The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship program is organized by the French Ministry of European affairs and diplomacy and thus enables French higher education institutions to attract top foreign students to enroll in Masters and doctoral programs.
In addition, Master’s and doctoral programs offer the following immediate benefits:
- International air travel: international round-trip air travel between the winner’s home country and France. Award-winning students receive one year after the end of the scholarship to take advantage of the round-trip travel benefits.
- Train travel within France: Campus France will provide a train ticket to the winner’s first study location and a second ticket from the last study location to the airport where the winner will return home.
- Local transportation: reimbursement of up to 50 dollars of travel expenses by taxi or public transport from the airport or train station to the first study site.
- Health insurance: winners from outside the EEA Campus, France will provide health insurance until the actual date of registration of the winner in the French social security system.
- Supplementary health insurance: within 2 months of arrival in France, the student must grant enrollment in the supplementary health insurance plan, the cost of which is reimbursed upon presentation of proof of Registration, up to the maximum amount established by the Ministry of foreign affairs each year. The maximum value is independent of the recording length. If the award-winning student does not provide proof of participation in the supplementary insurance plan within 2 months of arrival in France, the France campus may suspend the payment of living expenses and related services.
- Cultural activities: in some cases, award-winning students may be entitled to help with a proof of payment of the first month’s rent and a copy of the rental contract to cover the cost of accommodation outside the halls of residence of students. The proof must be provided within 3 months from the signing of the lease agreement.
Scholarship eligibility
Preparing documents is a crucial step in applying for scholarships. Applicants are often unclear about the documents required for scholarships and end up missing out on scholarship opportunities. To apply for the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship, Candidates must prepare the following document;
- Resume scholarships recruit your experience and skills.
- Detailed research proposal
- Study plan essay
- A motivation letter explaining why you are a good fit for this scholarship.
- Copies of all educational documents (transcripts/grades / certificates)
- English Language Proficiency Certificate (Toefl / Ielts)
- Letters of recommendation by any two previous professors/institutes.
- A copy of a valid passport.
- Statement of purpose (sup) explains what you would contribute to the institute if you were selected for the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship.
To be eligible for the first batch of scholarships, students must start their academic program at a host institution in France.
- Nationality: the Eiffel program is reserved exclusively for non-French citizens. Candidates of two nationalities, one of which is French, are not eligible.
- Age: candidates for the master’s Department must be 25 years old or younger at the time of the competition in 2021.
- Source of applications: only applications from French educational institutions are accepted. Such institutions are obliged to enroll award recipients in the academic program specified in the application. Applications from any other source will not be considered. Any candidate nominated by more than one agency will be disqualified.
- Targeted academic levels: the Eiffel project scholarships are intended for students and doctoral candidates seeking to pursue a master’s program in France, including engineering faculties. Only programs recognized by the French government are eligible. The Eiffel plan cannot be used for French operations programs abroad or in connection with apprenticeship contracts or vocational training contracts.
- Scholarship conflict: applications nominating students who have already received another scholarship from the French government at the time of application will not be accepted, even if the other scholarship only covers health insurance.
- Master’s component: applications nominating students who have been rejected in previous competitions will not be accepted, even if the applications were submitted by different institutions or other fields of study. Students who have previously received an Eiffel master’s scholarship are not eligible for another master’s level of scholarship.
- Doctoral component: institutions may nominate candidates who have previously received master’s Level Scholarships for Doctoral Scholarships. Candidates who have previously received a doctoral scholarship are not eligible for another scholarship. Applications for the nomination of candidates who have been rejected in previous competitions applications will only be accepted if they were submitted by a different institution or from another field of study.
- Language proficiency: when pre-selecting non-French-speaking candidates, institutions must ensure that the candidates ‘ language skills meet the requirements of the academic program.
- Students enrolled in an academic program abroad have priority over students already in France.
What are the fields of study in the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship ?
Eiffel scholarships are available in four broad areas:
- Law education
- Economics and management
- Master’s level engineering and broader doctoral level science (engineering and Mathematics, Physical Chemistry, Life sciences, nanotechnology and biotechnology, Earth Sciences, Space Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and information, and Communication Sciences and technologies)
- Political science
How to apply
Candidates must follow the steps below to apply for the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship:
- Only applications from French higher education institutions are accepted. Applicants should therefore apply to the institution, not directly to the Eiffel scholarship for excellence.
- French higher education institutions must pre-select candidates for the Eiffel scholarship from among the best foreign applicants for their academic programs.
- Institutions must complete and submit an online application using the appropriate form for each level of study. They must make sure that the application meets the criteria of the Eiffel scheme. The duration of the academic program, including compulsory training in France or abroad, must be specified in the application.
- Each institution may nominate up to 40 candidates for a master’s scholarship for each field of study. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
