Sciences Po

Areas of Study: The undergraduate educational programme at Sciences Po Reims includes a common core of social sciences courses - law, economics, history, political science and sociology. 

There are specialized courses according to specific regional focuses at the 7 campuses of Sciences Po:

• Reims is the main exchange ca​mpus and specializes in Africa & North America and has the most amount of English taught courses. (English and/or French)
• Le Havre: specializes in Asia-Pacific and is entirely taught in English, with language courses available in all levels of French and Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
• Paris is the original campus and doesn't have a regional specialty. (English or French)
• ​​Menton: Middle-East and Mediterranean is also mostly taught in English (English and/or French)
• ​Nancy: European Union & Franco-German Partnership (Needs two of English, French or German)
• Poitiers: ​​Latin America & Caribbean (Needs two of English, French or Spanish)
• Dijon: Central and Eastern Europe (French only)

Under certain conditions, exchange students can obtain a Certificate of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities.

Course requirements:
In Europe, full-time course load is typically 30 ECTS (European credits), and exchange students are typically expected to take 24-30 credits per semester. Note: 30 ECTS is the expected course load if you wish to complete the certificate program. 6 ECTS = 3 UCalgary units (1 half-course). 
The amount of credits each course is worth corresponds to the workload/contact hours, and can vary from 1-30 ECTS per course, so please be mindful of this in your selection.

Student Tips: "The most rewarding part of my exchange was meeting such incredibly gifted and intelligent students from a wide variety of cultural and societal backgrounds. Both exchange students and full-time students at Sciences Po come from all over the place and are truly remarkable."

The academic year is divided into two semesters - the Fall semester begins late August and runs to mid/late December, while their "Spring" semester begins in mid-January and continues to mid/late May. 

Please Note: French visa applications for Canadians may require travel to the Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto VFS Visa center to submit the documentation and take biometrics as needed within 3 months before departure to France, so students may not have access to their passports during that time. 

Please see the housing page for the 6 regional campuses. The Paris campus does not have a housing office, or student residence, so you must find and arrange housing on your own. Previous students have reported this is an extremely long, difficult and expensive process.

Students can choose to stay in student residence, private housing, or homestay in Reims. Housing in Reims is widely available and can be reserved as a part of the application process. There are a variety of residences, which are detailed on the housing page. Prices range from 240-600 euros per month. For private housing, an updated list of private housing offers can be found on the housing page. 

There is also a French Housing tax that students will be required to pay if they are living in the property as of Jan 1st of each year - this does not apply to students staying with the CROUS or in a homestay. It may also be included with your monthly rent as well, so you will need to check if you sign a housing contract.

Student Residences in Reims

Teilhard de Chardin Residence (TDC) - CROUS
This residence has a partnership with Sciences Po (Reims), and is about a 20 minute walk from campus. It offers on-site laundry facilities (works with credit card or french debit cards), a snack bar (for breakfast or snacks), and is close to a university restaurant as well. There are 2 residence options: (1) 9m² rooms (for 260€/month) including bed, bath, fridge, & common kitchen/dining area shared with the floor, (2) 18m² studio rooms (for 355€/month) which include a kitchenette. Students need to bring an ethernet cable for internet access, but can also bring a pocket router to create a wifi hotspot (roughly $20). 

Gérard Philipe Residence - CROUS
This residence has a partnership with Sciences Po (Reims), and is about a 12 minute walk from campus. It offers on-site laundry facilities (works with credit card or french debit cards), and is close to a university restaurant as well. There are 2 residence options: (1) 9m² rooms (for 240€/month) including bed, bath, fridge, & common kitchen/dining area shared with the floor, (2) 18m² studio rooms (for 335€/month) which include a kitchenette. Students need to bring an ethernet cable for internet access, but can also bring a pocket router to create a wifi hotspot (roughly $20). 

Evariste Galois Residence - CROUS
This residence has a partnership with Sciences Po (Reims), and is about a 25 minute walk from campus. There are 2 residence options: (1) 9m² rooms (for 240€/month) including bed, bath, fridge, & common kitchen/dining area shared with the floor, (2) 18m² double rooms (for 180€ per person [x2]/month) which include a bed, bath, fridge, & common kitchen/dining area shared with the floor. Wifi via EduRoam is available at this residence. 

MGEL -  ‘Quai 207 Cathédrale’ Résidence
This residence is located very close to the city center & the cathedral. Studios range in size from 20 to 50m² (397€-603€/month). The facility includes a sports room, lounge, cafeteria (buffet breakfast included every day from Monday to Friday), TV room, Internet, laundry, in-house concierge, bike parking and video security. Underground parking can be purchased at an additional fee. Students need to bring an ethernet cable for internet access, but can also bring a pocket router to create a wifi hotspot (roughly $20). 

SERGIC - Residium Residence
This residence is situated approximately 10 minutes walk from the campus. Studios range from 18 to 22m², and 1-bedroom options range from 28 to 36m². The facility includes laundry machines, sports facilities, and bed sheet cleaning twice per month, for 485€/month.

Les Estudines – Drouet d’Erlon Residence
This residence is in a central location that offers 160 studios (24m² each) for 496€/month. Bus line #9 will take you directly to Sciences Po campus in 15 minutes. 

Student Tips: I would recommend living in Gerard Philipe (CROUS Residence) to other students in terms of the pricing and location, but if students are looking for something nicer with the same convenience I would highly recommend Residium, an option that is more expensive but larger and has nicer facilities. It provides more opportunities for socializing with other students. [In terms of food], there is a small on-campus cafeteria and a couple of small boulangeries near campus but beyond that it is your typical grocery stores or restaurants for food services." 

Private Housing & Homestay

There is a wide array of private housing available in Reims center city within walking distance of campus. For more information, please contact the exchange advisor. Additionally, a limited number of home stay options are available in Reims, coordinated by the Rotaract student group on campus. If you choose this option, you will be contacted for further information to facilitate an appropriate family placement.  

Housing Aid

All students in France who rent housing with a contract, regardless of national origin, are eligible for a National Housing Aid from the ‘CAF’, Caisse d’Allocations Familiales. The Student Life Advising Service on Campus can help you through this process after you arrive on campus. For this application, please make sure to bring a copy of your birth certificate. 

This exchange is open to regular, full-time students in any faculty at UCalgary, who have completed at least 2 full years (20 courses) at the post-secondary level (prior to starting the exchange), with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 (B-). 

For English courses, while advanced French is not required, all students should have some basic knowledge of French and be able to independently navigate websites and forms written in French.

For courses in French, applicants must have a command of French at the B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) at a minimum, or have completed at least two 300-level or above courses in French. Certification of language proficiency may be required.

Students do have the opportunity to take French language courses during their stay.

What supports or services are available at Sciences Po's Reims campus? 

Sciences Po offers a variety of Accessibility supports through its "Sciences Po Accessible" program, for students with either temporary or permanent accessibility needs. For information on accessibility and support services of campuses across Europe, please check out Inclusive Mobility. For city-specific services and places in Europe, the Jaccede interactive platform (website and/or smartphone app - both Android and iOS) also provides a searchable user-built database to identify important accessibility information of public places and locations.

What's special about Sciences Po Reims? 

All students at Sciences Po study abroad as part of their degree in their 3rd year. Due to the structured program, Sciences Po Reims offers a more collective campus environment than is common at most French institutions. A variety of clubs and Student Associations ranging from Reims International Model United Nations (RIMUN), the Sundial Journal (Sciences Po student newspaper), Sciences Paws (for animal rights), Sciences Po Environment (for environmental awareness), and the Rotaract club of Sciences Po Reims, among others. 

Students at Sciences Po can also make use of Reims' many outdoor facilities including a climbing wall, 28 gyms, horse racing track, 6 pools, 2 ice rinks, equestrian centre, rowing complex, and 22,000-seating stadium complex. There are over 100 different sports open to students.

Student Tips: "Computer labs and a really well developed library were available on campus; some sports classes took place on campus though most major sports were at off-campus facilities. Clubs are available and seem to be quite successful.

Also, if you have the chance, try to get into the countryside surrounding the city as it is beautiful and you can find not only gorgeous vineyards but also rolling fields of canola that are spectacular! Places to go definitely includes the G. H. Mumm Champagne tour (only 5 minutes walk from campus) and any other ones that you may be interested in. The city [of Reims] has endless gems to be found! Depending on the time of year, it is possible to head up the towers of the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Reims. It is spectacular to hear about the history of the cathedral but also to see the far reaches of Reims and behold the beautiful architecture that is on display there. Best part is, it was free! Reims is the City of Kings, and I felt as if I was treated like royalty for the entirety of my stay, I hope that it is the same for whomever travels there next!"