SAIS Bologna signs accord with French "grande école"

SAIS Bologna has reached a partnership with a leading French university that will enable students to receive two master's degrees in as many years, adding to the growing list of dual degree programs offered to SAIS students.

The cooperative degree options allow students to receive two advanced degrees in less time than it would take if they tackled the programs separately. That can accelerate participants' careers, broaden students' horizons and save them money.

Tuesday's signing ceremony in Lille, France

The latest agreement, signed on Tuesday, links SAIS Bologna with Sciences Po Lille, one of France's grandes écoles specializing in political science, international relations and economics.

Both SAIS Bologna and Sciences Po Lille are confident the agreement will stimulate the movement of outstanding students between the two institutions and deepen the already diverse makeup of their student bodies.

The linkup follows an agreement reached last year that allows SAIS students who are admitted to the INSEAD business school outside of Paris to earn both an MA and an MBA in five semesters.

SAIS Bologna has a longstanding dual degree agreement with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. More recently it reached similar accords with the University of Bologna.

In the case of SAIS Bologna's agreements with Sciences Po Lille and the University of Bologna, a student can study for one year at either of the partner institutions and one year at the Bologna Center and receive master's degrees from both programs.

In the United States, SAIS has dual degree agreements leading to an MA in combination with:

• an MBA from either the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania or the Tuck School at Dartmouth;
• a Master of Science in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;
• a Juris Doctorate degree from either Stanford University Law School or the University of Virginia Law School;
• a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University.

I traveled to Lille, France on Tuesday to sign the agreement with Sciences Po Lille Director Pierre Mathiot and Patrick Mardellat, director of international relations at Sciences Po Lille, part of the network of nine publicly owned instituts d'études politiques spread throughout France.

We signed the agreement at the regional prefecture in the presence of U.S. Embassy Minister Counselor Philip Breeden and several hundred high school students aspiring to attend Sciences Po Lille -- and perhaps one day SAIS.

Nelson Graves

So many options

Last week, SAIS and INSEAD announced a dual-degree program. INSEAD, as most of you doubtless know, is a business school with campuses in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. More on the agreement below.

This new dual degree agreement gives me a chance to remind our readers of a couple of important things.

First, if a candidate is admitted to SAIS Bologna as a master's student, they are automatically admitted to SAIS DC for a second year provided they perform satisfactorily in Bologna. Some of our candidates have asked whether they have been admitted to SAIS DC or not, and whether they would have to apply to Washington from Bologna. The answer is that SAIS Bologna students do not have to apply for Washington.

Most of the Bologna Center students do a second year in Washington and at the end receive a Master's of Arts in International Relations.

This does not apply to MIPP candidates, of course, as they are enrolled for only one year and choose either the DC or the Bologna campus.

Alternatively, SAIS Bologna students may decide to purse an MAIA -- or a Master's of Arts in International Affairs. This is a two-year program with a thesis in the second year and 14 required course credits over the two years instead of 16.

A few students stay in Bologna for two years and receive an MAIA. The MAIA is also offered as part of our dual-degree programs with the Università di Bologna (both the Bologna and Forlì campuses), and with the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. So a student can do one year at one of those universities and a second year at SAIS Bologna and receive two degrees.

We also have an agreement with Sabancı University in Istanbul. A SAIS Bologna student can do a first year in Bologna and a second year at Sabancı, and receive the Bologna Center diploma and a master's from Sabancı. This path could be interesting for someone who wants both exposure to a U.S.-style graduate program with an international perspective and the chance to study in Turkey, which is playing an increasingly important regional and international role.


Many of you know that SAIS has a range of dual-degree programs with U.S. universities. Students can receive a master's from SAIS as well as a business degree from Wharton or Tuck; a public health degree from Johns Hopkins; a juris doctorate degree from Stanford or the University of Virginia; or a public administration degree from Syracuse University.


A student can study at SAIS Bologna and also participate in one of these dual degree programs. Keep in mind that one must apply to both SAIS and the other institution separately to be enrolled.


For more information on these dual-degree options, click here.


Now, back to the INSEAD agreement. As the announcement indicates, students can now receive an M.A. from SAIS and an M.B.A. from INSEAD after 2-1/2 years of study, compared to the three years required if done separately. Students admitted to both programs will spend 1-1/2 years at SAIS and one year at INSEAD. Students can start at either SAIS Bologna or SAIS DC, with the third semester in Washington.


As SAIS Dean Jessica Einhorn said: "We are confident that, with INSEAD as our partner, the students who pursue dual degrees will find that the whole is greater than the sum of such excellent parts, and doors will open for superb careers of international engagement.”


If anyone has any questions on these various options -- which together open up a wide range of career options -- please send them along.


Nelson Graves

Joint and Cooperative Degrees: Extending your horizon

SAIS's curriculum is deep and broad. There's plenty of bread on the carving board, as the French would say, in both Bologna and Washington.

The curriculum in fact extends well beyond SAIS's walls. Students can pick from an array of joint degrees and cooperative programs.

Aula Magna, University of Bologna
(courtesy of the university)

Master's candidates at SAIS can apply to receive a degree from both SAIS and the following programs:

• MBA at Wharton
• MBA at Tuck (Dartmouth)
• J.D. at Stanford
• J.D. at University of Virginia
• Master of Health at Johns Hopkins's Bloomberg School
• Master of Public Administration at Syracuse University

For more information, click here.

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
(photo by Peter Burgstaller)

In addition, the Bologna Center offers cooperative programs with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the University of Bologna and the University of Bologna-Forli'. A cooperative program with Sabancı University in Istanbul is also available.

University of Bologna-Forli'
(courtesy of university website)

These programs permit reciprocal recognition of work done at the other university, so that qualifying students can earn two master's. For more information, click here.

A word of caution: These joint and cooperative programs have quite specific admissions and graduation requirements, so it's best to read up on them carefully.

But they offer a whole spectrum of opportunities that sets SAIS apart.

Sabancı University
(courtesy of university website)

Nelson Graves