Sciences Po

Sciences Po teaches the social sciences and little else, and it teaches them to people heading for government, journalism, international organisations and consulting. Its master's programmes are widely available in English and its undergraduate college sends students abroad for the third year as a matter of course.

Fees are income-assessed for students from the European Union and flat for everyone else, so ask for the figure that applies to you before comparing it with anywhere else.

Sciences Po specialises in the social sciences and selects on a written application read closely for intellectual direction, so the file matters here more than at a university admitting on marks alone.

• Completed Class 12 from a recognised board for undergraduate entry, with strong results across the humanities and social science subjects and evidence of wider reading and engagement.
• A written application that carries real weight — motivation essays and written responses are assessed on argument and clarity, not treated as a formality, and an interview follows for shortlisted undergraduate candidates.
• A recognised bachelor's degree for master's entry, from any discipline for several programmes, with the motivation letter explaining the move into social sciences where the background is different.
• Language evidence: English for the English-taught programmes, of which there are many at master's level, and French where a programme or campus requires it. Undergraduate study normally involves French as well, even on bilingual tracks.
• Complete transcripts, certificates, a CV and academic references, with relevant work, internship or civic experience counting at master's level.

Undergraduate study here includes a compulsory year abroad and, for some programmes, study at one of the regional campuses rather than Paris. Confirm which campus and which language track your application is for.

Sciences Po's fee structure is unusual among French public institutions and needs explaining rather than compared, because it charges by assessed household income for students from the European Union while applying a flat rate to students from outside it.

• Income-assessed fees for EU students. Sciences Po places EU students into fee brackets based on assessed household income, so two students on the same programme can pay very differently. This is a genuine structural feature of the institution.
• Students from outside the EU, including from India, are charged a flat rate by level of study rather than being income-assessed, so the bracket system does not apply to you and the applicable figure is the published non-EU rate.
• The rate differs between undergraduate and master's study, and some professional and dual-degree master's programmes are priced separately again.
• Dual degrees with partner universities involve the partner's fees for part of the programme, which can change the total substantially depending on where the partner is.
• The compulsory undergraduate third year abroad has its own cost implications, which depend on the destination.
• A separate annual student and campus life contribution is payable, and proof of funds at a nationally set level is required for the visa.

Work from the published non-EU rate for your level and programme for your year of entry, and factor in the year abroad or the partner institution where those apply. Ask us to confirm the current position before you commit.

Sciences Po runs its own support alongside the national French programmes, and because the institution is fee-charging in a way most French public universities are not, its own awards matter more here.

• Institutional scholarships for international students, assessed on the strength of the application and in some cases on financial need, applied for alongside or shortly after admission.
• The income-based fee system itself for EU students, which functions as the main form of fee relief for that group but does not extend to non-EU applicants — worth understanding so you are not planning around it.
• French government scholarship programmes, administered nationally and through the diplomatic network, applied for well before the institution's own deadlines.
• Programme and dual-degree specific awards, attached to particular master's programmes or to a partnership.
• Doctoral funding, arranged through the doctoral school and normally in the form of a contract rather than a student award.

The institutional scholarship rounds are tied to the admission timetable and several close before decisions are released. Prepare the funding application in parallel with the admission file rather than waiting for an offer.

The main site is in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, around the rue Saint-Guillaume, a set of buildings in the middle of the city rather than a campus, with regional campuses elsewhere in France for parts of the undergraduate programme.

• Teaching is discussion-driven. Small seminar groups, presentations and heavy reading are the normal format, and participation is assessed, which is a real adjustment for students used to lecture-and-exam teaching.
• The student body is unusually international for a French institution, and the social sciences focus means politics, debate and student associations are central rather than peripheral.
• Regional campuses shape the undergraduate experience — several are organised around a world region and a language, and studying at one is a different, smaller-town experience from Paris.
• The compulsory year abroad in the undergraduate programme means your cohort disperses and reassembles, which is a defining feature of the degree.
• Proximity to French public life — ministries, institutions, media and think tanks are in walking distance of the Paris site, and guest lectures and internships draw on that directly.
• Accommodation is not provided at scale in Paris. The national student services body allocates subsidised rooms by application, and the private market in central Paris is expensive and competitive.

Start looking for housing as soon as you have an offer, and ask which campus your first years will actually be on before you look anywhere.