Please note: if you are a PhD student, you may be entitled to student or researcher status. We recommend reading the sections on these two profiles.
Finding financial aid
Financial aid is available to support you during your study or research mobility in France. Depending on your profile, there are various organisations – whether public, private, national, European or international – that offer grants and funding schemes. This page lists the main resources available so you can find the right funding for your studies.
‘Campus Bourses’ Grant Search Engine
Campus France, a public agency whose main mission is to promote student mobility and scientific cooperation between France and other countries, has compiled a directory of mobility schemes and study and research grants. This platform lists all the grants awarded by governments (French and international), local authorities, companies, foundations and higher education establishments. You can filter your search by nationality, subject or level of study, to find financial aid that matches your profile.
Financial aid to support your studies
Scholarships from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) awards a large number of scholarships to international students from Bachelor to Doctorate levels.
Contact the local Campus France office in your country to find out which scholarship programmes apply to you.
- Scholarships from French embassies abroad
French government scholarships are awarded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs for study, internships or language programs in France. The majority are awarded by the Cooperation and Cultural Action Services (SCAC) of French Embassies (or Consulates General) abroad. Whatever their country of residence, applicants should contact these departments in their country of origin directly, well in advance of their departure, to obtain all the information they need about these scholarships: award conditions, timetables for selection and application documents to be submitted.
- Excellence-Major Scholarships
Set up jointly by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), the Excellence-Major scholarship programme is aligned with the country’s policy for promoting French higher education. It enables the best international students from French educational establishments abroad to study on high-level higher education programmes for five years in France.
- Eiffel Excellence Scholarships
The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship programme is designed to support the international student recruitment of French higher education institutions. This scheme provides funding for a Master’s programme or a twelve-month period of mobility on a doctoral programme under dual enrolment or joint thesis supervision.
- MOPGA Scholarships
The “Make Our Planet Great Again” (MOPGA) initiative offers residential research grants to young international researchers who want to conduct research on themes relating to climate change and environmental issues.
- Scholarships for specific programmes
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs also allocates study scholarships for specific programmes run directly by its departments in Paris.
- “Quai d’Orsay/Entreprises” scholarships
As part of its policy to attract international students and promote French higher education, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has signed public-private partnership agreements with major French companies through the “Quai d’Orsay/Entreprises” programme, which is designed to encourage and facilitate international mobility in France for students from the best institutions in their countries of origin.
Scholarships from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space
The French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space funds doctoral contracts (see “Studying for a doctorate” under the “Join Sorbonne University" section).
In addition, some higher education institutions offer scholarship programmes to international students who enrol on their courses.
For more information, contact the international relations department of the faculty or the Doctoral College at your host institution.
Scholarships from local authorities
French regional and local authorities award scholarships to international students studying in the area. Regional scholarships may also be awarded to international students under exchange agreements with institutions in other countries.
To find out more, contact the Departmental or Regional Council of the region where you’d like to study.
Grants from European institutions
The Erasmus+ programme supports the creation of a European higher education area by promoting student mobility in Europe and abroad (periods of study or internships). The programme awards financial grants to partially cover travel and accommodation costs. These grants may vary depending on your chosen host country.
For more information, contact the international relations department of the faculty or Doctoral College at your host institution.
MSCA Doctoral Networks (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions European funding programme) are research and training consortia that recruit international doctoral candidates for research projects. Under this programme, they can enrol on a doctoral programme based in at least one European Union member country or in a country associated with the Horizon Europe programme.
Grants from international institutions, non-governmental organisations and foundations
International organisations, non-governmental organisations and foundations also provide study and research grants for international students in France.
Scholarships from foreign governments
Some countries offer scholarships for study abroad. Students can find out more from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in their home country or from the organisation responsible for scholarships.
Social aid for students
CROUS grants based on social criteria
To obtain a scholarship based on social criteria, you must first submit a student social funding application (DSE) online to the CROUS (Centre Régional des Œuvres Universitaires et Scolaires).
If the CROUS approves your application, it will send you a final notification confirming your status as a scholarship recipient.
You must meet certain conditions:
- Be enrolled on an initial course of study programme in France.
- Be enrolled on a public or private course that entitles you to this grant (contact the institution for details).
- Be on a full-time programme (not a work-study course, for example)
Specific criteria may also apply depending on your nationality.
Emergency hardship funds
This funding is provided to help you continue your studies in case you experience serious financial hardship during the academic year. Your situation will be verified based on a social funding assessment.
CROUS social departments assess applications for one-off assistance, as well as providing other services. You can apply for this assistance, which is part of the “specific aid” scheme, in the event of serious financial difficulty.
Housing aid
You may be eligible for housing aid (Aide Personnalisée au Logement - APL) to help pay the rent on your principal residence if you have limited resources.
Other services
Like French students, you have access to free appointments at your university’s Student Healthcare Service and the University Psychological Support Office. You must register in advance with the French Social Security. (See the “Your health at university” under the “Moving to France” section).
You also have access to the CROUS university canteens, where meals cost €3.30 or €1 for recipients of the social criteria-based scholarship and for students in financial difficulty.
Finally, financial aid is available to help you pay for public transport (see “Getting around” under the “Moving to France” section).
Financial support for research activities
Doctoral contract
The legal framework governing the recruitment of doctoral candidates in public institutions is the doctoral contract.
This three-year contract provides all the social guarantees associated with an employment agreement compliant with public-sector regulations and establishes a minimum remuneration, which is adjusted annually. The latter is set by the decree dated 29 August 2016.
The doctoral contract is open to any doctoral candidate enrolled in the first year of a PhD program, with no age requirement. Enrollment must be effective on the date the contract comes into force, not at the time of application. Applications are reviewed at the institutional level.
The doctoral contract may be extended by one year in the event of exceptional circumstances affecting the progress of the research activity. It is additionally extended as of right in cases of maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, or long-term sick leave.
The activities assigned to contracted doctoral candidates may be devoted exclusively to research or may also include other duties such as teaching, scientific and technical information activities, research valorization, or advisory and expert missions for companies or public authorities.
While research laboratories generally provide the funding required to carry out the research project, the remuneration of doctoral candidates during their doctoral training may originate from a variety of sources and take different forms: Sorbonne University doctoral contracts allocated to doctoral schools, doctoral contracts for candidates with disabilities in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, or schemes such as the Industrial Agreements for Training through Research (CIFRE), among others.
Funding for research
A single portal appelsprojetsrecherche.fr centralises all the information you need on calls for projects and applications submitted by the main French organisations that fund research projects: ADEME, ANR, Inserm, ANRS, Anses, INCa and Insermportail.
To support strategies for attracting, internationalising and submitting funding applications in Europe or abroad for researchers in the fields of humanities and social sciences, the French Network of Institutes for Advanced Study (RFIEA) foundation, in partnership with the FMSH and with support from the CNRS, has developed a central system – the fundit.fr platform – as well as specific tools, to provide guidance and support with submitting research projects.
Led by the European Commission, the EURAXESS European network comprises over 600 (free) service centres to support international researchers in 42 countries. You can consult the EURAXESS portal for information on research positions and grants offered by affiliated European institutions and national organisations in Europe specialised in hosting and employing researchers.
