Sciences Po Aix is renowned on a national level for its law studies as well as its defense, geopolitics and international security programs.[6]
History
Sciences Po Aix was established in 1956 by jurist and law professor Paul de Geouffre de La Pradelle. The school is the direct heir of the École Libre des Sciences Politiques, created by Émile Boutmy in 1872 in response to a need for political stability following the fall of the Second Empire and the birth of the new French Third Republic in 1870.
Sciences Po institutes are Grandes Écoles, French institutions of higher education that are 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, or C9 League in China, Grandes Écoles are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process.[10][11][12] The selection rates at these schools are often under 10%.[13] Former students frequently go on to occupy elite positions within the government, public administration, and corporate firms in France.[14][15]
Although these institutes 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.[16][17] Degrees from Sciences Po are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles[18] and awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (French: Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche).[19]
The institute is modeled on the former École Libre des Sciences Politiques, and as such, Sciences Po specializes in political science, but uses an interdisciplinary approach to education that provides student generalists with the high level of grounding in skills that they need in History, Law, Economic Sciences, Sociology, Political science and International relations, enriched by specialization in years 4 and 5, after a 3rd year either on a professional placement in France or overseas or alternatively studying at a foreign university. The third year of the curriculum is a year of mobility abroad, and students have the choice, they can spend two semesters in a foreign university, one semester in a university and one semester internship or they also have the opportunity to spend two semesters as a trainee. The academic course lasts five years, and it is a three-year undergraduate programme and a two-year graduate programme and the primary diploma is a master's degree.
The directors of Sciences Po Aix are elected for a five-year term by the executive board of the school. Some members of this board are elected such as students, teachers, and staff representatives. The executive board votes about pedagogical and administrative orientations but also on the reforms proposed by the director, the budget of the school as well as the conventions signed with foreign universities.
Notable alumni
Many top-tier politicians were students at Sciences Po Aix:
In addition to the politicians, there are also some alumni of Sciences Po Aix that have occupied major positions in the culture, the state administration and also the business world.
Bruno Étienne, anthropologist and sociologist, former professor at Sciences Po Aix
José Frèches, French writer, former advisor of Jacques Chirac when he occupied the position of Prime Minister
^(in French)Communiqué de presse de l'IEP d'Aix-en-Provence, « Christine Lagarde succède à Philippe Séguin à la tête du CA de Sciences Po Aix» "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Monique de Saint-Martin, « Les recherches sociologiques sur les grandes écoles : de la reproduction à la recherche de justice », Éducation et sociétés 1/2008 (No. 21), p. 95-103. lire en ligne sur Cairn.info