Undergraduate Programme
Political science is one of the five social science disciplines at the core of the bachelor’s degrees offered by the undergraduate college. Students enrolled at Sciences Po explore this discipline in their first year with an introductory module. Political science is also one of the two central disciplines in the majors Politics and Government on the one hand, and Political Humanities on the other hand. The module Espace mondial, Thinking IR globally, is also one of the core political science courses offered in Semester 3.
General objectives
The Introduction to Political Science module aims at providing students with fundamental knowledge. The acquisition of the main concepts of the discipline as well as the discussion of different methodological approaches help students understand how political systems were formed, the different political regimes, power relations, political participation, how social groups coexist, the use of violence. Students are also introduced to the subfields of political science (political sociology, regional areas, international relations, public policies, comparative politics, political institutions and organisations, political theory, political economy).
Students learn how to connect political science, expertise and public action (articulation between theory and practice), how to integrate their own judgement in the analysis of new political developments (articulation between ethics and politics), develop their capacity of critical thinking and argumentation when discussing contemporary issues.
With the help of qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques, students will acquire tools to read, understand and analyse contemporary political documents, to compare political phenomena and to get familiar with research practices.
First year programme
Students follow an Introduction to Political Science module in Semester 2: a 24h lecture, a 24h seminar, and a 12h exploratory module with a focus on a regional area depending on the speciality of each regional campus.
Second year programme
- Major Politics and Government: Comparative Politics
- Major Political Humanities: The ABCs of Politics
- Optional course - Semester 3: Espace mondial. Thinking IR globally.
