Doctorate in Political Science, Major in Comparative Politics

Programme objectives

This programme trains students in research in the field of comparative politics and prepares them for careers in academia (research and teaching), as well as for advisory roles and high-level expertise (NGOs, international organisations, etc.) and senior civil service roles.

It offers an original programme in the French university landscape through the range of specialisations it offers and the prestige of the research centres on which it relies: the Center for International Studies (CERI), the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) and the CEVIPOF.

It relies on a team of recognised teachers, heavily involved in current French and international research and specialists in different cultural areas in Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Arab world.

This programme has four educational objectives:

• mastery of the fundamental theoretical questions of political science,
• learning a wide range of methods of social science, both quantitative (mastery of statistical tools) and qualitative (training in field research).
• The dual knowledge of a geographical area and the comparative approach.
• The completion of a master's thesis (and a research stay) in a specific field.

At the end of these two years of study, students hold a master's degree in political science, with a specialisation in comparative politics.

Audiences

The programme is open to French and foreign students who wish to acquire a solid foundation in comparative politics, both in terms of the fundamentals and the methodology, and who are interested in one or more regions. Knowledge of the language of the country being studied is therefore required.

Programme structure

The programme consists of two years at master's level and three years at thesis level.

The course is organised around four types of teaching, including:

• Fundamental courses in comparative politics, which are compulsory for all students, who must validate 5 of them.
• Method courses teaching quantitative and qualitative methods. Students must validate 4 of them (including two introductory courses in quantitative and qualitative methods)
• Advanced courses dealing with cross-disciplinary issues in political science in a comparative manner. Students must pass 7 of these.
• Specialisation courses covering the different areas, including a research training workshop. In addition to individual tutoring, this provides students with close supervision to help them define a research strategy and develop their dissertation.

The emphasis will be constantly placed on the relationship with the field - particularly through access to sources in vernacular languages - not only in methodology courses and specialised seminars on the different geographical areas, but also in the core courses and advanced courses.

Consult the pedagogical model for the 2 years of the master's degree

PhD Thesis registration

Registration for a PhD Thesis is subject to the approval of a panel of judges who decide, in light of the academic results and the quality of the dissertation, on the capacity of the candidates to commit to this research programme.

This application for registration for a PhD Thesis is open not only to students who have completed the initial training provided by Sciences Po but also to holders of a master's degree obtained in another French or foreign institution. However, students who have not followed the Sciences Po master's degree in political science may be asked to follow, prior to commencing their doctoral research, fundamental or specialised courses that the admissions panel deems necessary for their training.

During the three years of their thesis, doctoral students are supervised by a PhD Thesis supervisor and integrated into one of the institution's three political science laboratories: the Center for International Studies (CERI), the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) or the CEVIPOF. PhD students must also attend at least three doctoral seminars.

Admission to a PhD

Consult our ‘Admission to a PhD’ page

Tuition Fees & Funding

Mobility grants are available to doctoral students to enable them to take part in conferences and to carry out fieldwork and study trips abroad.

For more information, see the 'PhD Tuition Fees & funding' page

Contacts

Laurence Louër
Head of research, Associate Professor (CERI)

Caterina Froio
Head of research, Associate Professor (CEE)
 

Fathim Cisse
Administrative manager
Ph.: +33 (0)1 45 49 72 06

Guillaume Chausseron
Teaching assistant
Ph.: +33 (0)1 49 54 37 63