Франциядағы Саяси Ғылымдар Институттары

Group of political science universities in France

Instituts d'études politiques , or IEPs, colloqually referred to as Sciences Po, are ten publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix en Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse, and since 2014 Saint Germain en Laye. Their vocation is the study and research of contemporary political science. All students at the IEPs study a curriculum that is highly practical and broad based, focusing on the full range of the social sciences across law, economics, finance, and management. These schools are considered as some of the most selective in France, mainly because they are the place where many political and business leaders are trained. These establishments are more known under the name of Sciences Po. Sciences Po Paris is considered to be the most prestigious of all the IEPs in France, and is the only one allowed to refer to itself with the epithet "Sciences Po" without indicating the name of the city where it is located, under a legal agreement with the other IEPs. Other IEPs can use the term "Sciences Po" to refer to themselves only when followed by the names of the cities where they are located, such as "Sciences Po Lille" or "Sciences Po Grenoble". Other IEPs in France were created after the Paris one, apart from Strasbourg, which was created by the same law but with the status of an internal institute of the Robert Schuman University. According to article 2 of an 18 December 1989 decree, their mission is:
to contribute to the training of higher civil servants as well as executives in the public, para public and private sectors, notably in the State and decentralized communities
to develop the research in political and administrative sciences

The Sciences Po approach and style inspired many universities in France but also abroad. The most famous example the London School of Economics, founded on the model of the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques.

Sciences Po institutes are Grandes Écoles, a French institution of higher education that is separate from, but parallel and connected to the main framework of the French public university system. Similar to the Ivy League in the United States, Oxbridge in the UK, and C9 League in China, Grandes Écoles are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process., unlike French ordinary public universities which "have an obligation to accept all candidates in the same academic field". Alumni go on to occupy elite positions within government, administration, and corporate firms in France. In particular, the Paris IEP ("Sciences Po") has produced at least seven recent French presidents (including the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron), 13 French prime ministers, 12 foreign heads of state or government, and six of the CEO's of France's largest companies. Although they are more expensive than public universities in France, Grandes Écoles typically have much smaller class sizes and student bodies, and many of their programs are taught in English. International internships, study abroad opportunities, and close ties with government and the corporate world are a hallmark of the Grandes Écoles. Many of the top ranked schools in Europe are members of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE), as are the Sciences Po institutions. Degrees from Sciences Po are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles and awarded by the Ministry of National Education (France) .

Every year an inter IEP competition is held, hosted by the hometown of one of the IEPs and attended by participants from all 10 IEPs. The first crit, as it is known colloquially, was created in 1987 by the IEPs of Bordeaux and Toulouse who decided to have a friendly rugby match. This competition takes the form of a 3 day sports event and party, and is held over the last weekend of March, run by the host university's "Sports office". The hosting of an event generally costs about 200,000 euros, funded by the participants, as well as by sponsors and grants. The hosting of the event is rotated between the different IEPs each year.