Sciences Po or Leiden - international relations/governance

One ranking doesn't make sense. I can list a huge number of "the second uni" for politics. Also, keep in mind that IR/diplomacy are very different from politics. Leiden is very popular for IR and is argubly one of the best in Europe, so Sciences Po is hardly the obvious choice.

The comparsion between Leiden and Science Po is a bit like comparing St Andrews and LSE. Both have good reputation but the environments, traditions and specialisation are different. You won't be disadvantaged if you choose Leiden over Sciences Po.

Thanks for the feedback! I get what you're saying. I believe Leiden would not be a disadvantage, but from where I see both master's have a very similar structure and content, I guess the big diferential would be the traditions/environments.

I heard that Sciences Po would maybe provide more advantages on professional opportunities! I guess I'm trying to understand which one would give me a more interesting curriculum and job opportunities post Master.
Maybe you have a take on this?

Hello all!

Got accepted in Leiden for the Master in international relations and Diplomacy! It will be in the Hague, which is pretty amazing, and will probably open many doors, also, the Netherlands is a pretty cool country. Leiden is also a very recognized university.

In the other hand, I was also accepted for the master in International Governance and diplomacy of Sciences Po. I know that they are very well recognized, the Master is held in Paris and there are also many opportunities there.

The thing is, should Sciences Po be the obvious choice in this comparison? Leiden is overall tanked in the top 100 unis ww, but sciences po is ranked in second for politics.

What do you guys think?

Hey! Offer holder from Sciences Po PSIA here (MA International Security). From friends who've studied at PSIA, my understanding is that holding a degree from there and seeking a job in France is like having a magic card that makes you skip a lot of queues and get to where you want to go faster/more easily. And this is applicable to a range of industries. I've heard Leiden is more right-wing leaning and perhaps a bit less diverse/more Dutch than PSIA, but that's just hearsay.

Out of curiosity, may I ask when you applied to Leiden? I am also considering that programme but concerned I won't hear back in time before I have to respond to my offer at Sciences Po at the end of this month.

Good luck with your decision! Either way these are both fantastic programmes.

Hey!

Thanks for the feedback. Regarding Leiden, I've submitted my application at December 9th, and got an answer from them at January 12th. So it took a month for them to get back to me, so pretty quick I guess, considering christmas/new year's.

Abut your comments, I've been hearing the same, that sciences po gives you an edge when competing for jobs, and also, I understand that Sciences Po and PSIA position themselves as not so focused on the Research spectrum (PHD, etc.), and more on getting qualified people to the IO market, so that's probably why I've heard some criticism on the "quality of education".

Quick question, as you're also interested on the 2, what are your reasons for considering them?

I'm inclined on accepting the sciences po offer, because of the job opportunities, and also that would help me master the French language (being in France), which is a more important language in the international relations and diplomatic world.

I'm also eligible for Emile Boutmy scholarship, and there's a Leiden Excellence scholarship (applications for this one is closed now), both of the results come out at the end of april, but I would have to accept the Sciences Po offer before that, at mid april. But this is also influencing my decision.

Cheers!