Sciences Po Bordeaux invites professors from institutions of higher education and research all around the world to share their knowledge and expertise with the student and academic community at Sciences Po Bordeaux.
Each year, 12 distinguished professors in the field of social sciences are invited to join the faculty of SPB for a minimum duration of two weeks.
Visiting professors are expected to complete 12 teaching hours during their stay. Courses are open to Sciences Po Bordeaux students in the 1st, 3rd, or 4th Year, as well as international exchange students; they should thus present broad-based perspectives.
Based on the needs of our faculty and researchers, a seminar for young researchers and colleagues may also be requested of visiting professors. Visiting professors are also invited, along with international colleagues, to participate in a comparative education workshop to share and exchange pedagogic methods practiced in France and abroad.
Applicants must be recommended/sponsored by a faculty member or researcher of Sciences Po Bordeaux – the “collègue référent·e” – or the institute’s International Relations Office.
Applications are submitted between February and April; selected candidates carry out their teaching engagements starting from the following academic year.
In certain cases, visiting professors may be equipped with a work space in one of the two research centers of the institute. Each professor will have a personal work space.
In coordination with International Relations Office and Human Resources, the “collègue référent·e” is responsible for following up with candidates:
Visiting professors must complete 12 teaching hours during their stay, to be spread out over a minimum of two weeks. Courses may take place between the following dates (subject to minor changes):
|
Beginning of October – Beginning of December (the schedule below can be subject to change) | ||
|
1st year level |
2nd year level |
4th year level |
|
Monday 9h45 → 11h15 |
Monday 17h30 → 19h |
Tuesday 17h30 → 19h |
|
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
|
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
|
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
|
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
|
Mid-January – Beginning of April (the schedule below can be subject to change) | ||
|
1st year level |
2nd year level |
4th year level |
|
Tuesday 8h → 9h30 |
Monday 17h30 → 19h |
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
|
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
Thursday 14h → 15h30 |
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
|
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Thursday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
|
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Friday 15h45 → 17h15 |
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
|
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
Friday 17h30 → 19h |
|
Students are evaluated and attributed a final grade and 1 ECTS (2 ECTS for international students). The instructor may choose between two methods of assessment:
Grades are due by January 20th at the latest for the first semester, and May 3rd for the second semester.
The French grading system consists of a point rating out of 20; the student must receive a minimum of 10 to pass.
|
GRADING SCALE | ||
|---|---|---|
|
A (outstanding performance with only minor errors) |
Excellent |
16 – 20 / 20 |
|
B (above the average standard but with some errors) |
Very good |
14 -15 |
|
C (generally sound work with a number of notable errors) |
Good |
12 – 13 |
|
D (fair but with significant shortcomings) |
Satisfactory |
11 |
|
E (performance meets the minimum criteria) |
Passable |
10 |
|
F (some more work required before credit can be awarded) |
Fail |
< 10 |
Courses are intended for Sciences Po Bordeaux students in the 1st, 2nd, or 4th Year, including international exchange students. The number of students per course may vary between 20-100. Final course registration information will be communicated whenever possible.
Visiting professors, regardless of their statuses at their home institutions, will receive a salary commensurate with that of a top-tier French university professor.
Visiting professors are expected to cover transportation, housing, and living expenses.
All candidates who wish to apply to the visiting professor program must fill out the following application form.
In order to complete the form, the following documents must be included:
Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Opening of Application Cycle: October 2024
Application Deadline: March 15, 2025
Final Decision: April 2025
Professor Sarah Sokhey, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Originally invited to teach at Sciences Po Bordeaux as a visiting professor this March, the Covid-19 outbreak and consequent international lockdowns prevented Professor Sokhey from travelling to Bordeaux and resulted in her short course being moved online. With her course now coming to a close, Professor Sokhey shares her thoughts about her experience joining the Visiting Professor Program at the institute and transitioning her class online.
What attracted you to participate in the Visiting Professors Program at Sciences Po Bordeaux?
The Department of Political Science at the University of Colorado, where I am a faculty member, has a longstanding exchange set up with Sciences Po Bordeaux. Several of my colleagues previously taught in this program and had excellent experiences. The prestige of Science Po Bordeaux, the high quality of students, and of course, the great location were all a big draw for me. More generally, I write about politics around the world and the opportunity to teach in another country is a very welcome one for me!
I’ve been traveling to Russia for the past 18 years (since 2002 when I first went as an undergraduate student in a study abroad program). I travel to Russia every year or more often, and I have lived in Moscow. The chance to travel to Bordeaux to teach about Russia—a country about which I am very passionate—was a dream come true. Sadly, I was not able to travel to Bordeaux because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but I still very much enjoyed getting to know the students and teach about Russian politics.
Please tell us a little bit about the course you taught at Sciences Po Bordeaux.
I taught a short course about Russian politics, a topic I love and that I regularly teach about in the United States. The course introduces students to the era of post-communist politics in Russia including topics like democratization, economic reform, corruption, and the rise of the so-called “oligarchs”. Especially given Russia’s continued importance as a superpower in the world, these topics are very salient and important for understanding world politics today.
With the complications that have arisen due to the spread of Covid-19 so far this year, your course was ultimately conducted online. Can you tell us in a few words what the experience of online teaching has been like for you?
I have taught an online course before so that aspect was not new for me. A particular challenge here was that this had been planned to be an in-person course and there was a pretty last minute shift to making this online. Although I had not planned to offer this course online, it really was a pleasure to do so. I am really grateful that I was still able to teach the course even though, sadly, I could not be in Bordeaux in person. I was impressed at how engaged the students were and the extent of technical and staff support from Sciences Po Bordeaux. Everyone at Sciences Po Bordeaux was tremendously helpful in making the transition to online an easy one for me.
Can you describe what the experience of teaching and exchanging with the students of Sciences Po Bordeaux through online platforms has been like? In your opinion, were teaching and learning objectives met in spite of the limitations posed by the pandemic?
Yes, I think the teaching and learning objectives were definitely met despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic! There are always tradeoffs when teaching online and it was especially challenging that this course was not intended to be online when students enrolled or when I planned it. I was really impressed with the students that for a short course in which the students and I had never met each other we could still make the course interactive. The key, I think, was to have a variety of ways in which students could interact with me and ask questions including live video lectures, discussion boards on Moodle, Zoom office hours (both at scheduled times and on request), and email. The lectures (even the live ones) were all recorded and posted online and I think that helped students who could not attend the live lectures or wanted to review those.
To whom would you recommend to participate in the Visiting Professors Program?
Based on my experience and the experiences of my colleagues – everyone! I think this is a great opportunity to meet the diverse and interesting students at Sciences Po Bordeaux. If you have a topic that students might be interested in, I would absolutely recommend participating in the Visiting Professors Program. The staff made it easy to set up the course and to adapt it to an online setting. And, of course, if you can go in person, all the better! I myself am hoping to participate again when it is possible for me to travel to Bordeaux.
Administratrice de la coopération internationale
International Cooperation Manager
Delphine GOROSTIDI | Courriel
Access to ENT