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Sciences Po is France's premier institute for the study and research of
politics, international relations, and other
related subjects. It is reputed to be continental
Europe's most prestigious institute of its kind and is
internationally recognized as a leading site of higher
learning and research in its discipline.
L'Institut d'études politiques de Paris is the teaching school of Sciences Po, and one of France's grandes écoles. Its alumni are influential
in politics and business primarily in France
and Europe but also around the world.
As of 2004, approximately one third of its student
body was foreign. This abundance of diversity is
largely a result of the academic and administrative
reforms instituted by Sciences Po's current
Director-General, Richard Descoings. These reforms
resulted in a program that encourages foreign study,
interdisciplinary approaches, and hands-on
collaboration with fellow students.
Instructors at the Institute are only rarely full
professors, with that title reserved for a select
few. Instead, most instruction is given by
professionals from various relevant fields, who agree
to teach at the Institute part-time. For instance,
former government ministers, defense industry
leaders, current diplomats, business leaders, and
other career professionals teach during any given
semester. This real-world approach is often cited as a
great strength, especially in France's higher
education system, which is sometimes criticized as too
philosophical and removed from the reality of the
post-academic career.
La Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
is Sciences Po's world-class research institution
dedicated to many domains of political and social sciences.
Areas of excellence include international relations (Centre d'Étude des Relations Internationales - CERI), European contemporary history (Centre Histoire Européenne du Vingtième Siècle - CHEVS), French political life (Centre d'd'Étude de la VIe POlitique Française - CEVIPOF), sociology (Observatoire Sociologique du Changement - OSC; Centre de Sociologie des Organisations - CSO) and political economy (Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Economiques - OFCE; Service d'Etude de l'Activité Economique - SEAE; Groupement d'Économie mondiale - GEM).
The Institute is located in rue Saint-Guillaume in the VIIe arrondissement, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés
neighborhood of the French capital. The nearest
metro stops are Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Rue
du Bac, and Sèvres-Babylone.
History
The name Sciences Po refers to three institutions, l'École Libre des
Sciences Politiques (founded in 1872) and replaced in 1945 by the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (FNSP), a research foundation, which manages the Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP), a teaching school.
1872-1945
Sciences Po was established in 1872 as the École Libre des
Sciences Politiques by a group of intellectuals, politicians and businessmen including Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Paul Leroy Beaulieu, François Guizot, and led by Emile Boutmy. Following the defeat in the 1870 war, the demise of Napoleon III, the Commune, these men sought to introduce new teaching reforms in order to renew the training of French politicians. Academic disciplines were studied from a pragmatic and practical point of view: the teachers included not only famous academics but also practicians: Ministers, High civil servants at the Banque de France, members of the Conseil d'État. New matters such as compared constitutional history were introduced. Sport was compulsory, and an important emphasis was put on the study of contemporary foreign societies.
Since 1945: FNSP and IEP
The École Libre des Sciences Politiques was nationalized by General de Gaulle in 1945. Two entities were created: first, the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (FNSP), a research foundation, with an assigned goal of "assuring the progress and the diffusion, both within and outside France, of political science, economics and sociology"; second, the Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP), the teaching school, administered by the FNSP.
Designed to be the official training ground for the leaders of the French Republic, the Institute has played a very large role in France's political history.
Notable Alumni
The Institute boasts an influential group of alumni, many of whom are distinguished in their careers.
Alumni are active chiefly in governmental, diplomatic, and international and European business circles.
The Institut and the École also boast a number of alumni who have been very influential in the arts and in literature: Marcel Proust or Christian Dior are two of the most famous ones.
Politicians
World
In 2004, at least three Head of states had studied at the Institute: the President of France, Cameroon and Sri Lanka.
- Chandrika Kumaratunga, President of Sri Lanka
- Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations, former Secretary-General of La Francophonie,
- Paul Bremer, former U.S. Civil Administrator in Iraq
- Stéphane Dion, Canadian Minister of the Environment
- Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian Senator
- Michel Camdessus, former IMF chairman
- Nicole Fontaine, former President of the European Parliament
- Simone Veil, former President of the European Parliament
France
In the French 5th Republic, the Prime Minister has almost always hailed from Sciences Po, and the last four of the six Presidents also studied at the Institute.
- Presidents
- Jacques Chirac, French President since 1995
- François Mitterrand, French President (1981-1995) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
- Georges Pompidou, French President(1969-1974) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
- Alain Poher, Interim French President(1969 and 1974) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
Source: http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/gale.htm
- Prime Ministers
- Lionel Jospin, former French Prime Minister (1997-2002)
- Alain Juppé, former French Prime Minister (1994-1997)
- Édouard Balladur, former French Prime Minister (1993-1995)
- Michel Rocard, former French Prime Minister (1988-1991)
- Jacques Chirac, former French Prime Minister (1986-1988)
- Laurent Fabius, former French Prime Minister (1983-1986)
- Raymond Barre, former French Prime Minister (1976-1981)
- Jacques Chirac, former French Prime Minister (1974-1976)
- Jacques Chaban-Delmas, former French Prime Minister (1969-1972) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
- Maurice Couve de Murville, former French Prime Minister (1968-1969) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
- Michel Debré, former French Prime Minister (1959-1962) (École Libre des Sciences Politiques)
Source: http://www.archives.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/jospin_version2/HIST/HISTGVT5.HTM
- Ministers (small selection) - in most French cabinets the utmost majority of ministers have studied at Sciences Po
- Nicolas Sarkozy, former French Minister of the Economy, Finance & Industry (didn't get the degree)
- , former French Minister
- Jack Lang, former French Minister of Culture and Education
- , former French Minister of Interior
-
- Hubert Védrine
Writers
Academics
Culture
Sport
Journalists
Others
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sources: Annuaire des anciens élèves, Sciences-Po and www.sciences-po.fr
See also
External links
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