Political Science

Overview

The Political Science doctoral programme at Sciences Po is designed to provide:

• A complete international level training course in all of the areas relevant to political science ;
• A research methodology in the social sciences including classes in qualitative and quantitative analysis;
• A personalised supervision process within the Doctoral school and in the research centres, by an internationally recognised and involved academic staff.

Careers

Professionalization in research is ensured by the doctoral students getting a chance to work in one of the Sciences Po laboratories where they can meet with the teams, take part in research projects and take specialised seminars. They are also invited to take part in contracts and projects financed by the European commission. To do so, they can rely on the advice of the Mission Europe de la recherche de Sciences Po.

Doctoral students in the Political Science department also benefit from the activities of the CEVIPOF, the CERI and the CEE. Professionalization in teaching is also available thanks to the tutoring they carry out voluntarily, to the introductory teaching they do and the method conferences given by the monitors.

Doctoral students can also follow all of the professionalization seminars proposed by the Doctoral school.

The political science doctoral programme receives the support of Sciences Po's three biggest laboratories who also take in doctoral students:

• The Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po (CEVIPOF): It covers three main fields: political behavior, political sociology and political theory. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are used at different levels of observation: local, national and European. The CEVIPOF has a permanent faculty of 24 researchers and professors, approximately 25 PhD students, and 20 associate researchers. The CEVIPOF is also responsible for the French National Election Studies. The centre is chaired by Martial Foucault, Professor at Sciences Po.
• The Center for International Studies (CERI): this centre works on social sciences on an international level by combining a number of different approaches: international relations, comparative political sociology, the political economy, political anthropology. The researchers at the CERI produce work that is anchored in the field, where they speak the language and know the territory. It is run by Alain Dieckhoff, Research Director at CNRS ;
• The Centre d'Etudes Européennes de Sciences Po (CEE): as a multidisciplinary research centre, the CEE develops comparative studies on European societies and political systems and on the impact of European integration. It covers political issues by emphasising the link between policy and politics and by investing in the question of methods. It is run by Renaud Dehousse, Professor at Sciences Po.