INTERVIEW | Kaisa - SciencePo: Master in International Security

We want to know everything about you!

What is your name?

Kaisa Virolainen

How old are you?

Where do you come from?

Tampere, Finland

What highschool did you go to?

I went to high school in Tampereen yhteiskoulun lukio (TYK) in the city of Tampere in Finland. TYK was an arts-oriented high school, especially theatre, and had a great selection of arts classes available for students. I didn’t end up taking many arts classes during my high school years, but I got to enjoy the creative atmosphere, people and spectacles, which I really liked.

What kind of a student were you?

In counterbalance to the artists, I was a rather nerdy student and helped to keep together the debating club of my school (which, in the given context, wasn’t as popular as the arts stuff). I was a good student who took studying seriously, but kept herself busy with other activities too, such as volunteering and organising parties (and participating, of course).

Choose 3 words that best describe you.

Ambitious, easy-going, kind.

What was your number one dream university while in high school?

I had started participating in the European Youth Parliament’s (EYP) sessions and activities in my first year of high school, which led me to want to pursue studies in international affairs and/or political science. I did not have a dream university, but I wanted to enhance my German and French skills, so I looked into that geographical area.

What about your life there

What university do you go to now?

I am currently enrolled in a master’s degree in international security at the Paris School of International Affairs in the French university Sciences Po Paris. I did my bachelor’s 2017-2020 in the same university, but in a French-German program on a regional campus of the French city Nancy.

Why did you choose this university?

I was active in European Youth Parliament (EYP) in high school, which led me to study political science at Sciences Po Paris. I chose to continue to master’s in the same university, because I was satisfied with my previous experience there, and as a former student I could continue to master’s without a complicated application process.

For how long have you been going to this university?

I have studied in my current master’s program for one semester now, but I did my first university degree within the same establishment 2017-2020.

Was it your first choice university?

Yes.

What is your favorite thing about it?

It’s very international. Moreover, at least during my bachelor’s, students were encouraged to take up volunteering and/or other extra-curricular activities, which created (in my opinion) a very stimulating and dynamic atmosphere on the campus as everyone was active and engaged in various things. Now that I continue in the same university for master‘s, I still enjoy its international character. I am studying remotely from another city at the moment, so I can‘t comment on extra-curricular activities unfortunately.

Academics

What courses are you taking, what is your major?

My degree is called Master in International Security, so security studies are the umbrella of my course choices. Additionally, I pursue a special certificate in gender studies and my study concentrations are global risks and environment.

Is it academically competitive, do you find it stressful, are the classes intense?

Students are ranked according to their academic achievements, so theoretically, it is competitive. However, from my perspective, the students are friendly and helpful towards each other and the general atmosphere is more inclusive than exclusive. The workload can sometimes get intense and stressful (for example during midterms and finals), however this depends much on one’s ability to organize oneself in advance and study throughout the semester. The individual workload and intensity of each course largely depends on the professor.

Do people help each other?

In my experience, yes.

For how many hours do you study on a daily basis?

Classes take four to six hours, next to which I study for two to five hours. This varies a lot depending on the day (I can have between 0 and 8 hours of class per day), and I like to keep my days flexible for other things too, doing the rest of studying over the weekend.

What's your advice to nail academic and social life?

Surround yourself with people who inspire, don’t stress you to study. Combine studying and social life every now and then and make sure to have time for other interests too.

Social

Was it easy to meet new people?

Even though I have not been physically on the campus during this master’s, I have made good friends through group works. Obviously, had I been in class with my classmates I would have been able to get to know more people.

Is it close to your home town, if not how did you manage being so far from home?

My studies are in Paris, I live in Berlin and I come from Tampere, Finland. This is already my fourth year living abroad so I am used to being on my own (and enjoy the challenge and the discoveries it represents), and I personally find living abroad rather liberating than stressful. Of course, moving to another country always requires some amount of paperwork (I’ve mostly lived inside the European Union so this has been relatively easy for me), but then again one also learns a lot from those administrative processes. Ask around and find out any bureaucratic necessities in advance in order to avoid bad surprises when you are already moving.

How often do you leave campus?

I’m studying remotely and during the corona pandemic, so I can’t give an answer which would represent a ”normal” situation. However, Sciences Po campuses are in city center (or closeby) and students don’t live there, so one automatically spends time exploring the surroundings too.

Is it international/ international community? What language is most spoken?

Very much, I think that about half of the students in PSIA are internationals. I speak English or French with most people.

Are you living in your school’s dorm?

On a scale from 1 to 10 what would you rate your school’s parties?

Due to corona, there haven’t been any… in my bachelor’s we used to have a lot of house parties which I enjoyed a lot, however I don’t know if it is possible to continue this tradition in the small Parisian apartments.

Clubs/activities

Are you a member of a club in your school? If yes which ones?

Not now as I am remote. In my bachelor’s, I was active in the Model United Association.

What are your favourite activities at your school?

I like the variety of sports, arts and wellness activities our university provides. Additionally, there are very often events organised by student associations or the administration, many of which host well-known and very interesting lecturers.

Do people in your school tend to have a job at the same time?

I wouldn’t say so. Some work part-time in the week or on the weekend, often in customer service or restaurants. But, at least from my experience, it can easily get quite heavy because the workload from courses is also significant. I guess it is a matter of priorities, and some jobs/internships are easier to fit to studies.

How athletic is your school from one to ten?

I’d say 6.

Is it popular for a particular sport?

Not that I know. I guess soccer, rugby and basketball are the most popular sports.

More information

What’s the nearest city to your school?

Sciences Po is located in Paris.

What is the average temperature in this area?

I’d say Paris varies from 25-30 celsius in May and August to 10 celsius in the winter.

Any fun facts you would like to share?

Many French presidents have gone to Sciences Po, which seems to be the one thing people know about the university if they otherwise are not familiar with it. It’s a fun fact but unfortunately (?) not very telling of your own future path, because the university can prepare you for a number of careers, depending on your aspirations and choices.

Choose 3 words that best describe your school.

International, networked, stimulating.

Your tips / advice for prospective students

Is your life in the university what you expected? Did you have good or bad surprises?

I don’t know what I expected to be honest, but generally, I have not been disappointed. I enjoyed the collective nature on my bachelor’s campus, and have now in my master’s been very happy with the academic level of my courses. I’m sure there would be more of a pleasant social life if we were not studying under these pandemic circumstances. One thing that has positively surprised me is how many of the professors are or have been practitioners on the field (e.g. in ministries or international organizations, or private sector), which has made many courses very concrete and insightful.

Why should the student watching should apply to your university?

I think Sciences Po fits students who enjoy internationality and are curious about everything. The university offers an impressive variety of courses and programmes, as well as an extensive network and career services which can be really helpful.

What would you tell the students who are interested in your university?

If the profile of Sciences Po resonates with you, I am quite sure you will enjoy your studies there. Research and plan well your course choices and other activities, this will allow you to make the most out of the platform that Sciences Po is. It’s good to have a somewhat clear vision of what you wish to focus on in your studies, because sometimes one can feel lost in the abundance of choice and it’s easy to end up with arbitrary choices which can leave you feeling frustrated because of lack of depth. On the other hand, if you don’t know exactly what you want to do later, the rich course palette allows you to explore and try out different things in order to eventually discover your own thing.

What would be something you would’ve like an old student to tell you when you

arrived?

Don’t stress too much about the grades! Keep your student life interesting and meaningful for you (through course choices, activities, social life…) and don’t compare to others.