FRANCE EXCELLENCE EIFFEL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

The Eiffel scholarship programme is a tool developed by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to enable French higher education institutions to attract the top foreign students to master's and doctoral degree courses.

It gives opportunity to the future foreign decision-makers of the private and public sectors, in priority areas of study, and encourages applicants up to 25 years old from developing countries at master’s level, and applicants up to 30 years old from developing and industrialized countries at PhD level.

The scholarship consists of a master’s and a doctoral component:

• Master’s: makes it possible to finance a course leading to a diploma at master's level, from 12 to 36 months.
• Doctorate: makes it possible to finance 12-month mobility. As part of a joint supervision or thesis co-direction. The stay can be divided into 2 or 3 stays maximum.

The Eiffel scholarship programme has two components:

• The master's programme, which provides funding for a 12 to 36 month degree programme at master's level;
• The doctoral component, which provides funding for an 18-month mobility and is only available to students applying for the first year of their thesis.

Fields of study for the Master's and Doctoral programmes

The two disciplinary fields of the Eiffel scholarships cover the following eight thematic areas:

Science and Technology :

• Biology and health
• Ecological transition
• Mathematics and Numeracy
• Engineering sciences and engineering

Humanities and social sciences :

• French history, language and civilisation
• Law and Political Science
• Economics and Management

Duration of the scholarship

For both components of the Eiffel programme, the scholarship is awarded for the academic year corresponding to the call for applications.
The start of the stay must be between 1 September and 31 December of the year the scholarship is awarded.
It is not possible to carry over the scholarship to the next academic year.
The stay is financed by the scholarship only for the periods in France, except in specific cases for internships or exchange periods, see below.

Master's level
The scholarship is awarded for a period of :
A maximum of 12 months when enrolling in the 2nd year of a Master's programme (M2);
A maximum of 24 months for enrolment in the 1st year of a Master's programme (M1);
A maximum of 36 months for the preparation of an engineering degree.

Doctoral level
The Eiffel scholarship is awarded for a maximum duration of 18 months in France for enrolment in the first year of a thesis.

What does the scholarship cover?

Master's level
Eiffel scholarship holders receive a monthly allowance of €1,181, in addition to the direct payment of several services: international transport, national transport, insurance, accommodation search, cultural activities, etc.

Doctoral level
Eiffel scholarship holders receive a monthly allowance of €1,700, in addition to the direct payment of several services: international transport, national transport, insurance, accommodation, cultural activities, etc.

Note: for both parts of the programme, the tuition costs are not covered by the Eiffel programme.

Only applications submitted by French higher education institutions are accepted.

Only French higher education institutions may submit applications. This is done by pre-selecting candidates and sending an online application on the Campus France website on the student’s behalf.

This means that you need to first apply to your master’s or doctorate course in France. Note that every university has different closing dates for course applications.

1st step:

• You may contact the International Relations department of the university/school through their website, by email or by phone, to know the deadline for the submission of applications.
• You may contact the French Embassy or Campus France office of your home country.
• You must choose the French institution yourself, according to your study plans.
• Any French higher education institution can participate (and therefore submit you as a candidate for the scholarship)

2nd step:

• If your French university/school has decided to support your application to the Eiffel scholarship, they will send you the application form and help you fill it out.
• Then, they will send the application on your behalf.

Applications submitted directly to Campus France by students or by foreign educational institutions will be rejected.

The new Eiffel campaign was launched in October 2023 on the Campus France website.

You might also find funding on the CampusBourses search engine.