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Graduate admissions: academic and professional references
We advise you to start your application by reading the instructions to choose the right referees and then, by filling out the reference section. This will ensure referees have adequate time to reply and fill out the recommendation form that will be automatically sent to them.
Academic and/or professional references are an essential part of your application.
To know before requesting your references
Make sure you check the specific requirements of your programme(s), as the number and kind of references, the deadline, and the language required can vary from one programme to another.
For Master's programmes, references can be written in French or English (unless otherwise stated). For dual degree programmes, please have your references written in English (except for dual degrees with a French partner university). If you are applying to both a Master's programme and a dual degree programme, your references will be taken into account for both programmes. Please have your references written in English (if the partner university is not French) and validated by your referees before the first of the deadlines.
References are online forms (we do not accept letters on separate documents) that your referees must complete before your application can be validated:
- You may choose up to five academic referees, although only one or two are compulsory (depending on the programme). Regarding professional recommendations, you might enter up to three referees.
- Our reference policy requires the use of a professional email address. We therefore require you to choose a referee who has one. Referees with personal email adresses will not be taken into account.
- Your referees will receive an automatic email as soon as you enter their contact.
You can remove or add a referee as long as your file has not been submitted. Once validated by your referee, a reference form cannot be deleted from your file.
Once submitted, your application will be considered incomplete if it does not include all the recommendations requested.
As a candidate, you commit to ensuring that the recommendations completed by your referees in your Sciences Po application are sincere and accurate. Any doubt as to the authenticity of a reference may lead to its invalidation, the deletion of the related referee account and the voiding of your application.
Applicants are not allowed to view their references. They are strictly confidential and will only be read by those responsible for assessing your application.
If you have obtained your last university degree more than 5 years ago (before 1 June 2020) and are not able to get academic references, please contact us.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT REFEREES
The references provided in the application form matter greatly to us; you should therefore take the utmost care when choosing your referees.
- Choose someone who knows you well and can assess your skills and personal qualities. Do not choose someone only because of their title or position.
- Make sure you choose referees that are prompt to provide a laudatory assessment. Take time to meet your referees in order to explain the reasons and motivation behind your choice. Remind them of the prominent features of your personality, interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and/or of your experience that you would like them to highlight, for the reference to be as specific as possible.
- Your academic referees must come from your time in higher education (we do not accept references from high school teachers) and have assessed your work (written work in particular). They have to be able to provide an evaluation that is at the same time unbiased and specific. Choose referees from the core subjects of your course, or subjects that are taught at Sciences Po. Your referees must have taught courses from your curriculum. Therefore, we cannot accept as academic referees (but we can accept them as professional referees) teachers who have supervised your work as Research Assistant for example, except if you obtained a grade for this work in your transcript.
- We do not accept references from language teachers (except if you are enrolled in a language course of study), as indications of your language level are provided elsewhere in your application. Your referees must have a professional email address. If you are unable to find referees with professional email addresses, please contact us.
- Academic advisors will not be accepted as referees.
- If you are applying to a dual degree programme only, or to both a Master’s programme and a dual degree programme, ask your referees to complete the form in English if the partner university is non-French.
- If you have been enrolled in several institutions in the last two years, it is recommended you choose referees from each one of them.
- A professional reference must come from a superior in the context of an internship or a job. If you are self-employed, you can ask your clients or partners.
INTERACTING WITH MY REFEREES
We recommend that you make arrangements with your referees beforehand and make sure they will manage to fill out the recommendation form sent by Sciences Po in a timely manner. Completing the form should take them 10 to 20 minutes. Bear in mind that they may receive many requests for references.
Your referees will receive an automatic email as soon as you enter their contact. In addition to this automatic message, make sure your referee knows when the reference is due and in which language the form should be completed. It is important that they provide a detailed assessment (minimum 10 lines).
It is your responsibility to ensure on your dashboard that your referees have validated their recommendations in due time. You will be able to send them reminders directly from your online application.
