FAQ

Is VAE Legal & Recognized ?

The Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) is an evaluation process established in 2002 by the French government to provide an alternative to traditional exams and assessments. It allows individuals to obtain higher education diplomas based on their professional experience. Recently, the VAE process has been made more accessible and appealing by President Emmanuel Macron’s government. It mandates that all universities must offer the possibility to award any diploma in any discipline. These diplomas are recognized by the Lisbon Convention, the recent Global Convention on Higher Education by UNESCO, and by American “Credential Evaluators.”

Why are you so Affordable ?

A Bachelor’s degree at IEP Paris costs a minimum of €44,160, and a Master’s degree starts at €20,380 per year. In contrast, a Bachelor’s degree at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques costs just €1,000 in total, and an MBA is only €2,000. While a PhD at Harvard has a minimum price tag of $128,370, a PhD through VAE costs just €4,000.

IEP Paris is quite resistant to adopting the VAE process. Their VAE pathway is complex (involving four notebooks plus a defence), only extends up to the Master’s level, and costs at least €6,000. Our appeal lies not only in the dedication of our faculty but also in the streamlined VAE process, which can be completed in a short time without any face-to-face requirements.

Are You linked with Sciences Po Paris (IEP) ?

Absolutely not! Numerous scandals have severely tarnished the reputation of Sciences Po. Its director, Richard Degoins, died under suspicious circumstances in New York. His successor, Mathis Vicherat, was forced to resign in January 2024 after being charged with domestic violence. Olivier Duhamel, one of its star professors, faced accusations of incest involving his stepson. Although the case was covered by the statute of limitations, he was compelled to resign in disgrace.

The situation is further worsened by a significant decline in the quality of education and a shift towards extreme leftist ideology. Positive discrimination policies favoring students from ZEP (areas with significant immigration challenges) have been controversial. In 2024, Pascal Perrineau, a renowned professor, was dismissed for being deemed too centrist. Sciences Po has also faced accusations of anti-Semitism—such as when a Jewish student was reportedly barred from entering a lecture hall—and outrageous racism, including meetings exclusively for “racialized” students.

Adding to the absurdity, the institution now charges €15,000 to have your name engraved on the back of an amphitheatre seat. With sponsors abandoning the school en masse in protest, Sciences Po has significantly increased tuition fees to a minimum of €18,000 per year, which are scaled based on parents’ income, while the quality of education has continued to decline. The result? Sciences Po has become devalued, and employers are increasingly wary. As quoted in an article from Le Figaro, one bank executive stated, “A Sciences Po CV? I don’t even look at it anymore.”

L’École Libre des Sciences Politiques is politically neutral, non-denominational and focuses solely on the quality of its teaching while respecting the tradition of excellence of its former students. Here are some of our noticeable alumni.