[20] The creation of the school was in response to widespread fears that the inadequacy of the education of the French political elite corps would diminish the country's international stature, as France grappled with a series of crises, including its defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War,[21] the demise of Napoleon III's regime, and the upheaval and massacre resulting from the Paris Commune.

"[22] His innovative intellectual axis was to teach contemporary history, whereas political elites had only been taught ancient humanities for centuries, which they could still learn in universities at the same time.

From 1901 to 1935, 92.5% of entrants to the Grands corps de l'État, the most powerful and prestigious administrative bodies in the French Civil Service, had studied there (this figure includes people who took civil service examination preparatory classes at Sciences Po but did not earn a degree and, in general, students were taking classes there on top of earning a degree at the University of Paris, in particular the Law Faculty).

The alumni Michel Debré, Jules Jeanneney and Roger Grégoire decided that the school would be preserved but transformed in a new structure.

[35] The public-private nature of Sciences Po, Paris, also distinguishes it from a network of institutes of political studies throughout the country that were inspired by its curriculum, namely in Strasbourg, Lyon, Aix, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Toulouse, Rennes and Lille.

[36] Sciences Po became the school of choice for those hoping to enter the ENA, and so retained its dominant place in educating high-ranking officials.

[37] From 1947 to 1979, Sciences Po is directed by Jacques Chapsal, who replaced his mentor Roger Seydoux and led the school through the Trente Glorieuses expansion as well as the May 68 crisis.

In addition, the school began requiring all its undergraduate students to spend a year abroad, and introduced a multilingual curriculum in French, English,[40] and other languages.

[41] This program enables the institution to recruit high-potential students at partner high schools in more disadvantaged parts of France who, due to a social, academic, and financial constraints, would not otherwise have been able to attend Sciences Po.

[51] In late 2016, Sciences Po acquired a new site, the Hôtel de l'Artillerie in the 7th arrondissement of Paris to expand its campus.

[62] Sciences Po purchased in 2016 the Hôtel de l’Artillerie, a 17th-century former monastery of 14,000 m2 located 200 meters from its campus on rue Saint-Guillaume, from the French Ministry of Defense and refurbished the building for a total cost of around 200 million euros.

According to the Sciences Po brochure, the Menton Campus' regional specialisation is on the Middle Eastern and the Mediterranean, and it welcomes 300 students each year.

Established in the region of Lorraine in 2000, the Nancy campus is located in an 18th-century heritage site, the Hôtel des Missions Royales.

The curriculum is taught in French, English and German, as its regional specialisation focuses on the European Union and French-German relations.

[75] Opened in 2010, the campus is located in the heart of the historic city of Poitiers in the Hôtel Chaboureau, a renovated building dating from the 15th century.

[86] In the first year, students take foundational courses in six disciplines - economics, history, humanities, law, political science, and sociology.

Recent guest speakers have included Ban Ki-moon, General David Petraeus, Condoleezza Rice, former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Eric Schmidt, Joseph Stiglitz, Sheryl Sandberg, Mario Draghi, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Harvard University professor Michael Sandel.

[109][110] Sciences Po has the highest attractivity rate of the French Institutes of political studies, as 86% of students who were admitted to its undergraduate programs accepted their offer.

[113] 92% of French students admitted to undergraduate programs got their Baccalauréat Summa cum laude ("mention Très bien").

[16] Sciences Po is widely regarded to be an elite institution due to its selectivity in admissions and its close connections to powerful networks within French society.

[127][128][129][130] Peter Gumbel called Sciences Po and other "Grandes Écoles" "elite colleges [which] have become a machine for perpetuating a brilliant but blinkered, often arrogant and frequently incompetent ruling freemasonry".

[131] The academic Gilles Devers criticized the institution for being the "base of the conservatism, and the mold of the molluscs that make the public elite" where "dissenting ideas are only admitted if they strengthen the system".

[140][141][142][143][144] Following the Duhamel scandal, Sciences Po issued a statement condemning "all forms of sexualized violence" and declaring "its shock and astonishment".

[158] In October 2012, the Court of Audit reprimanded Sciences Po for financial mismanagement, accusing it of opaque remuneration procedures, unwarranted expenses claims and excessive pay rises for managers.

[159] The Court noted that the school's complex legal status – a public institute managed by a private trust – had contributed to a dysfunction and waste.

[164][165] In 2007, a governmental decree authorized Sciences Po students to pass the Bar exam, providing they take a master's degree in law.

[177] In 2017, 14% (81 of the 577) of French members of parliament elected that year were Sciences Po graduates, the most represented institution of higher learning and grande école in the National Assembly.

Among the recipients of Sciences Po doctorate honoris causa are Václav Havel (2009), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2011), Elena Zhemkova (2022), and Angela Merkel (2023).

The writer Marcel Proust, the founder of the modern Olympics Pierre de Coubertin,[185] fashion designer Christian Dior, author Leïla Slimani, author Emmanuel Carrère, Harvard University Professor of political science Stanley Hoffmann, Chinese linguist Ma Jianzhong, Director of Paris Peace Forum Justin Vaïsse, journalist Arthur Dreyfus, researcher, Margaret Maruani, political scientist Tiago C. Peixoto, and former Le Monde editor Jean-Marie Colombani were all graduated from Sciences Po.

[186] Jurist and 1907 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Louis Renault taught international law at Sciences Po from its foundation in 1875 until his death in 1918.