Saint-Guillaume in the VIIe arrondissement of the Left Bank. Its campus is just off the Seine River, and within walking distance of Notre Dame de Paris, Panthéon, and Assemblée Nationale.

Contents

History of Sciences-Po

The name Sciences-Po refers to three distinct, yet complementary institutions: 
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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 Emile 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.” [#endnote_purpose]

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.[#endnote_Dahrendorf]

Students in 1960s
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Students in 1960s

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.[#endnote_1945ordinance] 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”[#endnote_purpose]

The epithet Sciences-Po was applied to both entities, which inherited the reputation previously vested in ELSP.[#endnote_duality] 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.

FNSP further strengthened its role as a scientific publication center with significant donations from the Rockefeller Center. 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.[#endnote_purpose]

Recent Reforms

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

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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.[#endnote_NYUsource] 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, though it remains highly controversial.

Teaching

Method of Instruction

Sciences-Po's curriculum focuses on the full-range of the social sciences, including public policy, international relations, contemporary (modern) history, economics, finance, geography, constitutional and administrative law, philosophy, management, and sociology. Students are given the opportunity to specialize in a social science discipline in their final two years of the five-year program, which leads to the Diplôme de Sciences-Po. 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 Dominique de Villepin, Pascal Lamy, 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.

Language policy

In recent years Sciences Po adopted a multi-lingual education policy: graduation candidates are expected to be proficient in two foreign languages. Some classes are provided in languages others than French (English, Spanish, German, Italian). Currently, a good knowledge of French is required for admission. However, Sciences Po has introduced, as of 2006, an English as well as a bilingual program in addition to its traditional French program, in order to remain competitive at the world stage.

Research

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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.

Research centres

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.

Doctoral School

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

Library (Bibliothèque de Sciences-Po)

Founded in 1871, the nucleus of the school’s research is Bibliothèque de Sciences-Po, which houses a million-volume collection of works in the social sciences. The Bibliothèque is also the hub of the Documentary Service which maintains 16,000 press dossiers on a wide range of sub-topics, and which each years abstracts and indexes some 21,000 articles from 9,500 periodicals each year.[#endnote_Sciences-Po-Paris] 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.[#endnote_Sciences-Po-Paris] 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.[#endnote_IBSS]

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.[#endnote_Presses] It publishes 6 French academic journals in the social sciences, and has 900 titles in its catalogue, with 30 new titles added annually.

Global Public Policy Network

Sciences-Po offers dual master’s degrees with the London School of Economics and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. 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 three leading public policy schools in what could arguably be termed the three world capital cities.[#endnote_GPPN] 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, and France. 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 and two degree programs with Columbia, specifically a Masters of International Affairs and a Masters of Public Affairs.[#endnote_joint-degrees]

Notable Faculty & Alumni

See List of Sciences Po People
Sciences-Po alumni and former staff include twenty-eight heads of state or government, specifically three past or present French presidents, 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 CEO's of France's forty largest companies. Graduates of Sciences-Po are usually referred to as Sciences-Po but may be referred to as sciences-potistes or sciences-potiches. 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.

Notes

  1. ↑  “Sciences-Po 1945-1979” [Centre d’histoire de Sciences-Po]
  2. ↑  “Sciences-Po 1945-1979” [Centre d’histoire de Sciences-Po]
  3. ↑  “Sciences-Po 1945-1979” [Centre d’histoire de Sciences-Po]
  4. ↑  "LSE: A History of the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1895-1995", Oxford University Press, June 1, 1995.
  5. ↑  "Consolidation de L'autonomie de Sciences-Po" [Sénat], 1996.
  6. ↑  "Le statut juridique de Sciences-Po: la dualité FNSP et IEP de Paris" [Centre d’histoire de Sciences-Po]
  7. ↑  “Sciences-Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences-Po” [Sciences-Po Website], 2001.
  8. ↑  “Sciences-Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences-Po” [Sciences-Po Website], 2001.
  9. ↑  “Sciences-Po Paris Overview: Introducing Sciences-Po” [Sciences-Po Website], 2001.
  10. ↑  "IBSS Boosts Coverage of French Social Science Journals", [IBSS], 2005.
  11. ↑  "Presses de Sciences-Po", [Sciences-Po Website], October 21, 2004.
  12. ↑  "Columbia University, LSE and Sciences-Po launch Global Public Policy Network", PRNewsWire, September 19, 2005.
  13. ↑  "Sciences-Po’s Joint Degrees", [Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs], October 21, 2004.
  14. ↑  "Sciences-Po ― an elite institution's introspection on its power, position and worth in French society" [NYU Department of Journalism], September 09, 2003.

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