Undergraduate International Admissions: dispensation procedure

Do I need to apply for a dispensation? 

If you are currently preparing a non-French secondary school diploma for the first time, you may apply directly on our platform, without requesting a dispensation.

If you are in an education system with an academic year starting in January/February and ending in November/December and will graduate/have graduated in late 2026, you may apply directly on our platform, without requesting a dispensation.

However, if you graduated prior to November 2026, you have to request a dispensation.

To do so, you may fill out the form providing your diploma, graduation year and documenting your activities since graduation. Sciences Po reserves the right to grant your dispensation or not, depending on whether dispensation criteria are met.

Dispensations are typically granted if: 

• Candidates obtained their diploma no earlier than October 2025 and have continuously dedicated their time since to a structured, relevant activity (e.g., at least 20h+/week of work experience/internships, formal volunteering such as a Sozialjahr in Germany, full-time language courses at an académie française, mandatory military or civilian service, a foundation year without enrollment in a Bachelor’s programme etc.) or if they were unable to apply during the prior year due to serious health reasons (e.g. chemiotherapy). 
• Informal travel, undocumented activity, SAT preparation etc. are not eligible motives for a dispensation.

NB : Candidates subjected to mandatory military service with no possibility to postpone service past higher education (e.g. Singapore, Israel) may apply to start during the year immediately after their military service, In order to be granted, your dispensation request must meet all of the following criteria:

In order to be granted, your dispensation request must meet all of the following criteria:

• you have not been enrolled in a degree-granting higher education programme (such as a Bachelor’s degree or an Associate’s degree at another university) since graduating from secondary school (high school). This includes institutions offering preparatory classes for Sciences Po admission procedure. (However, foreign language classes dispensed by a university or summer schools are not a reason for exclusion.)
• In case of a gap year, you need to be able to justify your activities during the entire year, such as an internship, job, military or civilian/civic service (e.g. Zivildienst), humanitarian missions, etc. by providing proof of relevant activities during the full academic year, for example a job or internship certificate, a certificate of volunteer activities, etc. For each element, the number of hours per week must be specified. 

Please note that any dispensation request without supporting documents will not be considered. 

How to request a dispensation

The deadline to request a dispensation for the 2027 admissions procedure (fall 2027 intake) is 14 February 2027. Past this deadline we cannot guarantee your dispensation request will be processed. 

Please ensure you meet all the eligibility criteria listed above.

• Fill out the dispensation request form and enclose all supporting documentation (secondary school diploma, work certificates, confirmation of military conscription, etc.). Otherwise, your request risks being rejected.
• Requests sent in solely by email will not be taken into account. 
• Supporting documents must be provided, if applicable, with a translation in French or English. 

Please note