I’m an exchange student in the Reims campus in the academic year of 2023-2024. I think this campus is good for an exchange experience because there are a lot of exchange students and even the french people who come to the grad school don’t live in Reims, so basically everyone on the campus is new to the city and wants to form a bond.
In terms of academic experience, I think Sciences Po system is really controlling. Their attendance policy is really strict and all the classes have an assignment for the week, either a presentation or an evaluation, which makes the semester exhausting since the beginning.
Also, I didn’t like the fact that in some classes there are only presentations made by students and no later explanation by the professor. I don’t like this method because I think the students only focus on preparing their presentation and we don’t really pay attention to the presentation of the other classmates as much as we would pay as if the professor was presenting.
To summarize, I still love some of my classes, but I had higher expectations about Sciences Po’s method, since it’s the best political sciences university in Europe, which made me a little disappointed.

Overall, my educational experience at SP Reims during my Undergraduate included some very positive elements which have the potential to be expanded upon. Other things, of course, need work. I think the professors are generally quite good, with academics, researchers, and practitioners alike. They are generally quite approachable and willing to help their students. Some could use work on explaining concepts more clearly but this came to be done on a face-to-face basis. The courses are also generally quite varied and applicable to those studying at SP. They are quite interesting and stimulating, while also providing necessary tools as part of an undergraduate. I would have, however, demanded that SP provide more education in the fundamentals of an undergraduate degree. This is especially true as many students are from different countries and from different educational backgrounds. Thus, work on fundamental writing capabilities, structuring essays, grasping fundamentals of philosophy, are things that should have been worked on in the first year. I found the exams to be slightly too lenient as they did not really challenge students enough. This was because there were too many MCQs, notes could be brought to some exams, cheating was rampant, essay questions were given before-hand, and not enough factual questions were given. I think that SP has a good reputation with employers globally but more so in France. Students who do well should not have to have their grades brought down to secure the school’s needed average. Nonetheless, a Master program will be needed afterwards. The tuition was of course much too high but what was more infuriating was the fact that not enough aid is given and SP has its own internal taxing system. The staff at SP are generally not helpful at all and exude the typical characteristics of any association for students in France and of French bureaucracy in general. Get ready to fight for your rights and money…I would say that unfortunately the student associations also were not very willing to help. Several interesting clubs, associations, and initiatives which can always be expanded with students’ will! The cafeteria could very be expanded, especially with the amount of tuition that some students pay. I stayed at the CROUS Reims which was generally quite clean, safe, and comfortable. It is possible to make friends and stay at a good rate, but again, you may come at heads with the staff when it comes to paying. Watch out! Demand your CAF money! Finally, French people are hard to socialize with unless you are French or, if you are lucky, speak French fluently. The school does organize events and there are venues in Reims so it is definitely possible. The biggest victory is just securing a group of trusted and fun friends 🙂 Good luck!