At the service of others through civic engagement

As of 2018, Sciences Po requires all of its undergraduate students to participate in the Civic Learning Programme, a compulsory civic engagement over the three years of the Bachelor’s degree. 

The Civic Learning Programme offers undergraduate students the chance to learn and understand citizenship and social responsibility through an experience of engagement outside university walls.

Students choose and define their civic engagement during their first year of study in a letter of commitment, drawing upon their personal affinities, coursework, experiences as well as texts on citizenship distributed at the beginning of the academic year. 

A programme that takes place outside the walls of Sciences Po, the civic engagement leads students to meet people from different backgrounds, working in different sectors: education, employment, environment, justice, health, peace, etc...

Students develop, strengthen and work on their project throughout their three-year degree, completeing a one-month field internship during the summer between their first and second year, and continuing to work individually or collectively during the second and third. Finally, they draft a report, which serves as an essential component of the « Grand Ecrit », the final written exam to obtain the Bachelor’s degree.

This service mission has been created in response to a specific educational objective: to train students through action. Through the realisation of this personal project, students acquire autonomy, a sense of public action, an open mind and the ability to work collectively. They also begin to lay the groundwork of their professional orientation thanks to the discovery of a variety of careers and structures.

« The Civic Learning Programme reflects Sciences Po’s commitment to social responsibility. By bringing students face to face with social reality, our aim is to educate citizens who are guided by the values of solidarity, ethics and justice, and are capable of giving of themselves for others. » - Bénédicte Durand, Dean of the Undergraduate College

More information

• Visit the Sciences Po undergraduate college website