International programme with quality content. Flexible to tailor around personal interests. Most classes include practical tasks. Courses tend to be more general about the topics and not very in-depth.

My experience at Sciences Po was definitely one for the books. I not only gained great career prospects due to my master’s but also spent the time of my life in a beautiful city such as Paris. In my opinion, the greatest strength of Sciences Po from an academic perspective is its network of professors, who all have experience working in the most influential international development institutions, so you really get a real insider’s look into what it’s like to work for the UN, World Bank, OECD, and many other places. Your lessons in the classroom are supplemented by great professional opportunities, which I think is also one of Sciences Po’s core advantages over other universities. Through the school’s alumni network you can have access to plenty of internships that are competitive, and they can often lead to a job afterwards. On top of all of this, it’s great to be a student in Paris, and you’ll never run out of things to do, especially with friends who come from all over the world since Sciences Po is a very international university. These kinds of different cultural insights are definitely an asset when you’re studying a topic such as international development. Overall, I would say that Sciences Po has been a great experience.

I studied at Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs for a Master’s in International Development. Overall it was a great program with diverse offerings of courses that shape truly international and multi-faceted professionals. Courses are thought by professionals and academics who are experts in their fields and offer practical insights into working in international development. It was thoroughly enjoyable interacting with students of varied backgrounds, experiences, and nationalities; and becoming integrated into a lifetime network of a Sciences Po Alumni is added value.

I spent my whole academic experience in Sciences Po (except for one exchange year) and I will be talking about both bachelor’s and master’s without making any distinction. ____In my opinion Sciences Po is a very good university, often not because of the high quality of the academics but in the tools it leaves you with, if you are able to exploit your time there appropriately. ____Yes, Sciences Po is prestigious in the sense that you have a good chance of having high-profile personalities as professors and of getting chances to see the world leaders at conferences. However, this does not mean that all of them will teach you well. Most of the time, those classes are the ones where you will want to learn about the experience rather than getting any academic knowledge. ____In fact, because of the width of subjects touched, classes tend to remain on the surface and very often you leave the classe without having the impression to really have learned something new and useful that will stick. The amount of work in total is quite overwhelming and definitely tries your organizational skills. ____Experience and practical thinking, readiness and getting used to tight deadlines are most definitely what Sciences Po will definitely give you. You will not be able to understand the whole history of political science as an academic package but when you start working you will find that your experience in Sciences Po left you with a deep understanding of relations, a sense of teamwork and a rapidity in thinking and getting things done that you would not have gotten by studying theory of politics for three years (if you were able to see and exploit the pertinent situations in your favor of course). Of course that will be your gap: if you did not fill it on your own, you will be less prepared in terms of academic knowledge. ____Associational life on campuses is very rich and my advice would be to really get into it as it is an integral part of the bachelor’s years. It is very intense and really helps to develop some fundamental relational and sometimes technical skills.____In conclusion, while in terms of knowledge and conventional university learning acquired you might find yourself frustrated at the end of your time at Sciences Po, you will also find that it gave you some skills that are not only useful to you but are also quite required in any job.

While Sciences Po markets itself as an “elite” institution attracting the best and the brightest from within France and around the world, the university’s reputation (particularly in Anglophone countries) remains somewhat obscure. As an American, I have often had to explain to people in the U.S. what Sciences Po is and why I chose to study here.____Overall, I have had some fantastic professors; the professional networks available to students (and opportunities to see interesting, accomplished people speak at events) parallel those at similar and peer academic institutions (i.e., LSE, Columbia). My classmates both in development and from other programs (international public management, security, human rights and humanitarian action) are wonderful, inquisitive, globally-minded students.____That being said, the quality of the teaching is extremely inconsistent; some classes seem to rely more on the prestige of the professor, rather than the actual ability to teach, to draw students in; others are merely a series of in-class presentations by students themselves with very little guidance or contribution made by the professor at all.____Additionally, the programs at PSIA, the school of international affairs, are structured more like a condensed Bachelors (7-8 classes per semester) than a focused Masters. This makes it difficult to feel as if you have “mastered’ anything.____Similarly, grading can be an absolute joke; everything is on a curve and then the administration “adjusts” (deflates) grades further, ostensibly to maintain the university’s reputation as an elite institution. Professors do not always provide detailed feedback (or even rubrics) as to how or why they graded assignments (papers, presentations) in a certain way; students are often left with a feeling that grading is highly arbitrary, unstructured, and unproductive for learning from their mistakes.____In order to truly compete with institutions like LSE, Columbia, and other universities with whom Sciences Po has partnerships or wishes to, the administration should update its services (libraries, international student affairs, careers resources), work to generate consistent quality across classes and professors, and institute mechanisms to professionalize communications with students and promote better learning (more transparent grading, enhanced feedback).

I liked their flexibility about customizing your own academic career (ex. Choice of classes, thematic and regional concentrations, languages, gap year etc). I did not like the registration process, because sometimes it can destroy all the career plan you envisioned, which can limit the abovementioned pro on flexibility. __The facilities need great improvement (they are planning on moving to another customized campus in few years). Poor psychological assistance. __Professors are excellent and in general very available. Class attendance is compulsory and the pressure is very high throughout the whole semester. However, you end up having a lot of knowledge and having taken a lot of classes (up to 9 per semester), which increase your expertise by far. I found myself prepared (in terms of skills) for the job market after only one year of master.__Good financial assistance to unprivileged students. However, Paris is a difficult city to live as a foreigner and it is very expensive. There is need to improve assistance to decent housing for students.