The presentations from the Sciences Po Exchange Programme briefing session which took place on 11th February 2016 are available here. The date for the next briefing has yet to be confirmed.

Sciences Po Information

Sciences Po Exchange Programme Sample Courses

LSE Information

Important Information on Funding

The Sciences Po exchange benefits from funding through the Erasmus + Programme run by the European Union. As yet, we have had no confirmation of if/when the UK will leave the Erasmus + programme following the referendum in June 2016. We will continue to keep students updated, but Erasmus + is currently running "as is" for the 2016/17 academic year.

If the situation changes for the 2017/18 academic year, we will let students know.

What is on offer at Sciences Po?

You will have the opportunity to spend a full academic year at Sciences Po, either at its main Paris campus or at one of the regional centres.

Each regional centre focusses on studies relating to a particular part of the world:

Dijon	Central and Eastern Europe
Le Havre	Europe/Asia
Menton	The Middle East and the Mediterranean
Nancy	Germany and other German-speaking countries
Poitiers	Latin America, the Iberian peninsula
Reims	Trans-Atlantic

You can find out more about Sciences Po and the Regional Centres here.

How good will my French/specialist languages need to be?

At Paris, Menton and Reims it is possible to study on the basis of English only, but the LSE encourages you to take the opportunity of studying a language.

Details of the language requirements for each campus are available here.

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

As part of your Erasmus funding, you may be required to undertake European Commissions Online Linguistic Support (OLS) depending on the language you will be studying in. Further details will be given to successful applicants.

What is the academic commitment?

The course catalogue varies between campuses, but information can be found on the course registration page.

You will need to take a full course load. This means courses worth up to 30 ECTS credits per term.

You will need to:

ensure you don't take courses that directly overlap with courses you have taken or are going to take at LSE
take at least one language course, ideally with a view to studying a language you haven't studied before
meet any academic conditions or pre-requisites set for admission to the courses you choose.

We recommend that you discuss your course choice with your Academic Adviser. You will choose your first courses before you go to France and choose your second set of courses by January in the following year. It is not always possible to take all of your first choice courses, so have second and third choices in mind.

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How does this fit with my LSE degree studies?

The scheme is open to all LSE students who are currently in the second year of their undergraduate programme.

We would normally expect you to have passed all your first year exams without needing to retake any of them, although the panel may be prepared to consider exceptions to this. N.b. if you are offered a place on the scheme but fail one or more of your second year exams, you might be asked to withdraw from the scheme.

The Sciences Po year is additional to the requirements of your LSE degree. Having completed the year at Sciences Po you then return to LSE to study the final year of your programme.

The exchange year does not count towards your final classification. However, Sciences Po will issue you with a transcript giving details of your results.

By completing a full workload (which equates to 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System [ECTS] credits per term), you will be eligible to receive Sciences Po's Certificate in Social Science and Humanities.

How does the scheme work financially?

You will need to make a payment towards tutiton fees at LSE whilst you are on the exchange. The amounts have yet to be confirmed but in 2016 -17 were :

UK/EU students: £1350
International students: £4500

If you are eligible for funding through the Student Loan Company, you will be able to apply for a loan to cover these tuition fees.

As with the UK, the cost of living will vary depending on which campus you are studying at, with Paris being the most expensive. Information on the cost of living can be found here.

Financial support available

If you are a UK/EU student and receive support from Student Finance, you will continue to be eligible for support but will need to notify them of your exchange year.
If you are a UK/EU student in receipt of a LSE Bursary, your award will be renewed at its current rate for the year in France (subject to assessment by the Financial Support Office). This does not include LSE scholarships.
All students will be eligible for a mobility grant under the Erasmus scheme. The grant is €350 per month. This is intended to assist with travel and living expenses during your exchange. It will not cover the costs of the exchange in-full.
Additional Erasmus funding is available for those students on Widening Participation or with special needs, so please let us know if you are eligible for these.
The School will provide an Annual Fund Sciences Po Exchange Bursary of £2500 to assist with travel and living expenses.
International students who have loans or scholarships from their home country, will need to check with their lender/sponsor whether they can be applied to the year in France, although LSE can help with official documentation. Sciences Po is an accredited institution for US student loan purposes.

Where would I live?

You will receive support from Sciences Po housing services at the campus you are attending, but it will be your responsibility to find a place to live. This is more difficult in Paris where there is a housing shortage.

For details go to:

Sciences Po: Living in France.

What about healthcare and visas?

The LSE insurance policy may cover you during your exchange year. You will need to inform the Erasmus Coordinator if you wish to explore this option. UK/EU nationals will be covered by their European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC), but international students may need to obtain further medcal insurance.

Schengen Visas

If you are a Tier 4 visa holder, you may require also require a visa to study in France. Further details can be found on the Sciences Po immigration pages.

How will the exchange affect my Tier 4 visa?

Any additional time spent on an exchange will count towards the five-year cap on degree level studies. You have two options:

Keep your Tier 4 visa in place - this will mean that you are likely to have spent a total of 50 months (4.2 years) studying in the UK.
Ask for the LSE to withdraw sponsorship of your Tier 4 visa during your time on exchange. Any time waiting for your Tier 4 to be curtailed will need to be included in the calculation of the cap on studies.

The extra year abroad will not make your programme a four-year degree to be able to extend the cap to six-year at degree level. Further information can be found in the Tier 4 Policy Guidance.

How do I apply?

10 students will be selected each year to attend Sciences Po.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 29th February 2016.

Whilst the number of applications has declined in recent years, the quality of applications submitted were much stronger. The panel are looking for candidates who will represent the LSE to the best of their ability during the exchange and want to take part for the opportunities it will bring academically and personally. To be considered for the application process you will need to submit the following:

1. Application coversheet

2. Personal statement of up to 1250 words (longer statements will not be considered) covering:

your educational journey so far, including reflections on your experience of LSE to date
why you want to take part in the year at Sciences Po – which campus you would like to attend and why, which courses you want to take and how they relate to your degree programme at LSE, which languages you might want to study
your ambitions beyond your LSE degree and how the exchange will contribute towards your future plans.

3. Academic reference from a full-time member of LSE staff from your department (preferably your Academic Adviser or Departmental Tutor not a GTA). This should cover:

your suitability to participate in the exchange
why your referee thinks you would particularly benefit from taking part
your academic performance and wider contribution to the department so far.

We are unable to consider applications without a reference, so we strongly recommend you request this well in advance of the deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure all of the required documents are submitted by the deadline.

You can submit the reference with your personal statement and application coversheet or your referee can submit it separately.

In assessing your application the panel will be looking for:

evidence that you have given this opportunity careful thought and have strong reasons for wanting to take advantage of it
you have undertaken suitable research, for instance by visiting the Sciences Po website
a detailed explanation of why you would like to study at your first choice of campus and how the year at Sciences Po would contribute to your future plans.

Feedback from the panel in previous years are that applications are overly cliched and not clear on what they hope to achieve or benefit from the exchange. Remember you are selling yourself as the best representative for LSE at Sciences Po. Be yourselves in the application.

If you have questions about the exchange which are not answered on this page, you can attend our Erasmus Drop-in session which takes place at the Student Services Centre in Old Building from 11am to 12 noon on Tuesdays during term time. Alternatively you can email Erasmus@lse.ac.uk.

Feedback from LSE students who took part in the exchange

The overall experience:

The most satisfactory aspect of the non-academic experience of the programme has been how my horizons and perspective have been completely broadened by studying abroad. I can’t quite put into words how much I have gained from this year.

My year at Sciences Po far surpassed my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it and was glad I had the opportunity to participate.

I would 100% recommend participating in an exchange programme with Sciences Po. It gives you opportunities that you are unlikely to ever come across again. It is a great experience both educationally and personally.

The curricula:

One of the best aspects was being able to choose any of the courses on offer. This allowed me to choose whatever I was interested in and I subsequently enjoyed all of my courses. It also allowed me to choose new courses in which I had no background. Without this year abroad, I would not have been able to study these subjects as part of my LSE degree due to all the regulations’.

Returning to LSE

I have been incredibly satisfied with my year with Sciences Po, in fact probably even more as I look back at it. I would not say that the return to LSE had been an issue, in fact I would even say that my experiences in France have made me appreciate the opportunities offered at LSE and in London even more.

As for how my experience at Sciences Po is affecting my time back at LSE and in London, it's been a great impact. I have a totally fresh approach to my law degree and feel very motivated!

Our outgoing student factsheet also provides more information on life in France.

Outgoing Student Factsheet

Is Sciences Po the only undergraduate exchange available?

The exchange at Sciences Po is the only school-wide European exchange available for LSE students under Erasmus+. In 2016 - 2017, the LSE is launching a new exchange with University of California, Berkeley. This is a special arrangement between the LSE and Berkeley. More details of the opportunity will be available on the Academic Partnerships web pages in the next few days. Follow @LSE_SSC for more updates.

The application process will be the same as for the Sciences Po exchange, so please refer to the information above to begin to start planning. Applications will be considered at the same time as the Sciences Po selection competition. However, you are only able to apply for either Sciences Po or Berkeley not both institutions.

If you are either a Social Anthropology or Anthropology and Law student, you may wish to explore your new departmental exchange with the University of Melbourne.

Sciences Po

University of California, Berkeley Exchange