The Eiffel scholarship program is a tool developed by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to enable French higher education institutions to attract the best foreign students to graduate courses at master’s and doctoral level. It helps to train future foreign decision-makers, from the private and public sectors, in priority fields of study, and to stimulate applications from students from emerging countries aged 25 years or less for the master’s level and from emerging and industrialized countries. aged 30 at most for doctoral level.
The Eiffel Program was established by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help French institutions of higher education in their efforts to attract top foreign students to their master’s and doctoral programs.
Its purposes are (i) to train future foreign decision-makers in the private and public spheres in priority areas of study and (ii) to attract applicants from developing countries to French master’s programs level and applicants from developing and industrialized countries to French doctoral programs.
The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Program (Eiffel Program) has two
components:
• The master’s component offers 12 to 36 months of funding to enable scholarship holders to earn a master’s-level degree.
• The doctoral component supports up to 12 months of doctoral research in France as part of a joint doctoral program.
Fields of study for Master and Doctoral
The two spheres of Eiffel scholarships are available in the following seven fields:
- Science and techniquesBiology and health
- Ecological transition
- Mathematics and digital
- Science and engineering
- • Human and social sciences
- History, French language and civilization
- Law and political sciences
- Economics and management
Levels of study
French institutions nominating candidates for the Eiffel Program commit to admit
them to:
• a master’s degree program
• an engineering program
• a joint doctoral program (joint supervision of dissertation and/or dual degree), in partnership with a partner institution abroad
Duration of the scholarship
For both components of the program, the scholarship is awarded for the academic
year corresponding to the call for applications.
The funded study period must begin between September 1 and December 31 of the year in which the scholarship is awarded. The start date cannot be postponed.
The scholarship may be used solely for academic work performed in France, except in certain cases involving internships and exchange periods, as detailed further on.
Eligibility
Eligibility
Nationality. The Eiffel Program is reserved for non-French nationals. Candidates with two nationalities of which one is French are not eligible.
Age. Candidates for the master’s component must be 25 or under at the time of the 2022 competition—that is, they must have been born after the 31 of March 1996.
Candidates for the doctoral component must be 30 or under at the time of the 2022 competition; they must have been born after the 31 of March 1991.
Source of applications. Only applications submitted by French educational institutions will be accepted. These institutions commit to admitting awardees to the academic program specified in the application. Applications from any other source shall not be considered. Any candidate nominated by more than one institution shall be disqualified.
Academic levels targeted. Eiffel Program scholarships are intended for students seeking to enroll in a master’s-level program in France (including at a school of engineering) and for doctoral candidates. Only programs recognized by the French government are eligible. The Eiffel Program cannot be used at French-run programs abroad or in connection with apprenticeship contracts or professional training
contracts.
Scholarship conflicts. Applications nominating students who, at the time of application, have already been awarded another French government scholarship will not be accepted, even if the other scholarship covered only health insurance.
Master’s component. An application nominating a student rejected in a previous competition will not be accepted, even if the application was submitted by a different institution or in another field of study. Students who have previously received an
Eiffel master’s scholarship are not eligible to receive another at the master’s level.
Master’s component
The scholarship is awarded for:
• a maximum of 12 months for awardees entering the second year of a master’s program (M2)
• a maximum of 24 months for awardees entering the first year of a master’s program (M1)
• a maximum of 36 months for awardees entering an engineering program.
Each period of the scholarship is contingent upon the awardee meeting the academic requirements of the previous period.
Benefits
Master’s component
The Eiffel scholarship consists of a monthly allowance of €1,181 (a maintenance allowance of €1,031 plus a stipend of €150). In addition, the following benefits are provided:
• International air travel. Round-trip international air travel between the awardee’s home country and France. The student awardee has one year from the end of the scholarship to take advantage of the return trip benefit.
• Train travel within France. Campus France will provide a train ticket to the awardee’s first study location and a second ticket from the last study location to the airport from which the awardee will return to his or her home country.
• Local transportation. Reimbursement of up to €50 of the cost of travel via taxi or public transportation from the airport or train station to the first study location.
• Health insurance. For awardees from outside the European Economic Area, Campus France will provide health insurance coverage until the effective date of the awardee’s enrollment in the French Social Security system.
• Supplemental health insurance (“mutuelle”). Within 2 months of arriving in France, student awardees are required to subscribe to a supplemental health insurance plan, the cost of which is reimbursed upon presentation of proof of enrollment up to a maximum amount set each year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The maximum is unrelated to the length of enrollment. Campus France may suspend payment of living expenses and related services if the student awardee does not provide proof of enrollment in a supplemental insurance plan within 2 months of his or her arrival in France.
• Cultural activities
Doctoral component
The Eiffel scholarship includes a monthly allowance of €1,700 (since 1 January 2021). In addition, it provides the following direct benefits:
International air travel. Round-trip international air travel between the awardee’s home country and France. Just one round-trip ticket will be reimbursed, even for doctoral candidates who specified a split scholarship period in their application.
• Train travel within France. Campus France will provide a train ticket to the awardee’s first study location and a second ticket from the last study location to the airport from which the awardee will return to his or her home country.
• Local transportation. Reimbursement of up to €50 of the cost of travel via taxi or public transportation from the airport or train station to the first study location.
• Health insurance. For awardees from outside the European Economic Area, Campus France will provide health insurance coverage until the effective date of the awardee’s enrollment in the French Social Security system.
• Supplemental health insurance (“mutuelle”). Within 2 months of arriving in France, student awardees are required to subscribe to a supplemental health insurance plan, the cost of which is reimbursed upon presentation of proof of enrollment up to a maximum amount set each year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The maximum is unrelated to the length of enrollment. Campus France may suspend payment of living expenses and related services if the student awardee does not provide proof of enrollment in a supplemental insurance plan within 2 months of his or her arrival in France.
• Cultural activities.
Timeline
- Opening of the call for applications: week of September 27, 2021
- Date limit deposit by establishments application files from Campus France : January 7, 2022
- Announcement of results: week of April 4, 2022
Selection Criteria
SELECTION
- The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs appoints experts for the selection of scholarship holders for the program. Each expert is a research professor, and holder of an authorization to supervise research for the doctoral component, and has proven international experience. He is appointed for a non-renewable period of 4 years. Consult the jury list for the 2021 session.
Application Deadline: January 7, 2022
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