Three year BA from Sciences Po - will it be accepted in the US?

[NorgeSverige]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently deciding between Tufts and Sciences Po Paris for my undergrad education. I really like Sciences Po because I'm very interested in the course material there, as well as the opportunity to have all my classes in French. However, I'm a little worried that since the degree is only three years (like many if not most European schools) when I come back to the US for grad school it won't be accepted. I sort of feel that this is a silly thing to worry about considering that it's one of the best schools in France and I'm sure that many graduates get accepted to US grad schools, but at the same time it's so different from the US that it makes me slightly nervous.

One thing I have to consider for grad school too is that going to Sciences Po will save me something like $40,000 over four years, which could really help pay for grad school.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Edited July 1, 2012 by NorgeSverige

[edgirl]

As long as you satisfy all the requirements of the Sciences Po degree, you will qualify for admission to US schools for graduate study. If you take the time to look at any graduate program's admission requirements, you'll see that the requirement is for applicants to have a 4-year degree from an American school or the equivalent degree from a non-US school -- in other words, a bachelor's degree, from wherever. Frankly, this is something you can easily find for yourself with a little effort.

[lewin]

I don't think the question is so clear-cut. Is a three-year foreign degree "equivalent" to a four-year American degree? They might not think so.

[edgirl]

It is equivalent. And recognized as such by US schools.

[lewin]

It is equivalent. And recognized as such by US schools.

It must feel good to be so certain, but a few minutes of googling turned up two exceptions to what you're saying (one, two) and a 2009 report that indicates about 15% of institutions would not consider a three-year degree equivalent to a four-year Bachelor's. And thar report says only 40% of schools would grant 3-year applicants regular admission, many get conditional status. So the odds are that it will be fine, but my point was just that "it is equivalent" is a pretty strident and, it appears, inaccurate thing to say.

OP, it might be worth checking with a few of your preferred graduate schools to ensure there won't be problems. If your heart is set on somewhere specific it would be too bad if they're in that 15%.

Edited July 9, 2012 by lewin00

[edgirl]

Sorry to ruffle feathers. I'm not convinced by those links that a Sciences Po 3-year degree won't carry the day in grad school admissions, but of course lewin00 is correct to note that contacting individual schools directly is the best way to go. I spoke with such certainty because both of my parents are academics, and I have never heard of anyone being denied graduate entry to their programs because their (non-US) home country degree was a three-year program.

Note that in that Arizona link, it doesn't mention Great Britian in that list, even though many UK programs are 3 years long, and see the Sciences Po website for a description of degrees there:

"The three-year programme features a compact and intensive format aligned with the most common standards in continental Europe. Capitalising on the high academic level of the students admitted, this curriculum allows them to obtain 240 ECTS credits representing a body of knowledge and life skills corresponding to four years of study in the North-American and Asian systems. Of these credits, 180 are awarded for courses completed while on campus, allowing Sciences Po to retain complete academic control over the equivalent of three years of study. This academic knowledge is acquired during the first two years of study, supplemented by a term paper."

So, sure, if the OP were off to some never-heard-of-it school in the middle of nowhere, there might be a concern. But with a degree from Sciences Po, I have no concerns. Note too that SP has partnerships with over 300 other colleges, where students can spend their third year, and these schools include Princeton, Harvard, etc. -- so if there's a concern about having US credentials, spending a year at one of those places would go a long way to alleviate it.