Master in public policy: master's thesis

Students have the opportunity to write a Master’s thesis during their semester 4. This excludes any other S4 validation possibility (full-time internship, exchange program, personal project).

Objectives of the master's thesis

The main objective is to enable students to deepen their expertise or knowledge in a given field, which they hope to enhance professionally.

Conditions and organisation

The writing of the thesis is subject to the approval of the Academic advisor of your policy stream. It is therefore essential to inform him or her of your intention to write a thesis as soon as possible (at the beginning of the third semester at the latest). The Master's thesis option is not compatible with an apprenticeship.

Students need to find a thesis advisor, who must be a member of Sciences Po's permanent faculty or else an adjunct professor. Students must respect the project initially accepted by their academic advisor. In addition, they will meet regularly with their thesis advisor and keep him/her informed of the progress of their research. They certify to provide original research work and to respect all the rules regarding intellectual property at Sciences Po, failing which they will be in default.

Throughout the year, students receive pedagogical and methodological support from Bruno Palier, CNRS Director of research in Political Science at the CEE (Centre d’études européennes et de politique comparée).

  • Methodological training on the research question and the research methodology of the master’s thesis (literature review, argumentation and structure)
  • Research design on different methodological approaches (field work, data collection, interviews).
  • 3-minute presentations of each research project in the presence of other students and advisors.
  • Training session on the writing process (introduction, outline, demonstration and conclusion).
  • Training session on the thesis defence. 
  1. Students who are interested in the Master's thesis option should contact their academic advisor as soon as possible, and no later than the beginning of semester 3. An information meeting is organised during September of the S3. By the end of October, students must write a thesis proposal specifying the main topics and arguments of their project and send it to the academic team of the Master's thesis. 
  2. Pedagogical and methodological support is offered between November and March of the 2nd year of the Master's programme.
  3. The theses are submitted at the end of April and defense take place between mid and the end of May.

Examples of former students' theses

Here are some examples of some excellent work by students from the last years of the programme.

Testimonials and award

Contacts

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the person in charge of your policy stream, or the team dedicated to the thesis:

BROCHURE

Key facts

  • Two-year Master's
  • Langues: English and French
  • ECTS: 120 minimum