Hey, current first-year Dual BA student with Columbia. Congratulations on your acceptance to Berkeley and Sciences Po.
I’m going to give what I feel is a fair warning, given what I’ve experienced. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.
The regional campuses of Sciences Po are small and not very well established–they are worlds away from the main campus in Paris, and in my experience, a far cry from what you’d get on an American campus. The quality of teaching varies greatly: instruction in math is particularly bad, the Comparative Constitutional Law lecturer from last semester was incomprehensible, and my political theory professor from last semester still has not returned essays which were turned in last September, but you do sometimes get competent teaching. The professors and TAs are never around, however, and most seem not very invested in the campus; almost all of them are in Paris and only come to campus once a week for a couple of hours, then immediately go back to Paris.
The administration often seems as if it is making things up on the fly, and is not really on top of things. In addition, a lot of policies are not readily available to students, which means that nobody knows when the course drop deadline is, or what courses will be available next year, or which curricular requirements are actually enforced. Few first-years know exactly which courses are required for any of the majors or which courses are required during the second year; this information was not shared with us and must be demanded on an individual basis from the administration.
There really aren’t a lot of resources available to you. On my campus, there is exactly one on-campus job available, the administration doesn’t seem like it knows what it’s doing, and the professors and TAs are here only once a week. You’re completely in the dark with regard to internships, and academic/career advising is completely unheard of.
TL;DR: Sciences Po didn’t want to send anybody to teach in person at Menton, so their intro political science lecture this semester is being held via video link from Reims.
Thank you for your post, @hurrimadurr . Was going to PM you, but figured it’s probably worth it to be in public domain. My son just got admitted to Menton campus and is very excited. It is a little disheartening to hear your experience especially since he was specifically looking at schools where the teaching and relationship with faculty is an important part of the experience. The information on the website specifically mentions how the students will be working closely with faculty and advisors. Is this not the case? Sounds like you’re on your own. Is there a way to provide a feedback to someone, in France or in the US? It’s a relatively new program that looks spectacular on paper and I understand that they probably going through some growing pains, but what you are describing is the opposite of what I’d be looking for from a program like that.
Could you elaborate on this and other aspects of your experience - student body, general atmosphere, housing, logistics of living in a small town in France, etc?
hi! i got accepted to the dual degree at menton campus – looking for fellow classmates! let me know!
HI everyone! I have a few questions regarding the Dual BA Program between UC Berkeley and Sciences Po that I hope can be answered:
- I am informed that students will study a major at UC Berkeley for 2 years after 2 years at Sciences Po. I am wondering if ALL Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Sciences majors at UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science can be chosen. In other words, are there any majors that the Program deems cannot be studied in 2 years?
What’s really weird is that the Dual BA Application only offers:
Economics*
Ethnic Studies*
Global Studies
History
Legal Studies
Political Science
Political Economy
Sociology
and 4 other majors on the list of Intended Majors at Berkeley, with no option of “Other majors.”
What’s contradictory is that some students of the program reported on LinkedIn that they studied Film Studies at Berkeley, which isn’t on the list of Intended Majors at Berkeley, so now I’m confused.
- I understand that students must apply to both UC Berkeley and Sciences Po to get accepted to the Dual Degree Program. Considering this, is submitting the UC portion of the Dual Degree Program application equivalent to applying to only UC Berkeley? Are students eligible to enroll at only UC Berkeley if they, say, decide to withdraw from the Dual Degree Program?
I appreciate anyone who tries to answer my questions. Thank you! 