Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (BASC)

Introduced as of the 2020-2021 academic year, Sciences Po now offers an interdisciplinary dual Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences. The degree is taught in partnership with three institutions of higher education in the sciences.

Upon completion of four years of study, including one year spent abroad, students are jointly awarded a Bachelor of Science from the partner university and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (BASc) from Sciences Po.

Programme content

This course combines:

• Study of scientific disciplines: either Earth sciences at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, University of Paris; mathematics or life sciences at Université de Paris; or life sciences at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne.
• Study of the humanities and social sciences (principally law, economics, history, sociology and political science), with a multidisciplinary major (Economics & Society, Political Humanities or Politics & Government) at Sciences Po.
• An intersecting and interdisciplinary consideration of major contemporary challenges, such as responses to climate change, ecological transition, bioethics or the impact of big data on decision-making, by way of interdisciplinary teaching in the sciences and liberal arts, led jointly by Sciences Po and its partner universities.

The aim of this degree is to allow for dialogue between disciplines, to give students the conceptual as well as methodological tools necessary to confront the problems of today’s society, in the hope of proposing solutions.

The Bachelor of Arts and Sciences offers training through research, challenge and problem-solving, accompanied by interactive teaching through field work, debates and negotiation simulations..

This course aims to equip its students with knowledge and skills that will be as invaluable to them academically as professionally and socially. These include:

• Knowledge and understanding of key concepts in the sciences, humanities and social sciences
• Ability to analyse facts critically, considering them in their historic, sociocultural, economic and political context
• Intellectual agility, through exploring different ways of thinking and acting and establishing links between different fields of knowledge
• A precise and structured personal reasoning, through the inclusion of strong methodological requirements
• A synthesised approach to complex problem-solving, in order to develop informed critical analysis; finally, the ability to consider different issues from an interdisciplinary standpoint, so as to devise sustainable and responsible solutions to these problems and bring a fresh perspective to their analysis.

Programme structure

This programme is divided into the following four thematic dual degrees:

• On the Reims Campus, in partnership with the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne: Social Sciences & Life Sciences, on the theme of “Environment, Society and Sustainability”.
• On the Paris Campus:
  • in partnership with the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, University of Paris: Social Sciences & Earth Sciences, exploring “Politics of the Earth";
  • in partnership with UFR de Mathématiques, Université de Paris: Social Sciences & Mathematics, on the theme of “Algorithms and Decisions”;
  • in partnership with UFR des Sciences du vivant, Université de Paris: Social Sciences & Life Sciences, considering issues around “Politics of Life and Identities”.

The first two years of the programme pair the core teaching of the Sciences Po Undergraduate College with courses in the sciences, taught by the partner university. Classes take place at both institutions.

The third year is spent abroad, at one of either institution’s partner universities internationally. While abroad, students are required to take classes meeting their course requirements in both the sciences and liberal arts.

The fourth year is principally devoted to deepening scientific teaching at the partner institution, complemented by interdisciplinary classes offered at either university.

This course demands a strong investment in terms of personal work and study time.

Upon completion of the programme, graduates may choose to pursue further study within a Master’s programme at Sciences Po, at the partner university, or else by enrolling on another programme in France or abroad.

Contact

All queries may be addressed to basc@sciencespo.fr.