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Dual Master's Degree with HEC in Corporate and Public Management

Section #intro

The HEC/Sciences Po joint degree program aims to train leaders able to tackle key global and European policy and business challenges that require complementary skills in management, leadership, as well in public policy making, evaluation and regulation. Our graduates hold positions in business, government, and non-profit organizations at both the European and international level. 

Founded in 1881, HEC Paris is one of the world’s top business schools and a leader in research and education in management sciences. Founded in 1872, Sciences Po is an international research university, highly selective but with a global outlook, ranking among the most prestigious institutions in the fields of humanities and social sciences. 

Created in 2008, the joint degree program between HEC and the School of Public Affairs of Sciences Po has already trained numerous graduates that have joined a large set of public and private organizations ranging from governments or official institutions to consulting firms.

The three-year program alternates on-campus periods with internships, both at HEC Paris and Sciences Po. Taught by academics from the two institutions as well as practitioners, the curriculum relies on a mix of knowledge and practice to prepare graduates to translate their understanding of complex issues into innovative and relevant business and policy solutions in both private and public sectors.

Courses at HEC are provided in English. Courses at Sciences Po can be taken in French, in English or in both languages.

The joint degree program also allows students who are interested in preparing for the French civil services exams to enter the European or French public services.

Section #sommaire
Section #programme

Programme

The curriculum lasts three years, with two internship periods of 4 to 6 months each.

Master year 1 at HEC

During their year at HEC Paris, students acquire a wide range of management and leadership skills. The curriculum is organized around a set of courses ensuring both the mastery of today's management fundamentals (corporate finance, law, strategy, etc.) and in-depth studies related to key issues of our time, notably through a wide choice of elective courses.

Semester 1: Business fundamentals

  • Strategy (36h)
  • Financial Economics and Markets (36h)
  • Business Law (18h)
  • Accounting (36h)
  • Statistics (18h)
  • Business and Society (18h – Choice of an elective)
  • Business, entrepreneurship, technology or sustainability (18h – Choice of an elective)

Link to the course description

Semester 2: Advanced courses and operational skills

  • Corporate finance (36h)
  • Supply Chain and Operations (36h)
  • Marketing (36h)
  • Organization behavior (18h)
  • Managerial Accounting and Performance (24h)
  • Business, entrepreneurship, technology or sustainability (36h – Choice of 2 electives)
  • Workshops on Leadership / Negotiation / Purposeful leadership 

Link to the course description

Semester 3: Professional experience

Students complete a 4-to-6-month internship or fixed-term contract, full-time, in the private sector.

Master year 2 at Sciences Po

The curriculum at the School of Public Affairs is rich and varied. In addition to the fundamentals of public affairs (modules on European policies, the evaluation of public policies, governance and democracy, and public economics), dual degree students have access to all policy stream courses and elective courses, i.e. a choice from around a hundred courses each semester. Thus, students can build a personalized course allowing them to acquire the knowledge and develop the necessary skills to achieve their professional goals at the national, European or international level. Depending on their needs, students may choose general courses in public policy or specialize in a particular area (culture, health, economy, security and defence, sustainable development, digital, social policy, etc.)

Finally, students benefit from the innovative educational formats of the Policy Lab by taking part in a simulation, a case study and a challenge from the Public Policy Incubator.

Each year, the course description for semester 4 is updated in December for the January course registration, while the course description for semester 5 is updated in June for the July course registration.

Students must complete an internship, a temporary contract, a permanent contract, or a VIA, full-time, in the public sector. The minimum duration of this professional experience is 14 weeks.

To successfully complete the programme at Sciences Po, all students must pass the Grand Oral.

Please note that: 

  • One of the 2 professional experiences of semesters 3 and 6 must be carried out abroad. If the 2 internships are carried out in France, then an internship of at least 10 weeks must be carried out abroad during the summer of one of the 3 years of the dual degree.
  • During semesters 5 and 6 or after graduation, dual degree students can enroll in the preparation for French and European administrative competitions offered by the School of Public Affairs.
Section #career

Career opportunities

Over 80% of students are employed within 3 months of graduation. The majority obtain a permanent contract in the private sector, 20% of graduates choose the civil service preparation and 5% are recruited in international organizations.

Examples of positions held by recent graduates:

  • Manager or director of strategy, economic development, production, innovation and digital transformation, performance, commercial operations, marketing.
  • Directeur général adjoint chargé des finances, Gestionnaire ou chargé d’investissement.
  • Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Manager or Investment Officer.
  • Analyst M&A / Digital / Sustainable banking / Sovereign advisory / Strategy & Marketing. Macroeconomic or financial analyst.
  • Public affairs consultant / manager / advisor.
  • Director of cultural action, director of publication, responsible for communication.
  • Minister’s departmental staff, administrator of the National Assembly and the Senate, head of office, auditor at the Council of State, adviser or secretary of foreign affairs, inspector of finance, Head of the economic affairs department.

Examples of private structures that recruit young graduates:

  • Consultancy / Audit: EY, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture, Capgemini Consulting, PwC.
  • Finance / Economics / Insurance / Bank: Allianz, Société Générale, EDF Invest, Eiffel Investment Group, Rothschild & Co, AXA Group, BNP Paribas, BCG.
  • Digital / Nex Technologies: Google, OpenClassrooms, Uber, LinkedIn, Facebook, Orange.
  • Health: directions d’hôpitaux privés, Sanofi Pasteur, Servier BioInnovation, Doctolib.
  • Energy, Environment, Sustainability: TotalEnergies, Citeo, Opale Energies Naturelles, Engie, Veolia.
  • Culture / Audiovisual media: Canal+ Group, musées privés, Ubisoft.
  • Industry / Supply Chain / Retail: Decathlon, Carrefour, Siemens, Uber, Arkema, Renault, Michelin, Ovrsea, CMA CGM.
  • Beauty / Fashion / Luxury: L’Oréal Group, Chanel, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, Hermès, Louis Vuitton.
  • Transport: Transdev, BlablaCar.
  • Security and Defense: Safran
  • Entrepreneurship: a significant number of graduates have founded their own business in the consulting, digital, cultural and environmental sectors, among others.

Examples of public structures that recruit young graduates:

Graduates are admitted to the competitions of the INSP, the Banque de France, the EN3S, the City of Paris, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, administrator of maritime affairs, administrator of the Senate and National Assembly.

  • Finance / Economics / Insurance / Bank: Caisse des dépôts, BPI France, Banque de France, Inspection générale des finances, Cour des comptes, ministère de l’Economie et des Finances (DG Trésor, direction du  budget, DG Entreprises), Commission des affaires économiques du Sénat.
  • Digital / New Technologies: Beta.gouv.fr.
  • Health: directions d’hôpitaux publics, Agences régionales de santé, ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé.
  • Energy, Environment, Sustainability: Commission de régulation de l’énergie, Ademe.
  • Culture / Audiovisual media: ministère de la Culture, ambassades, musées nationaux, Opéra National de Paris, Radio France.
  • Transport: Direction générale de l’aviation civile, SNCF, AirFrance.
  • Social / NGO: Action Logement, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Agronomes et vétérinaires sans frontières, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Groupe SOS, European Centre for Law and Justice, Croix Rouge française, Haut-commissariat à l’emploi et à l’engagement des entreprises.
  • Security and Defense: ministère des Armées, ministère de l’Intérieur
  • Diplomacy: ministère des Affaires étrangères, représentations permanentes de la France.
  • International civil service : European Investment Bank, World Bank, European Central Bank, OECD, European Commission, European External Action Service, UN World Food Programme.
Section #testimonials
Section #admissions

Admission procedures

Each year, fifty places in this dual degree programme are open to HEC students, following their Master 1.   

It is possible to apply during the M1 and/or during the post-M1 gap year. No deferral of admission is possible.

The application process takes place in two stages:

  • Stage 1: an eligibility phase which takes the form of an application file evaluated by HEC. For more information, contact bureaum2@hec.fr 
  • Stage 2: an admission phase which takes the form of an oral examination organised by Sciences Po on Zoom during the second half of February. The oral interview lasts 20 minutes, during which the candidate first briefly presents the reasons why he or she is interested in pursuing this double degree, and then there is an exchange with the jury to assess the precision and realism of the candidate's professional project, as well as its coherence with the School of Public Affairs' educational offer. French candidates take the interview in French, while international candidates can choose to take it in French or English.

The admission results are communicated in March at the latest.

Each year, fifty spots are open to students from Sciences Po's Undergraduate College in this dual degree programme. 

Students apply during their third year or during their gap year between the Undergraduate College and their Master's degree.

The application process consists of two steps:

  • Step 1: when choosing your Master's degree online (February), you must indicate the double degree with HEC in choice 1 and a non-selective programme (from EAP or not) in choice 2. 

Regarding this choice 2, you must follow the instructions specific to each master's degree or programme detailed in the dedicated school newsletter: send a letter of motivation, fill in a form...

You will upload the following documents to the platform in order to complete your online application:

  • Passport or ID card
  • Diploma
  • School certificate
  • 1st and 2nd year transcripts
  • Copy of an English certification: TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or Cambridge
  • Resume and photo.

References are optional. You can add some in the "Additional document" section if you wish.

For any question relating to your application, you can contact Ms. Sylvie Bracke directly at HEC : bracke@hec.fr

The publication of the eligibility results will take place on April 4, 2024.

In case of eligibility, the selection interview will take place via Skype from April 12 to April 20, 2024.

This interview, lasting about twenty minutes, will take place in English in front of an HEC jury and in order to learn more about the candidates' professional and academic goals and objectives and how they align with the dual degree.

The admission results will be communicated to students on April 27, 2024 at noon.

More information: HEC admissions webpage 

Section #finances

Financial conditions

For students from Sciences Po

The financial conditions are detailed on this page.

If you have any questions, please contact the student services centre.

For students from HEC Paris

We invite you to contact the educational teams in charge of the double degree at HEC.

Section #faq

FAQ

The most logical thing is certainly to choose the Sciences Po Master's in Finance: the HEC-Sciences Po dual degree does not prepare students for the financial sector - any more than for the marketing sector or the human resources management field.

The HEC-Sciences Po dual degree does not train specialists: it constitutes a general training intended for future very high-level managers, working in the private sector or in public administration, capable of understanding the challenges of the company as a whole, in a context structured by issues and regulations pertaining to the public sphere.

As its name suggests, the Corporate and Public Management Program is not focused on training through research: it is above all a question of training operational managers, that is to say decision-makers oriented towards action.

Although the vast majority of graduates from this program will take part in operational professional responsibilities after obtaining their diploma, some of them will be able, if they wish, to go into research at the end of their degree.

The dual degree is open to international students from the Sciences Po Undergraduate College and the HEC Master in Management. Training at HEC is provided in English; at Sciences Po, courses can be taken in French, in English or in both languages.

The choice of major does not affect the selection of candidates. It is important to have a defined professional project, based if possible on prior internship experiences, in line with the training offered by the dual degree.

The average is reassessed each year based on the applications received. An overall average of at least 14 out of 20 is generally expected. Students admitted are often graduates of Undergraduate College with honors.

You must provide all grades obtained to date from both institutions.

Students are only exempt from a C1 certification for admissions purposes for one of the following reasons:

  • English natives (please upload a scan of the passport),
  • Students who have earned a degree from an institution in which ALL instruction is conducted in English. The official language of the degree program must be stated in the degree certificate or its supplement, or in the transcript of records, and uploaded as 'English-Medium Degree' in the dropdown menu.

We accept the TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge and TOEIC that were taken in the 5 past years. There is no minimum score required to apply for our programs.

An exchange semester/year in an English-speaking country will not waive this requirement.

The C1 certification issued by Sciences Po is not admissible.

HEC will accept files if candidates are able to present a registration for one of these exams which will take place before the deadline for submitting the file.

All applicants are required to fill the ‘Motivation’ section, composed of four questions, of the online application form. A separate cover letter is not required.

All applications are evaluated in the same way. There is no selection quota.

Letters of recommendation are optional for applicants from partner schools, such as Sciences Po. As the platform will not include a specific section for those documents, the only option to upload any document that is not required is using the ‘Additional documentation’ section. There is no specific requirement on format/language regarding this optional document.

The general profile of the admitted students is a well-balanced combination of academic excellence, strong motivation, the coherence between the dual degree and the professional project, the coherence between this project and the candidate’s previous experiences (internships, extracurricular activities), and finally the open-mindedness. As the pool of candidates increase and vary each year, there is no “threshold” to be admissible/admitted. Sciences Po Bachelor students from all backgrounds are welcome to apply. The choice of major, whether or not you have completed a dual degree or a gap year are not in themselves criteria that can favor or eliminate your application. The jury assesses each application as a whole.

This test is not required.

No.

It is not recommended to apply for both the dual degree and the Programme Grande Ecole: If you are not eligible / admitted to the dual degree, you will most likely not be admitted to the programme Grande Ecole.

Section #advisor

Scientific advisor of the dual degree

Eric Mengus is Associate Professor of Economics at HEC. He is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He is an engineering graduate from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) in 2014.

His research focuses on macroeconomics and international finance and he works on various topics such as sovereign debt, international capital flows or household insurance.

Prior to joining HEC Paris, Eric Mengus was a researcher at the Banque de France in the Financial Research Division (2013-2014) and the Monetary Policy Research Division (2009-2010).

Section #contacts

Contact