Sciences Po

The undergraduate program at Sciences Po includes a common core of social sciences courses - law, economics, history, political science, and sociology. Each of the 7 campuses offers specialized courses according to their regional focuses.

• Reims is the main exchange ca​mpus, and specializes in Africa & North America. (Taught in English and/or French)
• Le Havre specializes in Asia-Pacific. It also offers language courses in French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. (Taught in English)
• Paris is the original campus, offering a range of courses with no regional specialty. (Taught in English or French)
• ​​Menton specializes in Middle-East and Mediterranean studies. (Taught in English and/or French)
• ​Nancy specializes in the European Union and Franco-German Partnerships. (Students must be able to study in 2 of the 3 languages: English, French, or German)
• Poitiers specializes in ​​Latin America & the Caribbean region. (Students must be able to study in 2 of the 3 languages: English, French, or Spanish)
• Dijon specializes in Central and Eastern Europe. (Taught in French only)

Under certain conditions, exchange students can obtain a Certificate of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities. Students must be enrolled in a full-time courseload (30 ECTS) to qualify. For more information, select your desired campus from the Sciences Po exchange website.

Course requirements: In Europe, full-time course load is 30 ECTS (European credits), and exchange students are typically encouraged to take 24-30 ECTS per semester. 6 ECTS = 3 units at UCalgary (1 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.

Students who have completed at least 3 full years (6 semesters/30 courses) prior to the exchange may be permitted to enrol as graduate-level students at Sciences Po. Note, it is not allowed to "mix and match" graduate and undergraduate courses.

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:

• Fall semester begins late August and runs to mid/late December.
• Spring semester begins in mid-January and continues to mid/late May. 

Please Note: Within 3 months before departure to France, students may be required to travel to Vancouver, Ottawa, or Toronto to submit documentation & biometrics for their French visa applications. Students may not have access to their passports during the visa application period. 

There is also a summer program available at Sciences PO.

Intensive Policy Lab: 

• July 6th - July 17th, 2026

Social Sciences Track: 

• June session: June 2nd - June 25th, 2026
• July session: June 30th - July 24th, 2026

French Language Track: 

• June session: June 2nd - June 27th, 2025
• July session: July 1st - July 25th, 2025

Please see the housing page for the various campuses. 

At 6 of the campuses, including the main campus Reims, students may choose to stay in student residence or private housing. Reims also offers a homestay option, where you live with a local family.

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.

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

Housing at Reims campus

The information below was from 2023. Prices have been removed for accuracy, as rental costs have changed.

CROUS Residences: Teilhard de Chardin Residence, Gérard Philipe Residence, and Evariste Galois Residence
These residences all have a partnership with Sciences Po Reims and are located between 15-25 minute walk from campus. All three residences offer two types of rooms: 9m² rooms including bed, bath, fridge, & common kitchen/dining area shared with the floor, or 18m² studio rooms which include a kitchenette. The TDC and GP residences have laundry facilities, and TDC also has a breakfast/snack bar. Students need to bring an ethernet cable for Internet access or a pocket router to create a WiFi hotspot, except for the EGR residence, which provides WiFi.

MGEL -  ‘Quai 207 Cathédrale’ Residence
This residence is located close to the city centre & cathedral. Studios range in size from 20 to 50m² (397€-603€/month). The facility includes a sports room, lounge, cafeteria with buffet breakfast, TV room, Internet, laundry, in-house concierge, and bike parking. Students need to bring an ethernet cable for Internet access or a pocket router to create a WiFi hotspot.

SERGIC - Residium Residence
This residence is located 10 minutes walk from campus. Studios range from 18 to 22m², and 1-bedroom options range from 28 to 36m². The facility includes laundry machines, sports facilities, and for an extra cost, students can arrange for bedsheet cleaning twice per month.

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

Student Tips: "There are small on-campus cafeterias and a couple of 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 city centre within walking distance of campus. Additionally, a limited number of homestay 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.  

This exchange is open to regular, full-time students in any faculty at UCalgary, who have completed at least 2 full years (4 semesters/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!"