Fact sheet - Sciences-Po International

The undergraduate exchange programme certificateIn order to obtain the Undergraduate ExchangeProgramme Certificate, students must follow one of therecommended English, French or English/FrenchProgrammes outlined on the Sciences Po website, eachconsisting in two full semester course loads (60 ECTScredits total), and must validate a minimum of 45 ECTScredits overall. Students studying for one semester musttake and validate 30 ECTS.This certificate will also indicate a linguistic and/or thematic“mention”, providing the student has successfully completedat least 40 ECTS credits of a full year 60-credit ECTScourse load in a specific discipline or language:Academic rules and regulationsAttendanceAs class participation is an integral part of the academicprogramme, attendance in class is mandatory. Any absencemust be justified to the professor and the administrativeteam responsible for the programme of study. More thanthree absences per semester will result in automatic default(“défaillance”) of the course- Students at the Paris Campus may choose a thematic“concentration” (eg. 40 ECTS in Economics).- Exchange Students other campuses are awarded athematic “mention” in International Studies depending ontheir focus- Students who take at least 40 ECTS credits of coursesinstructed in French will be awarded a special “mentionFrancophone” on their certificate.- Students who take at least 40 ECTS credits of coursesinstructed in English will be awarded a special “mentionAnglophone” on their certificate.ECTSGradeAStudentsNormallyachieving thegrade (%)the highest10% of a classDefinitionEXCELLENT –outstandingperformancePunctualityStudents are expected to arrive in class on time. Excessivetardiness is considered as an absence.Exam AttendanceStudents must be vigilant of their exam dates and respectthese obligations by being present at any midterm or finalexams. No rescheduling of exams is permitted except underexceptional circumstances (i.e. medical reasons justified bya doctor’s certificate). A missed exam can result in a default,meaning the course credits are not obtained.No Add and Drop PolicyOnce the semester begins, students will not be allowed tocancel (“drop”) a course from their registered semestercourse load, except under exceptional circumstances. If astudent abandons the class, a default will automaticallyappear on their final transcript.Intellectual HonestyPlagiarism is prohibited and severely sanctioned.BCDEFX (*)F (*)the following25 %the following30 %the following25 %the last 10% ofa classVERY GOOD - above theaverage standardGOOD - generally sound workSATISFACTORY - fairSUFFICIENT – performancemeets minimum criteriaFAIL - passing level not obtainedFAIL - level considerably belowpassingOnly grades ranging between 10 and 20 are ranked(*) : At Sciences Po, the grade range of 9.00 and 9.50 out of20 is entered for the ECTS FX grade, and under 9.00 out of20.00 is entered for the F grade.AuditingStudents are not authorized to audit classes at Sciences Po.They must be registered in the course in order to attend.Evaluation and GradingGrading at Sciences Po is on a scale of 0 to 20. Each classis graded separately, and a minimum grade of 10 is requiredto pass a course. Sciences Po uses also the EuropeanCredit Transfer System (ECTS). In addition to the gradesobtained in the courses, students receive another gradeaccording to the ECTS. This grade is given as follows:Other gradesDéfaillant (Default)Report (Postpone)Validé (Pass)Non validé (Not validated)Usually indicates eitherexcessive absences of absencefrom the final examThe student had to reschedulethe exam for justified medicalreasonsSports electives onlySports electives only