Master in public affairs: frequently asked questions (faq)

The MPA is a one-year program. It starts during the last week of August with an orientation week and the program ends mid-July.

It is recommended that applicants have at least 5 years of professional experience to apply for this program.

However, if you are not sure that your profile fits the minimum requirements, do not hesitate to ask us to review your application and your CV

A professional experience composed only of internships is not admissible for this Master.

The MPA is a full-time one-year program. Attendance is mandatory and is taken in every class. As such, we recommend that all MPA students follow the academic calendar for the entire academic year.

The MPA has changed from a 2-year program to a 1-year program, which has an impact on the curriculum.

Also, the old concentrations have been replaced by the new School of Public Affairs policy streams.

The calendar for the admission process is available on the Admissions website.

To be eligible for the MPA, applicants must fulfil the academic requirements (they must have at least a B.A., but an M.A. or equivalent is preferred), they must have at least 5 years of professional experience (internships cannot count towards professional experience).

A C1 level of English is also required.

For more information regarding minimum requirements.

To learn more about the admission process for this master, please visit the admissions website.

A C1 level of English is required in order to apply to this program via the international admissions procedure.

Learn more about the language requirements.

It is not necessary to speak French to apply for this program. However, we encourage all students to take French classes once admitted to Sciences Po.

The Sciences Po language department offers a wide choice of language classes.

25 to 30 students are admitted to the MPA program every year.

Please note that applying to the MPA program is exclusive to all other admission procedures.

As such, the candidate must choose between the MPA and all other Sciences Po’s Master/dual degree programmes.

Yes, scholarships do exist for this program. They cover part of the yearly tuition fees and are offered by Sciences Po.

Learn more about existing scholarships and the selection criteria.

MPA scholarships are offered after the review of both the quality of the candidate’s application and his/her personal situation.

Learn more about existing scholarships and the selection criteria.

No, candidates of one-year programs are not eligible for the Emile Boutmy scholarship.

MPA candidates can instead apply for the MPA scholarship which offers partial to full tuition remission. Find out more about the MPA scholarship.

Once admitted to the program, candidates will receive a scholarship application that they will use to apply for the MPA scholarship.

Several other scholarships exist at Sciences Po. Find out more about the eligibility criteria and the application procedure for each of these additional scholarships.