Sciences Po–Columbia University

Sciences Po–Columbia University
Name	Sciences Po–Columbia University
Established	2001
Type	Dual-degree program
Locations	Paris, New York City
Affiliations	Institut d'études politiques de Paris; Columbia University

Contents

Sciences Po–Columbia University. Sciences Po–Columbia University is a dual-degree international program linking Institut d'études politiques de Paris and Columbia University, offering coordinated study in Paris and New York City with professional pathways through links to Élysée Palace, United Nations Headquarters, European Commission, Brookings Institution, and World Bank. The program integrates curricula influenced by traditions at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Harvard University, Yale University, London School of Economics, and networks including Fulbright Program, Erasmus Programme, and Benelux partnerships. Students navigate academic tracks shaped by faculty from Sciences Po, Columbia Law School, Columbia Business School, Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs, and visiting scholars from Princeton University, Stanford University, and New York University.

Overview

Founded as a transatlantic collaboration, the program confers degrees from both Institut d'études politiques de Paris and Columbia University and emphasizes policy, international affairs, and multidisciplinary analysis involving actors such as NATO, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, African Union, International Monetary Fund, and ASEAN. The structure combines campus residencies in Paris, New York City, and exchange options with partners like Sciences Po Bordeaux, Columbia Engineering, King's College London, Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Università di Bologna. Core instruction engages case studies referencing events like the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Arab Spring, Global Financial Crisis of 2008, Brexit, and institutions including Council of Europe and European Central Bank.

The initiative emerged amid early-21st-century expansions of transnational higher-education links involving Jacques Chirac, Colin Powell, Lionel Jospin, Rudy Giuliani, and policymakers from European Union delegations, formalized through agreements modeled on exchanges such as Erasmus Mundus and collaborations like Maison Française networks. Early cohorts included students who interned at International Criminal Court, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Human Rights Watch, and think tanks including Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Council on Foreign Relations. Over time the program responded to global shifts highlighted by the Iraq War, SARS epidemic, Paris Agreement, and institutional reforms at Columbia College and Sciences Po Paris.

The curriculum blends undergraduate and graduate-level seminars, language training, and practicum courses drawing on syllabi from Columbia Law School, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, École Polytechnique, Sciences Po Law School, and visiting modules from Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Beijing Normal University. Concentrations reference policy domains involving United Nations Security Council case studies, development projects with United States Agency for International Development, climate modules tied to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and comparative courses on constitutions like those of United States Constitution and French Constitution of 1958. Pedagogy emphasizes capstone projects supervised by faculty with prior appointments at Brookings Institution, London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia Business School, and Sciences Po Department of Political Science.

Admissions are competitive, attracting applicants with profiles from secondary institutions such as Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Stuyvesant High School, École Normale Supérieure, Bronx High School of Science, and international applicants tied to programs like International Baccalaureate, French Baccalauréat, A-Levels, and SAT. Students matriculate from countries represented in delegations to United Nations General Assembly, from regions including Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Middle East, and frequently hold internships at institutions like Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey & Company. Recruitment leverages alumni networks connected to World Economic Forum, Atlantic Council, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and U.S. State Department.

Instruction takes place at campuses in central Paris facilities near Île de la Cité and in Manhattan at locations adjacent to Morningside Heights and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, with access to libraries such as Bibliothèque nationale de France, Butler Library, and archives including National Archives (France) and New York Public Library. Students use seminar rooms once hosted by delegations from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and attend lectures in venues frequented by figures from European Council, World Trade Organization, and International Atomic Energy Agency. Residential arrangements include college houses resembling Maison des étudiants étrangers and dormitories near Rue des Écoles and Amsterdam Avenue.

Research collaborations span institutes including Sciences Po Centre d'études européennes, Columbia Global Centers, Institut français, French Institute for International Relations, Center for European Studies at Harvard, Brookings Institution, and laboratories affiliated with École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Max Planck Society, and National Science Foundation. Joint projects address crises like the European sovereign debt crisis, pandemics exemplified by COVID-19 pandemic, climate policy under the Paris Agreement, and migration debates tied to Schengen Area dynamics, producing working papers presented at venues such as World Bank Group seminars and conferences at UNESCO.

Category:Joint academic programs