Sciences Po is a redirect to this article. For other meanings, see Sciences Po (disambiguation).
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris (IEP de Paris) (German: Institut für politische Studien Paris), usually called Sciences Po, is a grand établissement with headquarters in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Together with the Collège de France or the elite École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), the Institute enjoys the highest academic prestige of all higher education institutions in France due to its administrative status.
In the QS World University Ranking, Sciences Po ranked 2nd in the world in Political Science and International Studies in 2021. The university thus ranks directly behind Harvard and ahead of the University of Oxford. Sciences Po accepts less than 10 percent of all applicants.
Founded by Émile Boutmy in 1872, the private École libre des sciences politiques was nationalized in 1945 and divided into the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (IEP) and the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques (FNSP). After the Second World War and until the 1990s, the newly created institute mainly prepared students for the concours (entrance exams) to the main administrative universities in France, in particular the École nationale d'administration (ENA). In fact, a large proportion of ENA students come from the Paris IEP. For example, in 2008, of the 80 applicants accepted, 62 had previously undergone training at Sciences Po. As a result, France's political elite consists almost exclusively of graduates from the IEP.
However, mainly due to the reforms introduced under the now deceased director Richard Descoings, the academic focus today is much broader and includes not only political science, but also, for example, law, economics, finance, marketing, communication, urbanism/urban planning, management or journalism. Accordingly, over 80% of graduates today turn to the private sector after graduation. In fact, most members of France's business elites, such as the CEOs of major corporations, also attended Sciences Po for at least a few years, as a Sciences Po degree was often considered a ticket to more elite schools in France. Today, however, study at the Paris IEP is a well-rounded course of five years that ends with a master's degree - not least because of the introduction of a compulsory year abroad in the 5th and 6th semesters and a compulsory internship of usually six months in the last two years of study.
