Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris takes alum back to Europe
“Picking a grad school is not a decision that can be made lightly—it’s a lot of time and money and you need to have a passion for your subject,” said Matthew Giles, ’07.
The political science and English double major knew exactly what he was looking for in his graduate school experience.
“During my time at Richmond, I really loved learning about international affairs, and I knew that professionally, that was the direction I wanted to go in,” he said. “It’s a field of study I feel really strongly about. But, in order to even think of getting a job in the sphere of policy making, you need a master’s degree.”
Because he wasn’t interested in pursuing a doctorate, Giles looked for a program that was career-oriented.
“The field is competitive, and I knew I needed to do something substantive right out of the gate. If I didn’t get into grad school, I would probably have worked in a law office or gone to teach English internationally for a year,” he said.
As it happened, Giles was accepted into the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, ranked one of the nation’s top 10 schools for the study of policy making. Attending graduate school in the nation’s capital meant Giles would be exposed to opportunities that gave him both a practical educational experience and insight into his professional future.
“Not only does the Elliott School have a strong career development program and job placements, but it’s right in the heart of D.C. so there are a lot of contacts to be made,” he said.
Giles began GW’s program in security policies studies last fall. Students can concentrate on security and developments, defense, economics and other aspects of policy making. His focus is in conflict and conflict resolution with a self-designed concentration in European external security relations.
“I designed this concentration because it includes subjects that I find really fascinating,” Giles said. “It encompasses the policies of the UN and NATO and Europe’s policy toward the Middle East, immigration and Islamic extremism. One of my main focuses within this topic is Europe’s policy toward North Africa.”
To immerse himself in foreign policy, particularly European policy, Giles applied to spend his second semester abroad. His school of choice was the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, better known as Sciences Po, which is an international partner with the Elliott School.
Sciences Po is regarded as one of the best places to study international affairs and political science in Europe. While studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark as an undergraduate at Richmond, Giles met several professors who had studied at Sciences Po. He became determined to study there at some point in his academic career.
“It’s an incredibly hard school to get into—there’s only a 14 percent acceptance rate—and I knew that as an American it would be next to impossible to get into their graduate program,” he said. “Doing an exchange program for the semester through the Elliott School is the next best thing.”
After receiving his acceptance, Giles, who minored in French at Richmond, headed to France to brush up on his language skills.
“I stayed with some family friends in Versailles for some time, to get adjusted,” he said. “Because all my classes are going to be in French, they refused to speak English to me. It was a really good way for me to reacquaint myself with the language. One of the reasons I wanted to come to Sciences Po was not only because it’s in Europe and the academics are so strong, but because I want to gain a strong proficiency in French.”
Professors at Sciences Po emphasize oral assignments. Students are graded on the quality of their arguments, much like the experience one might expect to encounter in law school, said Giles.
Giles’ campus housing, on the southern edge of Paris, is made up of a mix of international students and Ph.D. candidates. The blend, Giles believes, will further strengthen his academic experience.
“Here I am studying abroad in Europe again,” he said, joking. “It’s such a great thing to be able to do twice.”