Sciences Po in Paris: Explore Our Campus in the Heart of Saint-Germain-Des-Prés

Are you interested in one of the programmes Sciences Po offers on its Paris Campus? Discover the campus, its classrooms and its many educational facilities, then explore the neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a cultural and historic hotspot home to Sciences Po’s oldest campus!

Across multiple sites, the Paris Campus houses all 7,209 of the university’s Master’s and PhD students, and around 3,000 of its undergraduates. 42% of these are international students. The campus was built for the purpose of academic excellence and attracts the most talented students from all around the world. 

A campus in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Located in Saint-Germain-des-Près, in the very centre of the city, near the Seine and the Louvre Museum, the Paris Campus is Sciences Po’s historic birthplace. It was here that the university was founded in 1872.

The vibrant neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of Paris’s cultural and intellectual hubs. It resembles a little village in the heart of the French capital, imbued with a distinctive art de vivre, where culture and heritage co-exist.

One of the landmarks of the neighbourhood is the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a former abbey dating back to 543 CE. It is also known as the home of the literary cafés of the Boulevard Saint-Germain – most memorably Les Deux Magots and the Café de Flore – which became a watering hole for the literary and artistic elites of twentieth-century Paris. Deserving of a final mention is the magnificent Brasserie Lipp, whose painted panels and tile murals have become listed historical monuments.

Sciences Po's oldest campus

The Sciences Po Paris Campus is split across two sites located on either side of the Boulevard Saint-Germain.

To the south of the boulevard Saint-Germain are the six addresses that form the historic heart of Sciences Po, clustering around the original building at 27 rue Saint-Guillaume (56 rue des Saints-Pères, 28 rue Saint-Guillaume, 30 rue Saint-Guillaume, 9 rue de la Chaise et 199 boulevard Saint-Germain).

This cluster houses almost two thirds of the campus’s teaching and study spaces, with a capacity of approximately 3,000 seats. It also holds the large lecture halls where events are hosted, a library, student social spaces, cafeterias, gardens and student service offices.

The new 1 Saint Thomas Campus

Sciences Po’s new 1 Saint Thomas campus, opened in 2022, sits to the north of the boulevard Saint-Germain. The site is a listed historic monument. With its official address at 1 place Saint-Thomas d’Aquin, the campus backs on to the pre-existing site at 13 rue de l’Université, to which it is connected.

The new campus was awarded the 2022 Prix Versailles, an international architecture and design prize that honours the most impressive projects marrying culture and commercial architecture. The campus also won in the Jury’s Favourite category at the 2022 Grand Prix Simi architectural awards.

A feat of sustainable and responsible architecture, the new site embodies the openness, integration and inclusion that Sciences Po has championed since its founding: social inclusion, urban integration and openness to new ideas. It has generated new spaces to suit new forms of learning, and allowed for new connections with the city and wider society.

1 Saint Thomas also brings the university’s research community and graduate schools together on a single site. This opportunity to work together in the same space at the same time helps to foster strong links between research and teaching, and greater dialogue between different academic disciplines.

The site has a total surface area of 20,000 m² on more than one hectare of land, which is extensively planted with more than 2,000 m² of vegetation.

Students on the 1 Saint Thomas campus can take advantage of the following facilities:

• 19 hybrid teaching rooms and project spaces.
• 150 work spaces for PhD candidates.
• Five research seminar and conference rooms.
• One artistic workshop space split across two levels.
• An exhibition gallery.
• The Maison des Sciences Po, a reception space for events bringing together external and internal communities.
• A library with over 200 seats and 23,500 on-shelf books.
• Three courtyards and gardens, complete with an open-air amphitheatre and a communal vegetable garden.
• A 147-seat cafeteria.

The site is home to Sciences Po's seven graduate schools, its research offices, the Student Services Centre, and an Innovation Pavilion dedicated to educational innovation and presentations, spearheaded by the Institute for Skills and Innovation (Institut des compétences et de l'innovation). Almost a third of the Paris Campus’s teaching spaces, with a capacity of around 1,200 seats, are now found at 1 Saint Thomas.

Meanwhile, the nearby 28 rue des Saint-Pères building houses Sciences Po Executive Education, several research centres, administrative offices and further teaching spaces.

Catering, leisure and culture

Where can you go to eat? The cheapest option for students remains the Restaurant Universitaire Mabillon, which offers full and balanced meals for around three euros, as well as sandwiches, salads and breakfasts. Located a few minutes’ walk from the campus, the Mabillon Crous is accessible to anyone with a student card and is open in the evening and at weekends.

The Paris Campus also offers two Crous cafeterias of its own, with a choice of counter service or vending machines. You can find one at 27 rue Saint-Guillaume and the other on the Saint Thomas site.

Life on the campus is enriched by the many and varied initiatives and demonstrations organised by Sciences Po’s student associations. Students have a choice of more than 80 associations championing artistic, cultural, political, student union and humanitarian causes, and are encouraged to participate in activities developing their sense of community and social responsibility.

Finally, students can also discover the countless museums and cultural monuments in the wider Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood: the Musée Eugène Delacroix, the Pont des Arts, the Institut de France, the Church of Saint-Sulpice and the Jardin de Luxembourg. A stroll between these landmarks promises a historic, bucolic and cultural experience!

Tour the campus virtually

Tour the historic sites of our Paris Campus from the comfort of your own home. Using the navigation bar, you can discover key sites and new spaces on the campus.