The vocation of the French "instituts d'études politiques" has been the study and research of contemporary political science. They are quite distinct from the other traditional elite French schools, in particular the highly specialized Grandes Ecoles in business and engineering, given their multi-disciplinary approach to teaching. All students at the IEPs study a compulsory curriculum that is highly practical and multidisciplinary during its first years and focuses on the full range of the social sciences and humanities. The IEPs, being modelled on the former ELSP, are known in the familiar language under the name of Sciences Po, followed by the name of the city where they are located.