Top Social Science Schools: LSE Vs Sciences Po

Rivalry between the two schools is further intensified by their locations in the heart of the capitals of France and the UK. Just over 200 miles apart and connected by a train journey (beneath the English Channel) which takes just over two hours, London and Paris have a long history of competition, each vying to be Western Europe’s most visited, loved and celebrated city. 

In the QS Best Student Cities, London currently takes first place, with Paris ranking as the world’s fifth best city for students. The biggest gap between the two is in the affordability category. While both are relatively expensive places to live, the UK’s higher tuition fees make London a costlier overall prospect for both domestic and international students. 

Undergraduate students at Sciences Po may also be based at one of six regional campuses, located across France. Each of these campuses specializes in a particular field of study – Reims for transatlantic relations, Le Havre for Asian studies, Dijon for a European focus, Nancy for French-German studies, Poitiers for the Latin American program and Menton for Middle East and Mediterranean studies. 

Sciences Po is slightly larger in terms of overall student numbers, with around 14,000 students, compared to roughly 10,782 at LSE.  

Both universities are very internationally diverse. At LSE, around 55 percent of students are from outside the UK, while 49 percent of Sciences Po students are from outside France.  

At LSE, undergraduate tuition fees are set at £9,250 per year for UK students and £22,430 per year for international students. At postgraduate level, tuition fees range from £15,216 to £30,260 per year for UK students and between £23,520 to £30,960 per year for international students. 

The LSE Undergraduate Support Scheme (USS) helps international students who don’t have the necessary funds to meet their costs of study. The amount of financial help will vary according to individual financial needs but is usually between £6,000 and £15,000. There are also several scholarships available to students, funded by private or corporate donations. These may be based on either financial need or academic merit. 

At Sciences Po, tuition fees for undergraduate students from the EEA, Lichtenstein, Norway or Iceland cost up to €13,000 (~£11,180) per year based on family income and €13,000 for international students from outside these countries. Tuition fees for postgraduate students from the EEA, Lichtenstein, Norway or Iceland are up to €18,000 (~£15,480) per year based on family income and €18,000 for all international students from outside these countries. 

Sciences Po has a variety of scholarships and grants available for domestic and international students, which you can read more about here.  

Unsurprisingly, as the world’s leading institutions specializing in social sciences, LSE and Sciences Po boast two of the world’s most impressive resource collections in the field. LSE claims the world’s largest library devoted to social sciences, while Sciences Po has the largest within continental Europe. 

Sciences Po’s collection includes 660,000 books, 15,000 periodicals and 20,300 electronic journals. Meanwhile LSE’s British Library of Political and Economic Science features more than four million printed items, subscriptions to 33,600 e-journals, and 50km of shelving – equivalent to the length of the Channel Tunnel which connects the UK to France.  

These famed institutions remain two of the most compelling choices for those with an interest in social science and humanities subjects, offering some of the world’s leading resource collections in these fields, and two of the globe’s most international and elite academic communities.  

While a straight-up comparison in the rankings tables makes LSE the clear winner, Sciences Po’s differentiated course offering, strong faculty/student ratio and choice of locations in Paris and beyond will nonetheless give it the edge for many prospective social science students. 

This article was originally published in April 2013. It was last updated in June 2021 to include the latest data from the QS World University Rankings and other sources. 

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