page_title: Sciences Po
section_title: 1872 to 1945: École Libre des Sciences Politiques
hierarchical_section_title: Sciences Po / History / 1872 to 1945: École Libre des Sciences Politiques
caption_attribution_description: French philosopher and sociologist Émile Boutmy (1835-1906)
context_page_description: The Paris Institute of Political Studies, commonly referred to as Sciences Po Paris or just Sciences Po, is a higher education institution located in France, and member of the Conférence des Grandes écoles. It was founded in 1872 to promote a new class of French politicians in the aftermath of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.
  The school's alumni include seven recent French presidents, 13 French prime ministers, 12 foreign heads of state or government, and six of the CEOs of France's largest companies have studied at Sciences Po.
  Sciences Po undertook a substantial reform agenda starting in the mid-1990s, which broadened its focus to prepare students for the private sector, internationalized the school's student body and curriculum, and established a special admission process for underprivileged applicants. Sciences Po also expanded outside Paris by establishing additional campuses in Dijon, Le Havre, Menton, Nancy, Poitiers, and Reims. The Sciences Po curriculum now incorporates core courses in various branches of the social sciences, such as law, economics, history, political science, and sociology.
context_section_description: Sciences Po was established in February 1872 as the École Libre des Sciences Politiques (ELSP) by a group of French intellectuals, politicians and businessmen led by Émile Boutmy, and including Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel and Paul Leroy Beaulieu. The creation of the school was in response to widespread fears that the inadequacy of the French political and diplomatic corps would further diminish the country's international stature, as France grappled with a series of crises, including the defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, the demise of Napoleon III, and the upheaval and massacre resulting from Paris Commune. The founders of the school sought to reform the training of French politicians by establishing a new "breeding ground where nearly all the major, non-technical state commissioners were trained.".
  ELSP proved remarkably successful at preparing candidates for entry into senior civil service posts, and acquired a major role in France's political system. 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). By August 1894, the British Association for the Advancement of Science was advocating for the creation of a similar school to advance the study of politics in Great Britain. One year later, Sidney and Beatrice Webb used the Sciences Po curriculum and purpose as an inspiration for creating the London School of Economics.
  The connection between Sciences Po and French institutions meant that the university also played a key role in the apparatus of the French Empires. In 1886, the university established a colonial school with the goal of training students to take on professions in the colonial administration in a way that “propagates [...] a more scientific and international colonialism”. Many professors and members of the ELSP administration, such as  Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, chair in colonial affairs at ELSP, Joseph Chailley-Bert, Jules Cambon, Charles Jonnart, Auguste Louis Albéric d’Arenberg and Ernest Roume, were also closely linked to or worked directly with the colonial government. The colonial branch of ELSP closed in 1893 after a state-sponsored colonial school was created in 1889; however positions in the administrations of French colonies and protectorates continued to accept graduates from the ELSP.
caption: Sciences Po Founder, Émile Boutmy
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