Studying in Good Health at Sciences Po: Healthcare and Health Promotion Services

The university’s ambitious, well-funded health policy has considerably improved the health (and often social) support available to students, especially through the establishment of free health consultations on every campus. The policy has two main strands. The first is access to primary care; the second concerns the many health promotion and education activities that the university runs in collaboration with its partners. Sciences Po serves nearly 15,000 students across its seven campuses and our health system allows them to access primary care free of charge through its Health Centres. Consultations are conducted by doctors who speak English, ensuring care is provided in the best possible conditions - including for international students.

Special attention is paid to psychological support. Almost all campuses provide at least three half-days of medical and/or nursing care per week (excluding university holidays), with more extensive provision in Paris, where a brand new Health Centre has just opened, and Reims given the higher student numbers. In total, around 30 health professionals are present, part-time, across all campuses.

Sciences Po also offers a broad range of care services through the Care, Health and Wellbeing workshops on some campuses, where students can learn to relax, manage stress, and understand themselves better. The workshops provide simple, practical tools, for coping with exams, for example. They help students build healthy attitudes and lifestyles and deal with certain emotions (anger, fear, shame, etc.).

In addition, there are 20 "Student Health Representatives (ERS)" across our campuses. Their mission is to organise health promotion and education activities in collaboration with the Health Centre, Sciences Po voluntary organisations, and external partners. They provide students with information and advice on topics such as sleep, addictions, nutrition, and sexual health.

Initiatives implemented in 2023 and 2024 include: 

• Information sessions on sexual health, in partnership with the CheckPoint association, with the possibility of carrying out screenings, followed by individual interviews.
• Several events on mental health, including the organisation of a prevention week in February 2024: prevention campaigns, creation of participative murals, participation of practitioners from the student health service, etc.
• Nutrition workshops in collaboration with a nutritionist/dietitian and the student association PAVéS, interactions with a nutritionist.
• Oral health. In collaboration with the French social security, an information and prevention day was organised with the possibility of carrying out a free dental check-up.
• Addiction prevention with prevention campaigns on social media addiction, tobacco, alcohol and drugs addictions.
• A breast cancer information campaign to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month (known in France as “Octobre rose”), as well as a week of awareness on endometriosis and sexual health in general, with the participation of student unions.

​The role of the Sciences Po health services is also to provide clear, comprehensive information on the services available at Sciences Po and partner health facilities. 

Their work is supervised by staff from Student Services and one of the Sciences Po medical team

Access to the health services is free of charge and with a team of mearly 30 professionals across the different campuses, students can get the care they need fast. The Health Centre’s practitioners draw on a large, diverse network of health professionals, and work closely with the Sciences Po Student Welfare and Support Office.

Academic success and graduate employability are key issues and presuppose a fulfilling student life and overall wellbeing (physical and psychological health, social life, etc.). These issues have become all the more pressing. For several years now, Sciences Po has adopted a policy providing the best possible study conditions through reliable, adaptable and responsive financial, social and health support services and resources. The support is local and personalised, which allows us to take account of the everyday demands of student life and provide a response to the difficulties that any student may face, wherever they live, in France or abroad.

Sciences Po has taken numerous and ambitious measures regarding sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). A sexual harassment monitoring unit was set up in 2015 and since autumn 2021, a new system has been put in place to provide a tailored response for survivors and to raise awareness of SGBV prevention throughout the university community.

The system includes:

• the implementation of a coherent and comprehensive SGBV awareness plan for the entire Sciences Po community, complemented by a range of in-depth training for certain groups identified on the basis of their roles, in order to promote a culture of care and respect in all situations
• a listening, support, and reporting service
• systematic internal investigations following each report, so that the facts can be established independently and as thoroughly and incontrovertibly as possible
• the implementation of prevention and control measures for situations identified as most at risk, particularly in relation to student life and cyberbullying.

Finally, with regard to disability and accessibility, Sciences Po instituted an equal opportunity policy 20 years ago which ensures that all talented students can access our programmes.

The Sciences Po Accessible programme is central to this policy. It is a strong, responsible commitment that opens Sciences Po’s doors to students with disabilities and supports them throughout their studies, from admission to their entry into the workforce.