| The European School of Political and Social Sciences | |
| Other Name: | ESPOL |
| Established: | 2012 |
| Type: | Private higher education |
| Director: | Andrew Glencross |
| City: | Lille |
| State: | Hauts-de-France |
| Country: | France |
| Coordinates: | 50.6313°N 3.0459°W |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Language: | French and English |
| Affiliations: | European Consortium for Political Research[1] Couperin[2] |
The European School of Political and Social Sciences (referred to as ESPOL) is a non-profit private higher education institution located in Lille, France, and a member institution of Lille Catholic University, France's largest private university.[3] Founded in 2012,[4] ESPOL is dedicated to the study and research of political and social sciences, and awards state-recognized bachelors and master's.[5]
ESPOL is based in the Vauban neighborhood in Lille, Hauts-de-France, France, on the premises of Lille Catholic University's campus, and within walking distance to the Citadel of Lille.
In 2019 and 2022, ESPOL inaugurated two new buildings on its campus, dedicated to housing administrative offices, several amphitheaters, and a classroom inspired by the House of Commons.
The nearest Lille Metro stations are Gambetta and Cormontaigne.
Admission to ESPOL is competitive: for undergraduate programmes the admission rate ranges from 10 to 20%. All undergraduate applications are made through Parcoursup, the online admission platform hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.[6] In 2016–17, entry qualifications of first-year undergraduate students averaged 14.74 (out of a possible 20) in the French Baccalauréat.[7] In 2024, 6400 students applied for an undergraduate program.[8]
Postgraduate students at ESPOL are required to have an undergraduate level degree (180 ECTS) at the time of entry and provide proof of English language proficiency. Master's applications are made through the university's admission platform. The admission rate ranges from 10 to 15%.[9]
In the 2021–22 academic year, ESPOL had a domicile breakdown of 81:19 of French:non-French students respectively in the undergraduate programmes, of 30:70 of French:non-French students respectively in the master's programmes, and with a female to male ratio of 71:29. In the same year, 20% of ESPOL students were scholarship holders.[10]
Tuition fees at ESPOL vary according to household income, household composition and a needs-based evaluation index. Tuition fees for both bachelors and masters range from 2885 € to 9500 €. Merit-based scholarships are also available, ranging from €1000 to €2000.
The School offers 3 bachelor's degrees and 4 master's degrees. Its bachelor's programmes are bilingual (French/English) whereas its master's programmes are taught only in English [11] [12]
ESPOL students have access to the BU Vauban network of 9 libraries: 6 in Lille, 2 in Paris and 1 in Nice, totalling 400,000 books.[13] The library network is a member of Couperin,[14] a consortium representing more than 250 academic institutions in France, which facilitates and negotiates access to academic journals, databases, e-books and other online resources offered by academic publishers.
Recent prominent speakers at the school have included Raphaël Glucksmann, Michel Sapin, Thomas J. Biersteker, Christian de Boissieu, Cyril Dion, Bernard Kouchner, Chantal Mouffe, Karima Delli, Jeremy Rifkin, Aurélien Pradié, Gilles Pargneaux, Luuk van Middelaar, Violette Spillebout, Johan C. Verbeke, Muhammad Yunus, Vadim Omelchenko and Pierre-Yves Neron.
ESPOL boasts a special research centre known as ESPOL-LAB.
The research at ESPOL-LAB is structured around three primary areas:
Europe serves as a central theme cutting across all these research areas, influencing and shaping investigations.
ESPOL has established academic partnerships in teaching and research with 140 universities worldwide. These partnerships facilitate student exchange programs, allowing ESPOL students to study for a semester at partner schools, while students from these schools also have the opportunity to study at ESPOL for a semester.[15] [16] These universities include:
There are over 30 student clubs under the umbrella of the ESPOL students' union, including ESPOMUN, the Model United Nations delegation, the Alumni network, the debating society Le Serment d'ESPOL, ESPOL DEFENSE dedicated to promoting the diversity of defense and security professions, the Bureau Des Arts in charge of artistic activities, and Le Canari the school's student newspaper.Sporting activity is coordinated by the ESPOL sports office (BDS, Bureau des Sports),the only exception being pétanque, a sport so important that it needed its own club : Le cochonnet Espolien.