Created in 1991, the Institute of Political Studies is part of the “Sciences Po” group, along with eight other higher education establishments located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Strasbourg and Toulouse.

Along with its counterparts, Sciences Po Rennes occupies a unique place in France’s higher education system :

• Applicants from all over France must pass a highly competitive entrance exam.
• Sciences Po Rennes is a state-run higher establishment, which enjoys administrative and academic independence. Sciences Po students, after five years of studies, obtain a Master’s Degree in various academic and professional fields.

The attraction of a “Sciences Po” education lies in the specific training and approach it provides :

• Studies are multidisciplinary : Law, Economics, Management, History, Political Science, Sustainable Development and languages are all taught on an equal basis. Such a variety of subjects provides the students with an excellent cultural and academic background which enables them to understand the most important issues in today’s world and have success to a wide range of careers.
• Throughout their curriculum, students develop quality and accuracy in written and oral practice, especially in small group classes in which they can improve their analytical and critical skills as well as their personal writing and speaking abilities.
• Beyond its academic dimension, Sciences Po Rennes aims at enabling open-minded students to grasp the complexities of the modern world.

As a selective higher education establishment, Sciences Po Rennes combines academic expertise with a rich intellectual environment. Along with its sister institutions, Sciences Po Rennes provides tomorrow’s senior executives and top civil servants with a prestigious and efficient training.

Although the eight « Sciences Po » have the same aims and are based on the same principles, each has its own identity. The main feature of Sciences Po Rennes lies in its international dimension, through:

• All students are required to study at least two foreign languages.
• We adopted the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) which guarantees the recognition of courses and degrees all over Europe.
• A Franco-German integrated course from the 1^st to the 5^th year in partnership with the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.
• A compulsory year abroad, either in university, or for an internship. Sciences Po Rennes has over 100 foreign partners in 40 countries. The IEP has agreements as “Erasmus” for Europe, “International Student Exchange Programme” (ISEP) for the United States, and “Institut des Amériques” for the Americas.
• In return, each year a large number of foreign students come to Rennes.

There is a student association focused on welcoming international students, Zephyr.

The alumni association is the Anciens de Sciences Po Rennes.