Institut d'études politiques de Rennes

The Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Rennes (or "Rennes Institute of Political Studies") also known as Sciences Po Rennes, is a French university established in 1991 in Rennes, the regional capital of Brittany. The institution is one of 10 political science institutes in France and is considered one of the grandes écoles. Sciences Po Rennes was created by government decree in 1991 at the same time as Sciences Po Lille. Sciences Po institutes are Grandes Écoles, a French institution of higher education that is separate from, but parallel and connected to the main framework of the French public university system. Similar to the Ivy League in the United States, Oxbridge in the UK, and C9 League in China, Grandes Écoles are elite academic institutions that admit students through an extremely competitive process. The selection rates at these schools are frequently less than 10%. Alums go on to occupy elite positions within government, administration, and corporate firms in France. Although these institutes are more expensive than public universities in France, Grandes Écoles typically have much smaller class sizes and student bodies, and many of their programs are taught in English. International internships, study abroad opportunities, and close ties with government and the corporate world are a hallmark of the Grandes Écoles. Many of the top ranked schools in Europe are members of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (CGE), as are the Sciences Po institutes. The institute is modeled on the former École Libre des Sciences Politiques, and as such, Sciences Po specializes in political science, but uses an interdisciplinary approach to education that provides student generalists with the high level of grounding in skills that they need in History, Law, Economic Sciences, Sociology, Political science and International relations. Students are taught at least two foreign languages and must spend one year abroad in order to achieve proficiency in their second language.