Sciences Po. Alumni

H.E. Pierre Vimont, Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis

Une leçon de diplomatie au Consulat général de France à New York

Dans le cadre des causeries organisées par le consulat général de France à New York sous l’intitulé « conférences 934 », l’Ambassadeur Pierre Vimont confrontait ses vues sur l’Europe après le Traité de Lisbonne mi-décembre avec Andrew Moravcsik, professeur de sciences politiques et de relations internationales à Princeton. Une conversation stimulante autour de l’enjeu européen, ou quand la France du XVIIIème siècle prend une revanche arbitrée par l’Amérique éclairée sur la Chine du XXIème…

Dynamisation des projets de l’association des anciens aux Etats-Unis en matière de communication et de services, visite de Jean-Emmanuel Combes, réunion de travail avec Nadia Marik fin 2009 : association et école ont, ces dernière semaines, sensiblement resserré leurs liens de coopération entre Paris et New York. Objectif : servir le déploiement des ambitions de Sciences Po tout en travaillant au développement de la communauté des anciens aux Etats-Unis.

A discussion with Ambassador Gérard Araud, French Ambassador to the United Nations.
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 6:00 P.M.

Ambassador Gérard Araud
French Ambassador to the United Nations

Un regard sur le système universitaire américain
par Felix Blossier, Etudiant à Sciences Po, actuellement en échange à University of California, San Diego

“As far as I can recall, Rousseau was this French communist revolutionary something… like… fighting against power and all”. La scène a pour théâtre la salle de cours d’une grande université américaine et l’auteur de cette phrase n’est autre qu’un étudiant de troisième année en science politique. Pourtant, elle n’a pas l’air de choquer grand monde dans l’auditorium. Etudiant français en échange aux Etats-Unis, il m’a souvent été donné l’occasion d’assister à des scènes de ce type. Elles sont révélatrices des lacunes du système pédagogique américain. Lacunes qui contrastent avec l’image que nombreux se font des grandes universités américaines, en tête de tous les classements internationaux et aux endowments considérables – plus d’une vingtaine de milliards de dollars pour Harvard, soit une somme supérieure au PIB de plus de la moitié des pays du globe.

The Job Bank of the Grandes Ecoles Francaise

The alumni associations composing the AAGEF (Association des Amis des Grandes Ecoles Francaises) have united to centralize and share all job offers available to them.

The AAGEF is a network of alumni associations of French Grandes Ecoles: Sciences Po, ENA, Centrale Lyon, Centrale Paris, ESCP-EAP Paris, ESSEC, HEC, HECJF, EM Lyon, Mines, Polytechnique, Ponts,  INSEAD, ENSTA, ENSAE and Supaéro. 

If you are a member in good standing of Science Po Alumni, you may register to access the AAGEF Job Center free of charge.

Get in Touch with your Local Network

Sign up and participate in social events, debates and other academic and business activities in your local area. Sciences Po Alumni USA has local antennas in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and Los Angeles. We expect to establish additional chapters in other areas soon. Participate in our growth in the US - contact us and get involved in your local area. Or if you're traveling to these cities, let us know you're in town.

The Sciences Po Alumni Association in the United States, in close cooperation with Sciences Po Avenir, launched a new program aimed at companies and non-for-profit organizations in the United States.
The main purpose of the program, currently, is to assist 3rd year students to find long term (at least 8 months) internships and to facilitate contacts with hiring firms. Potential employers are the US subsidiaries of European firms, American companies, non profit associations and governmental entities.

Unfolding the History of Sciences Po

Founded in 1872 as the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Sciences Po has been training the best young minds of France and Europe for leadership service. As one of Europe's most distinguished universities, Sciences Po prepares its graduates to take the reins in international business, multilateral organizations, public service, communication, culture and other fields of endeavor.

The multidisciplinary approach of Emile Boutmy, the School's founder, went against the grain of the late XIXth century academic world. As a result, the project originally designed as part of the French university system opened its doors as a private school (école libre). In 1945, however, the Ecole Libre was transformed into the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP, or Sciences Po Paris), fully integrated into the public education system. At the same time, the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques was created to ensure the guardianship of the school's buildings, its matchless library, its autonomy and research foundation. Today, Sciences Po is a full-fledged, self-governing institution, which both enjoys the freedom and resources of a "grande école," and offers the key characteristics of a university - namely, a cluster of research centers, a major library and documentation facilities, and an active university press.

A Merit-Based Institution

From its onset, Sciences Po has trained a merit-based elite for leadership. Students are admitted upon passing a highly competitive entrance exam, which tests the candidates' quantitative, verbal and analytical skills. Pursuing the school founder's philosophy, the current President of Sciences Po, Richard Descoings, launched in 2001 a specific admission program aimed at fostering equality of opportunity for talented students coming from immigrant and/or low-income families. To date, 264 students have been recruited, 75 of whom joined the school in 2006. Sciences Po is the first institution in France to experience opening its doors to the most talented, yet socially less favored, students. The program is a great success so far, both in terms of integration and the students' obtaining their diploma.

Located at the Heart of Paris

Located in the world famous left-bank Saint-Germain district, Sciences Po's urban "campus" is composed of majestic seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mansions. It is surrounded by ministries, embassies, corporate headquarters, publishing houses and the National Assembly in short, the decision-making center of the capital. In addition to the professional advantages of Sciences Po's prime location, its students get to take in the rich cultural life of the Saint-Germain district with renowned cafés, art galleries, shops and theaters just steps away.

For more information about Sciences Po visit www.sciencespo.fr