The Poitiers Campus () is one of the constituent campuses of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, commonly referred to as Sciences Po. It is home to the Europe-Latin America Programme, offering students the opportunity to study the countries of the Iberian Peninsula and South America. Founded in 2001, it inaugurated its new home in a medieval former convent, renamed Collège Aliénor, in January 2019.

History

The campus was created in 2001, as one of the first decentralised campuses, along with Nancy and

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, of the Paris Institute of Political Studies. The campus moved to the renovated seventeenth-century ''Hôtel Chaboureau'', property of the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; , ) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France ...

, in 2004. Initially, the ''Hôtel Chaboureau'' welcomed around 120 students. However, following considerable growth, Sciences Po acquired a new site located on rue Jean-Jaurès, which was inaugurated in January 2019. This will allow the campus to increase its capacity to around 250 students. The site, a medieval Jacobite

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, dating back to the thirteenth century, was renamed Collège Aliénor as a tribute to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It has a long history as a centre of learning, having been chosen as the seat of the

by Pope Eugene IV in the fifteenth century, and more recently having served as one of the campuses of the École supérieure de commerce et management, who vacated the site in 2018.

Academics

The Poitiers Campus prepares students for the prestigious Bachelor of Arts (BA) in the Social Sciences and Humanities, a multidisciplinary programme common to all students of the Sciences Po Undergraduate College, regardless of their campus. The curriculum provides students with academic and methodological foundations in economics, history, humanities, law, political science, and sociology. Students continue with advanced study of the disciplines through a multidisciplinary perspective while diving into coursework related to their multidisciplinary major of choice: Economy & Society, Political Humanities, or Politics & Government. The particularity of the Poitiers Campus is the specialisation on

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The programme offers the opportunity to focus on the political, geopolitical and economic issues of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, in a comparative perspective with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, particularly the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. Students explore Latin America's history and contemporary questions such as democratic issues, how economies are integrating into the globalised economy, urban development, and regional and continental integration. The programme is taught mainly in French, with some courses in English, Spanish and optionally in Portuguese. Sciences Po has integrated a civic learning programme as part of the undergraduate studies. This helps students make the direct link between civic issues covered in class and their personal engagement to giving back to society through participation in activities hosted by the university or initiatives in the public, private, or non-profit sectors. During their third year, students are required to complete their studies abroad in a partner university. The Poitiers Campus also offers a dual degree programme with

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, as well as partnership programmes with the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Torcuato di Tella University, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The Campus also organises an annual winter school for its students, either in Spain or in Portugal.

Student life

Accommodating around 200 students, almost 60% of whom are international students of over 30 nationalities (mainly from Latin America and Spain), the campus benefits from a large cultural diversity. The Campus is situated in the historic university town of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (founded in 1431), and with a student population that makes up a quarter of the total number of inhabitants. Many sporting and cultural events enrich student life both within the university and in the town itself.

References

{{authority control Sciences Po Universities and colleges in Poitiers

History

Academics

Student life

See also

References