Candidates sit a network-wide entrance exam for all seven institutes of political science in the ScPo Network. After registering on Parcoursup, you will be assigned to the nearest examination center. Scroll down for preparation guidelines.
The 2023 general entrance exam : admission requirements
Written tests (April 2023 – consult the ScPo Network website for the exact date)
- Contemporary questions(three hours, coefficient: 3) — recommended general topics to study: “Nutrition” and “Fear”. A provisional bibliography will published on the ScPo Network website in September.
- History(two hours, coefficient: 3) — candidates should study the core program of the general final-year French high school curriculum. Subjects: “Power relations and political models from the 1930s to the present” and “The political, social and cultural history of France from the 1930s to the present”. A provisional bibliography is already available on the ScPo Network website.
- Modern language (one hour, coefficient: 1.5) based on comprehension exercises and an essay.
Written tests will be reviewed in combination with high school and final-year high school (baccalaureate) grades - The average obtained in first (A) and second (B) modern languages in the final year of secondary studies (coefficient: 0.5).
- The average of the two marks obtained in the final exams of the first and second major(coefficient:1)
Equal opportunity programs
For ten years, Science Po Rennes has pursued a proactive policy of improving equality in its selection process. This policy strives to ensure favorable conditions for high school pupils who, due to a lack of information or their social background, never thought it possible or useful to sit the Sciences Po Rennes entrance exam. For ten years, Science Po Rennes has pursued a proactive policy of improving equality in its selection process. This policy strives to ensure favorable conditions for high school pupils who, due to a lack of information or their social background, never thought it possible or useful to sit the Sciences Po Rennes entrance exam.
Preparing for the entrance exam at a partner high school
This preparatory program is for final-year high school pupils and scholarship students in a secondary or post-secondary program who are selected based on ambition and academic performance at each partner high school. A team of teachers and a supervising teacher support pupils in preparing for the entrance exam. In addition, Sciences Po Rennes organizes internships and mock exams every year.
“Cordées de la Réussite”: inspiring students to move on to post-secondary studies
This program, managed by seven grandes écoles in Rennes, aims to spark interest among pupils selected for their academic excellence and modest household income. Discovery events (visits to judicial hearings, for example) are organized for high school pupils every year. Surveys conducted among the first five cohorts of graduates from the OPERA program show that a high percentage (40 to 50%) decide to pursue post-secondary studies in a preparatory program or grande école. Sciences Po Rennes aims to have 1,000 high school pupils enrolled in the Cordées de la Réussite program by 2025.
The online Tremplin preparatory program
Sciences Po Rennes looks to the curriculum and methodology of the general French high school diploma as a reference and does not recommend any preparatory program in particular. However certain students who have trouble working independently or lack structure can benefit from coaching and feedback on their work. To address this need and help students navigate a broad offer of preparatory programs, some of which are costly and vary in quality, The ScPo Network has certified an online preparatory course that is tailored to the network-wide exam and offers discounts to underprivileged students.
Students wishing to study at Sciences Po can use Tremplin to improve their performance and prepare for the exam with a better chance of success. The program can also help students achieve better results throughout their school year. Flexible and adaptable, this remote program is available anywhere and any time of the day. Candidates have access to course material in their personal account, including corrected assignments, examples of corrections, and for each assignment, personalized corrections and tips from the grader.
Tremplin professors accompany each student throughout the year via email correspondence, supervised homework, tutoring and online discussions.
