Applying to the Sciences Po Master in Finance and Strategy

Sciences Po's Master in Finance and Strategy is not a finance master like the others. It sits within the School of Management and Impact, it blends finance, corporate strategy and the humanities and social sciences, and it admits students on an academic file and an interview rather than through a business-school-style competitive exam. If you are wondering whether to apply, or have already started your file, here is how to read the programme, what Sciences Po announces as its criteria, and how to adapt your CV and cover letter to that logic.

All the calendar and procedure information cited here comes from Sciences Po's official pages, consulted in October 2026 (links in the "Sources" section). It changes from one year to the next: always check the procedure page before planning your application.

What the programme offers and who it is for

The Master in Finance and Strategy 🔗 is a two-year master's on the Paris campus, offered in two language tracks: one in English and one in French. Sciences Po presents it as training for careers in finance and in the strategic management of companies, with three stated principles:

multidisciplinary training in management and in the humanities and social sciences, with practitioner teachers and systematic case studies;
a balance between finance and strategy, including the energy transition and climate;
progression, from a common core in the first year to advanced expertise in the second.

A shared first year, a second year with two concentrations

The first year rests on compulsory courses on the key concepts of finance, tied to the company's competitive environment, and on elective courses (sustainable strategy and finance, innovation and impact, data and digital). In the second year, you choose between two concentrations:

Finance: company valuation, financial market instruments and players, sustainable and impact finance. The careers cited are investment banking and investment funds.
Strategy: careers in strategy consulting, in finance or management roles inside companies, and in entrepreneurship.

The second year includes one semester of courses, followed by an internship or an apprenticeship year. The apprenticeship is open to candidates under 30 with native or C1 French. An optional gap year is possible between the two years, with two six-month internships. Seven double degrees also exist (for example with Bocconi, the University of St Gallen, Télécom Paris or AgroParisTech); they follow a separate selection procedure, which this article does not cover.

A master at the junction of finance and public action?

Let us be precise about what the official page says, and what it does not. It speaks of a finance and consulting professional able to judge, decide and take responsibility, and it also lists financial regulation among its target sectors. It does not, however, announce a "public policy" specialisation as such. The programme's atypical angle therefore lies mostly in its flavour: training in finance and strategy, delivered in a social-science school, where sustainable finance, impact and climate have a genuine place.

For your file, this changes how you present yourself. A candidate who shows only market-finance courses misses what makes this programme distinctive. A candidate who connects their financial curiosity to economic, institutional or environmental issues will be easier to read.

💡 Learn more: if your plan is to aim for investment banking from your first internship, our guide on landing a finance internship as a student will help you build the path that goes alongside the master's.

Selection criteria and profile of admitted students

For two-year master's programmes under the French procedure, Sciences Po describes four components on its selection criteria 🔗 page.

Academic excellence

This is the element the school presents as predominant. You declare your cumulative average in the section dedicated to your academic background. No minimum grade is required to apply, but the school gives a benchmark: an average of 14/20 in the bachelor's degree or equivalent, and at least 10/20 for candidates from preparatory classes. It specifies that these benchmarks are not prerequisites and that no average guarantees admission.

Recommendations

They are compulsory: two academic recommendations for a two-year master's. Sciences Po considers them very important, and asks you to choose your referee yourself and approach them before applying. Ask early: a teacher needs time, and a lukewarm recommendation is among the reasons for rejection the school mentions.

Motivation and career plan

The school checks that the programme matches your plan. It expects a concrete idea of the field you are aiming for, an explanation of what attracts you to the programme, and the wish to be part of the student community.

Background

Relevant work experience or internships, preferably in the programme's field, are an asset. Leadership, responsibilities and activities showing curiosity, open-mindedness and initiative (sports, arts, humanitarian, international) are valued.

And the profile of admitted students?

Sciences Po publishes an admissions review for the master's, accessible from the programme page. We do not reproduce any admission rate or cohort size here: they change every year and are not detailed in the procedure pages we checked. Consult the official review to get an idea of the profile of recent cohorts.

Building an adapted academic CV

The CV is one of the compulsory documents in the file. The application file 🔗 page sets no length limit: so stick to the norm for an early-career candidate, one page, possibly two if your background genuinely justifies it. This CV will be read by teachers, not by a bank recruiter: it must be quick to read, and consistent with the rest of the file.

What a CV for this master's should show

Your academic background first, with institutions, years, honours and the titles of courses or dissertations that bring you closer to finance and strategy. If your average is consistent with the school's benchmark, it can appear; otherwise, let your transcripts speak.
Experiences of more than one month, internships included. The school asks you to list them in the file: the CV must be consistent with what you declare there.
Achievements, not tasks. "Analysed three comparables for an investment memo" is better than "took part in projects". No invented figures: if you cannot measure, describe the deliverable.
Commitments (associations, responsibilities, sports or arts activities, international experiences), which the school explicitly values in your background.
Skills and languages, with an honest level. Any language tests are attached separately.

Linking the CV to the dual reading of finance and society

A Sciences Po reader looks for the coherence of a project. A line on a dissertation about sustainable finance, an internship in a public or semi-public finance department, an association commitment on economic questions: all of this shows that your interest in finance has a direction. Conversely, avoid an endless list of certifications unrelated to your plan. If you are preparing a qualification such as the CFA, mention it soberly: our article on finance certifications (CFA, FRM) explains when they add value.

An example to adapt

For structure and vocabulary, draw inspiration from our strategy consulting CV example, which matches the Strategy concentration, and our corporate finance CV example for the Finance concentration. These are examples of job applications, not admission files: borrow the logic of presentation, not the content.

📊 Good to know: a clean CV, without columns or graphic elements that break the reading flow, goes through PDF export without difficulty. The documents in the file must be PDFs, with a capped size per document: check the limit given in the applicant guide before uploading.

Succeeding with the cover letter and the interview

The cover letter

The letter is written in the language of the programme you are applying to. Sciences Po has a dedicated advice page 🔗 on it, whose expectations boil down to this:

show that you have studied the programme: the curriculum, the courses, the concentrations, and not only the school's reputation;
link your background and career plan to the programme, specifying how it helps you achieve that plan;
say what you will bring to the cohort;
stay authentic: the school recommends writing the text yourself, limiting proofreading that distorts it, and being careful with artificial intelligence tools.

A letter that works follows a simple logic: where I come from, what I want to do (a precise job, a realistic first step), why this master's and not another, and what I can contribute. Cite concrete elements of the programme: for example the second-year concentration you are aiming for, or an elective course linked to your plan.

⚠️ Warning: a letter written in a language other than the programme's makes the file incomplete. An incomplete file is not assessed.

The admission interview

For admissible candidates, the interview is held remotely, lasts about twenty minutes, and takes place before a panel of at least two members, including a Sciences Po teacher. It is held in French for French-language programmes; for an English-language programme, in French and/or English, and you must say beforehand if you do not speak French. According to the selection stages 🔗 page, the panel assesses:

your motivation;
your critical thinking and your ability to develop a personal, reasoned argument;
the coherence of your personal and career plan;
your strengths for succeeding at Sciences Po.

It is a reasoning interview more than a technical one. Prepare your story (why this background, why this master's), but also practise defending an opinion on an economic or financial news topic you master, with nuance. The technical investment banking questions, which we detail in our guide to preparing for an investment banking interview, mainly matter for the internships that follow. Finally, check your connection and equipment before the day itself.

Calendar and documents for the file

Dates for the French procedure, for a 2027 entry

The following dates are those Sciences Po gives on its French procedure 🔗 page for the 2027 intake, at 11:59 pm Paris time:

16 December 2026: deadline to create your file and choose your programmes. Without both actions before this date, you will not be able to complete your file.
8 January 2027: deadline to validate the complete file. No further documents are accepted afterwards.
7 February 2027: deadline for candidates from a partner institution.
End of March 2027: admissibility results.
End of April or early May 2027: admission interviews, held remotely.
Mid-May 2027: admission results.

These dates concern the French procedure, open to holders of a French bachelor-level degree (or equivalent) obtained, or to be obtained by the end of the current academic year. If you hold a non-French degree, the international procedure applies, with its own calendar: choose the right one on the page "which procedure matches your situation" 🔗.

The documents to gather

According to the application file page, the documents common to all candidates are:

an ID document;
your CV;
the transcripts of all your higher education studies, including those from university exchanges;
the enrolment certificate for the current year if you do not yet have this year's transcript;
the translation of documents not in the requested language;
a copy of the degrees already obtained and the average certificates;
language tests, when the programme requires them.

Filled in directly in the application: the cover letter (one per programme), two academic recommendations, and all work experiences of more than one month. Some profiles have additional documents (preparatory classes, scholarship holders, partner institutions). All files must be PDFs of limited size, and you should attach only the documents requested. The application fee is given on the procedure page, along with the cases of exemption. Paying does not validate the file: you must click "Validate your application".

A planning tip

Work back from the validation deadline. Recommendations and language tests take the most time: results for some tests take several weeks. Aim for a file that is ready well before the last week.

Common mistakes and plan B

Mistakes to avoid

The page for candidates who were not admissible or not admitted 🔗 lists recurring reasons. They correspond to file mistakes that can be avoided:

insufficient or poorly justified motivation, despite good academic results: grades are not enough;
an unconvincing link between background, career plan and the master's: if your background is atypical, explain the common thread;
recommendations that do not showcase your profile enough: brief your referees, give them your plan and your CV;
an incomplete file or a letter in the wrong language;
a last-minute submission: no document is accepted after the deadline.

Plan B

Sciences Po has no waiting list, and jury decisions are final, with no re-examination. Only one application is possible per academic year. You should therefore plan in parallel:

other finance master's programmes, university-based or in business schools, with their own calendars;
admission on qualification (AST) into a business school if you aim for a finance-oriented degree: see our CV example for parallel admission to HEC 🔗;
an internship or a first experience that will strengthen a file for the following year, since the school values relevant experience. Our article on landing a finance internship helps you prepare it.

A rejection is not a judgement on your potential: for a file-based master's, the coherence of your story counts as much as your level.

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