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Instituts d'études politiques (English: Institutes of Political Studies), or IEPs, are ten publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse, and since 2014 Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Their vocation is the study and research of contemporary political science. All students at the IEPs study a curriculum that is highly practical and broadbased, focusing on the full range of the social sciences: law, economics, finance, management, etc. These schools are considered as some of the most selective in France, mainly because they are the place where main political and business leaders are born.
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These establishments are more known under the name of Sciences Po, followed by the name of the city where they are located (for example Sciences Po Bordeaux). The epithet Sciences Po without precision of place indicates the IEP Paris. The Paris Institute is referred to as simply the Sciences Po because it is the school after which all other IEPs in France were modelled from the inception of the IEP system by Charles de Gaulle in 1945, apart from Strasbourg, which was created by the same law but with the status of an internal institute of the Robert Schuman University.
According to article 2 of an 18 December 1989 decree, their mission is : 1° to contribute to the training of higher civil servants as well as executives in the public, para-public and private sectors, notably in the State and decentralized communities 2° to develop the research in political and administrative sciences
The Sciences Po approach and style inspired many universities in France but also abroad (the most famous example is that of the London School of Economics, founded on the model of the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques).
The ten Instituts d'études politiques are:
The other Instituts d'études politiques around the world are :
Critérium
Every year an inter-IEP competition is held, hosted by the hometown of one of the IEPs and attended by participants from all 10 IEPs. The first crit, as it is known colloquially, was created in 1987 by the IEPs of Bordeaux and Toulouse who decided to have a friendly rugby match.
This competition takes the form of a 3-day sports event and party, and is held over the last weekend of March, run by the host university's "Sports office". The hosting of an event generally costs about 200,000 euros, funded by the participants, as well as by sponsors and grants. The hosting of the event is rotated between the different IEPs each year.
Traditions
Each of the 10 instituts has a distinctive colour and distinctive symbols and/or mascots:
Winners
Paris and Aix-en-Provence are the usual winners of the trophy