Students in China and elsewhere in the world with both an undergraduate degree and at least three to five years of work experience, now have the choice of applying for a two-year MPA (Master in Public Affairs) program provided by Sciences Po, a prestigious French university in social sciences.

Vice President Francis Verillaud of Sciences Po made the announcement Monday at a press conference. The program is organized in partnership with Columbia University, USA, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, so Sciences Po MPA students will be allowed to spend their second year in New York or London, he said.

Classes are slated to begin in early fall 2005, and the deadline for application is Feb. 2005, he said, noting that about three to four Chinese students will be admitted to the program.

Founded in 1872, Sciences Po was originally a private school established to prepare young people to enter the public administration in France. French President Jacques Chirac and former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin once studied there.