Paris School of International Affairs


The Paris School of International Affairs is a graduate school of Sciences Po based in Paris, France, and it is generally considered to be one of the top rated and most prestigious graduate schools for international relations in the world. Located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, the school has an international student population of 70%, with 1200 students coming from nearly 100 countries.
Taught primarily in English and optionally in French, PSIA offers traditional two-year Master's degrees in international affairs that amount to 90 ECTS credits. Additionally it hosts a number of international dual degree programs with the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Georgetown University, the London School of Economics, the Free University of Berlin, Bocconi University in Milan, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Peking University, the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

History

The Paris School of International Affairs was established in 2010 in the context of the previous Sciences Po Director Richard Descoings' reforms to expand and internationalize Sciences Po and to diversify its student body. These reforms were effectively seen by the international media as a bold move away from the traditional grandes écoles French university system. As many Masters programs have been transformed into entire schools within Sciences Po, PSIA replaced Sciences Po's former master d'Affaires internationales. PSIA's original precursor is the section internationale created as early as 1872 by the Ecole libre des sciences politiques and which welcomed more than 30% of foreign students.
In January 2010 Ghassan Salamé was appointed the first dean of PSIA. In September of the same year, the school had a first intake of 500 graduate students. Within one year, international applications doubled and PSIA now has an enrollment of 1300 students from over 100 countries.
On April 20th, 2015 it was announced that Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy, would succeed Ghassan Salamé as Dean starting in September 2015.
"PSIA graduates are trained to be the most competent decision-makers, as well as engaged world citizens who think reflexively, who interconnect issues and articulate ethical dimensions," Ghassan Salamé, Dean of PSIA.

Noteworthy faculty and visiting professors

Among PSIA's scholars, practitioners, and leaders in international affairs, are: