Menton Abroad! Where Our 2As Are Going Next Year and Why

Two years in France, one year abroad—so goes the structure of Sciences Po's Bachelor of Arts. The standardization of this academic path throughout all seven campuses, save the students enrolled in Dual Bachelors, is non-traditional to its core. The halls of our campus have grown accustomed to the transient nature of the students, staying for no longer than 2 years, quickly scattering through the globe. With 480 partnerships, Sciences Po offers more than 80 different choices of countries for exchange. The possibility for a mixed year, combining one semester of studying and one of work experience, widens the array of opportunities that Sciences Pistes have when shaping their personal and professional trajectories. For Sciences Po, the element of the exchange year aligns with its goal of being an international university and preparing (ideally) globally-minded leaders. 

With each delocalized campus (that is to say, non-Parisian), there is an assigned regional specialization. In a normative scenario, a student specializing in (e.g.) Latin America would go on exchange to a country in the region, allowing them to further their studies of the area and spend a year improving their language skills and expertise in the field. In reality, the exchange program is not limited to the campus specialization, and the wide variety of options (with often limited spots) naturally pushes for an international dispersion of students. 

Nonetheless, students studying a particular region and its language usually feel more inclined to carry out their exchange in a country of their geographical minor. The campus of Menton has 129 second-year students going on exchange, 17 of which are going to the main region of studies of the campus: the Middle East and North Africa. That makes for 13.18% of these 129, a relatively lower number than other years. The class of 2025, currently on exchange, has 24 students in the city of Cairo alone. I conducted a survey and examined the demographics of this year's exchange to understand more about the decision-making process of our current second-year students—where they are going, why and what were the key factors that made the Middle East such a low-scorer in the third-year destinations, despite it being our region of study. 

Almost half of the Sciences Pistes in Menton have decided to continue their studies on the European continent, amounting to 61 students. The Schengen and Euro benefits were not a primary driving factor—22 out of the 61 are going to continue their studies in the United Kingdom, 12 of whom are going to London. Notably, Italy and Spain are also locations that were widely chosen by 2As, with 10 and 8 students, respectively in each. Both allow students to validate their minor in the Mediterranean, albeit the big concentration of students in not-so-Mediterranean cities like Milan and Madrid. Per the form, students attending Italy, Spain and the UK had cultural interests and career prospects as their primary reasons for choosing their destination. Other European destinations were pivoted towards personal connections and academic opportunities. 

North America, the second most chosen destination, is more evenly distributed. Seventeen students have decided to carry out their exchange in the United States and twelve in Canada. The city of Montreal, in the francophone province of Quebec, was the most sought-after North American destination, with five students going to McGill and four to Université de Montréal. Meanwhile, in the US, Washington D.C. unsurprisingly ranked first, being sought for its politics-related opportunities. Career and academic prospects are unanimously indicated as a primary reason for crossing the Atlantic. Students going to the US reported concerns regarding visa application processes, political turmoil amidst the new presidential administration and a fear of feeling isolated within large student communities. The transition from the small Menton campus to exponentially more populated universities and cities is a shared concern for all regions. 

Seven Mentonais have chosen to continue their education in Latin America, five of whom are going to Argentina and the remaining to Chile and Colombia. Students going to the region have expressed interest in learning Spanish and want to shift their focus from the MENA to a new area. 

Five students also decided to explore the Southern Hemisphere, but across the Pacific. Four students are going to Australia, and one to New Zealand. All students going to Oceania have chosen universities in different cities, from Adelaide to Brisbane. All students going to the continent that answered the survey were French, half of whom described an interest in improving their English skills while simultaneously taking advantage of a friendly and cross-cultural environment.

The ten students going to non-Middle Eastern Asia are almost equally distributed in the region, each receiving one Mentonais for the next year (China, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam). Hong Kong and Japan were the region's highlights, receiving two and three students, respectively. Unfortunately, most students going to Asia decided not to participate in the survey. The few who answered shared excitement about exploring the continent and the various cultures but were concerned regarding housing. 

In the Middle East and North Africa, the seventeen students have dispersed themselves in four different countries across the region. Two students have chosen to study in Morocco, studying in the prestigious private Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and continuing their education in French. Two students have gone to Jordan, an option available only for Political Humanities students that offers an intensive Arabic course. Four students have been allocated to the American University of Cairo (AUC) in Egypt, and the remaining nine are going to Turkey. In the latter, three will be going to Bogazici University, and six will be going to Galatasaray University, making it the choice with the most Mentonais this year. 

I reached out to some of the students going to the Middle East who were interested in hearing what they had to say about their choice for the third year.

 One of the students, who is going to Istanbul next year, told me she wanted to continue her education in the Middle East to deepen her knowledge of the region. However, as a young woman embarking on this experience alone, she felt Turkey was the safest choice. The same interviewee said she didn't know a single Turkish word, but she was so enamored with Istanbul's landscape that she couldn't shy away from challenging herself. 

In a different interview, a student going to Aman, Jordan, reported his interest in the intensive program. The programs in Jordan remain one of the few left in partnership with SciencesPo, where students can engage in intensive language learning. The other option, in Cairo, did not attract such students—he said the transition from small Menton to the megalopolis of Cairo did not appeal to him. He found a perfect balance of his interests in Jordan.

The final interviewee, going to AUC, traces the origin of her choice to a trip to Cairo organized by the Bureau des Eleves last October. While visiting the city she went from being excited to explore as a tourist to deciding to extend her stay as an exchange student. Besides her new-found love for the city, she looks forward to immersing herself in Egyptian culture and refining her Arabic skills. When asked if she had any concerns, she shared with me that navigating a different, more conservative and religious environment might be a challenge but that it will nonetheless be gratifying. 

All in all, the reasons behind the reduction of students going to the Middle East remain unclear. The regional war in the Levant raises undeniable insecurities, and the pause in exchange to immediate countries involved also limits the choices within the region. In September, I attended a counseling session on 3A in the Middle East, where the counselors revealed less allocation of spots for big sought-after universities, such as AUC, asking for students to place it as their first or second option in their rankings if they intended in attending these universities. The newfound competitiveness of these universities was not mentioned, however, by a single student who responded to the survey.

The difference in demographics won't have a clear explanation or a defining narrative. Part of it comes from the individual interests of students or the current zeitgeist. Regardless, students from all year groups share the excitement of following their peers' path, whether in the busy streets of Cairo or on the beaches of Australia. Menton's student community is an international fabric composed of pieces from all over the globe, and it's only fair that this same group will remain unceasingly international in their choices. It is invariably an exciting task to talk to our 2As, hear about their personal academic paths, and get to know a bit more about where the transient figures of our campus will go next.

Photo credits: adampadam, 2007