Scholarships in France for International Students 2026/2027

France is one of the few study destinations where a world-class public university education, a government scholarship system designed specifically for international talent, and comparatively low public tuition can genuinely exist in the same plan. That combination is why scholarships in France for international students in 2026/2027 attract applicants from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Indonesia, and dozens of other countries — for master’s degrees in Paris and Lyon, for doctorates in laboratories in Grenoble and Toulouse, for engineering degrees, for law, economics, public policy, and for programmes taught in English as well as in French.

It is also a system that is easy to misunderstand. The most famous French scholarship, France Excellence Eiffel, does not pay tuition fees directly — a fact many “fully funded” blog posts omit. Public tuition for non-European Union students is low compared with the United Kingdom or the United States, but from 2026/2027 it is no longer the tiny registration fee that older guides still quote for everyone. University scholarships such as Sciences Po’s Émile Boutmy are generous tuition grants, not living-cost scholarships. And almost every major French government scholarship requires the French institution, not the student alone, to submit or support the application. If you understand those three realities from the start, France becomes a very strong, honest option. If you do not, you can waste a full application cycle.

This guide walks through the whole landscape in one place: the Eiffel programme with its current allowance verified from Campus France, France Excellence and embassy scholarships, Erasmus+, university and Grande École awards including Émile Boutmy, the real public tuition figures for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027, CROUS student housing, eligibility, documents, timelines, selection criteria, and the mistakes that most often end French applications early. Start your wider planning in the scholarships directory, compare destinations in the study abroad section, browse institutions in the universities directory, and use the StudyGraduate tools for budgeting, deadlines, and cost-of-living comparisons as you read.

Why France, and Why Scholarships Matter There Differently

In many countries a scholarship is the only way to make tuition affordable at all. In France the picture is more layered. The French government subsidises a large share of the real cost of public higher education — Campus France notes the true cost is around €10,000 per year per student, with the state covering much of it. That subsidy is why even the higher “differentiated” fees for non-EU students remain far below typical fees in English-speaking destinations. A scholarship in France therefore often does its most important work on living costs, on the gap between a public university fee and a private Grande École or business school fee, or on turning a good offer into a financially calm two years rather than a constant struggle in Paris.

City choice matters as much as scholarship choice. Paris offers unmatched institutions, embassies, international organisations, and part-time opportunities, but also the highest rents in the country. Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Grenoble offer major universities, CROUS residences, and student life at noticeably lower monthly cost. A master’s student with an Eiffel allowance in a lower-cost city will experience that allowance very differently from a student paying central Paris rent. Build your budget city by city, not from a single national average, and check university rankings alongside cost, not instead of it.

Scholarships in France at a Glance

The France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship — Verified Details

The Eiffel programme was developed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs to help French institutions attract the best international students to master’s and doctoral programmes and to train future decision-makers in the public and private sectors. Campus France manages the programme. Its official pages are the only source you should trust for amounts and rules, via Campus France — Eiffel Scholarship Implementation and the programme presentation on Campus France — Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme.

Fields. Eiffel covers seven fields across two broad areas. For science and technology: biology and health; ecological transition; mathematics and digital sciences; and engineering sciences. For humanities and social sciences: history, French language and civilisation; law and political science; and economics and management. If your programme falls outside those fields, Eiffel is not your route, however strong your grades are.

Levels and duration. At master’s level the scholarship is awarded for a maximum of 12 months for enrolment in the second year of a master’s (M2), a maximum of 24 months for enrolment in the first year (M1), and a maximum of 36 months for an engineering degree. At doctoral level, current Campus France implementation guidance states scholarships are awarded for 12, 18, or 36 months from 1 September of the award year, with the 36-month option open only to new candidates enrolling in the first year of a doctorate who are not already studying in France. Only study periods in France are funded, with specific rules for required internships and exchanges. The study period must begin between 1 September and 30 November of the award year, and the start date cannot be postponed.

Monthly allowance — the confirmed current figure. This is where older articles mislead. Many sites still quote €1,181 for master’s and €1,700 for doctorate, which were the amounts on older Campus France programme pages. The current Campus France implementation page for Eiffel recipients, consulted for this article in October 2026, states explicitly: master’s recipients receive a monthly allowance of €1,200 from January 2026, and doctoral recipients receive €2,100 from January 2026, in addition to direct services. Some university pages for the 2027 cycle quote the same €2,100 doctoral figure. In this guide we use the January 2026 implementation figures as the current verified amounts, and we flag the older €1,181 / €1,700 figures as superseded on that implementation page. Whichever cycle you apply in, confirm the allowance in that cycle’s Eiffel regulations PDF on Campus France before you budget — amounts are set per cycle and can change.

Services in addition to the allowance. Campus France implementation guidance lists international travel (airfare in the least expensive class, reimbursed under the programme’s capped rules on presentation of receipts, plus domestic travel to your study city), health coverage arrangements (temporary Campus France insurance until your mandatory, free registration with French Social Security takes effect, then supplemental coverage at no cost to the recipient), housing assistance through CROUS residences or private options via Campus France, and cultural activities. The first payment is sent via Western Union; later payments are normally by bank transfer to a French account in the recipient’s name, and recipients must have begun their programme in France to collect the first payment.

Tuition — the honest explanation. Campus France states in plain language: “Tuition fees are not covered by the France Excellence Eiffel programme.” The same implementation page adds a second, equally important sentence: recipients of French government scholarships are exempt from tuition charges for programmes leading to a national diploma (master, doctorate) or an accredited engineering degree in public institutions overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, under Article R719-49 of the Education Code. Those two sentences together mean: Eiffel does not write a cheque for your tuition, but if you are an Eiffel holder in an eligible public national-diploma programme, you may be exempt from tuition charges under that separate rule. If you are in a private institution, a non-national-diploma programme, or a programme with additional specific fees, program costs beyond that exemption are not covered by Eiffel. Do not describe Eiffel as “full tuition paid” in your planning, and ask your host institution in writing what, if anything, you will still be charged.

How to apply. You cannot apply directly. Step one is to contact the Campus France office in your home country or the French embassy’s cooperation and cultural action department for guidance, and to contact the international relations department of your chosen French institution to learn its internal Eiffel deadline and procedure. Step two is that the institution accepts and supports your application and submits it online via the dedicated Campus France platform. Applications sent directly by students or by foreign institutions are declared ineligible. Internal university deadlines are therefore much earlier than the national Campus France deadline — in the 2026 call, the deadline for receipt of applications by Campus France was 8 January 2026, with results announced from late March / April 2026 on the programme pages consulted. For 2026/2027 planning, expect a similar autumn-to-early-January rhythm at institutional level and confirm the exact dates for your cycle on Campus France and with your host institution. Age limits and other eligibility conditions are set in each cycle’s regulations — recent cycles have used age conditions tied to date of birth for master’s and doctoral applicants, so check the current regulations rather than relying on a blog’s “under 29 / under 35” summary, which has varied between calls.

France Excellence, Embassy, and Other Government Scholarships

Beyond Eiffel, French embassies in many countries run France Excellence or similarly named scholarship calls for students from that specific country, sometimes jointly with a partner government or institution. These calls are genuinely country-specific: the eligible levels, fields, coverage, language requirements, and deadlines for an applicant in Bangladesh may differ from those for an applicant in India, Nigeria, or Indonesia. Some focus on master’s study in priority sectors such as health, digital technology including artificial intelligence, energy, environment, and biotechnology — sectors the French government has highlighted in recent policy for differentiated-fee exemptions and grant priorities. The correct procedure is to check the Campus France site for your country and your French embassy’s site at the start of the cycle, subscribe to their updates, and treat any third-party summary as a pointer only.

Campus France also maintains CampusBourses, its scholarship search engine, which lists programmes from national and local governments, institutions, foundations, and companies. Use it alongside the StudyGraduate guides to build a long list, then narrow that list by reading each programme’s official notice. A listing in a search engine is not an eligibility guarantee.

Erasmus+ and Erasmus Mundus

Erasmus+ supports short-term mobility for students already enrolled at a partner university, as well as traineeships. The grant for study in France is set by your home country’s national agency within EU brackets, with France classed in a higher cost-of-living group, and additional top-ups may be available for students with fewer opportunities or for green travel, as described in Erasmus+ programme guidance. It is a contribution to costs, not full funding for a degree in France, and your home institution’s nomination and a signed learning agreement are central.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters are different: they are prestigious, integrated master’s programmes delivered by international consortia, with scholarship packages set in the consortium’s official call that typically cover participation costs and a monthly allowance for the programme duration. Applications go directly to the consortium, deadlines are usually in the autumn to winter before the intake, and competition is global. If you apply for an Erasmus Mundus programme with a French partner university, read that consortium’s site — not a general Erasmus+ page — for amounts, eligibility, and whether you may apply to multiple consortia in the same cycle under the current rules.

University and Grande École Awards

Sciences Po — Émile Boutmy Scholarship

Sciences Po created the Émile Boutmy scholarship, named after its founder, to welcome the best international students from outside the European Union. It is awarded to first-time applicants, from a non-EU state, whose household does not file taxes within the European Union, and who have been admitted to an eligible undergraduate or master’s programme. Students who are not eligible include Swiss and Norwegian applicants (who may be entitled to CROUS support), candidates with dual citizenship including EU citizenship, candidates from Quebec for master’s programmes (who benefit from other fee arrangements), and applicants for PhD programmes, one-year master’s programmes, exchange programmes, and most dual-degree programmes except for specific listed exceptions — always check Sciences Po’s current eligibility page for the exact exclusion list for your programme.

On amounts, Sciences Po’s published terms have changed over cycles, so precision matters. The most recent Sciences Po-linked summaries consulted for this article describe, at undergraduate level, a total exemption from tuition fees or an exemption of €9,500 from tuition fees, with the amount determined at admission and adjusted in line with tuition increases where applicable; and at master’s level, an exemption of €18,500 from tuition fees for each of the two years of the master’s programme. Earlier cycles listed tiered undergraduate grants of €13,000, €8,800, €6,000, or €3,600 per year and a master’s grant of €12,200 per year — which is why older articles quote different figures. Use the figures in the Sciences Po terms for your admission year, not any single blog figure, and note the academic conditions: if you do not validate your academic year, the scholarship is lost; if you defer admission after being granted the scholarship, it is lost; during the undergraduate third year abroad, recipients retain their tuition grant. You must indicate your wish to apply for Émile Boutmy within the Sciences Po admission application itself — it is not a separate application you can add after admission.

Université PSL, Sorbonne, Paris-Saclay, and Other University Excellence Schemes

Major French universities run their own international excellence schemes, often linked to specific master’s programmes, graduate schools, or research fields. Université PSL, Sorbonne University, Université Paris-Saclay, Aix-Marseille, Grenoble Alpes, and many others have at various cycles offered tuition support, monthly grants, or excellence awards for incoming international master’s students, sometimes funded through France’s Investments for the Future / IdEx-type programmes. There is no single national amount, deadline, or form for these awards. Some are automatic considerations on admission; others require a separate application months before the admission deadline. The only safe method is: choose your programme, open that university’s international scholarship page for the current cycle, note whether the award is tuition-only or includes living support, and diarise its deadline separately from the admission deadline.

Grandes Écoles and business schools — including institutions in engineering, management, and specialised fields — operate on a different fee scale from public universities, often charging €5,000 to well over €20,000 per year in the private sector, with their own merit scholarships, early-bird reductions, and partner awards. A 20% or 30% merit reduction at a private school can still leave a large fee to pay. Calculate the net cost after the award, in euros, for the full programme, before you accept any offer.

Tuition Fees in France: The Real Figures

Sources for the table: Campus France — Tuition Fees, which states €2,895 at bachelor’s level and €3,941 at master’s level for non-EU students, €178 / €254 where differentiated fees are not applied, and €397 for doctorate enrolment at the start of the 2025 academic year; and university fee pages applying the same €2,895 / €3,941 figures for 2025/2026. In addition, all students in initial training in France must normally pay the CVEC student life contribution (around €100 per year — confirm the current amount on the official CVEC site for your year) unless exempt as certain scholarship holders may be.

An important change for 2026/2027: French government announcements in spring 2026 directed that most new non-EU students should pay the differentiated fees of €2,895 / €3,941 from September 2026, after a period in which many universities chose to exempt most international students and charge the lower rate. Reports of that announcement state that current students already enrolled are not affected, and that exemptions will be limited, with a share reserved for scholarship holders, hardship cases, and priority disciplines. Because implementation details are set by decree and by institution, you must confirm the fee you will actually be charged on your chosen university’s 2026/2027 fee page and in your admission letter — do not budget on the assumption that the €178 / €254 rate will automatically apply to you as a new non-EU entrant in 2026/2027.

CROUS Housing, CAF, and Living Costs

CROUS — the regional centres for university and school services — manage publicly owned, subsidised student residences across France. Campus France describes CROUS residences as the first choice of many students: rents are low (Campus France’s housing page gives around €450 per month in Paris and around €350 on average elsewhere in the versions consulted, with older versions quoting €400 in Paris and €200 elsewhere — rents vary by residence type, city, and year, so check the specific residence), buildings are close to campus, and social life is strong. The drawback is demand far exceeding supply. International students who are independent applicants apply through the platform trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr in the period stated for that year (Campus France notes from 7 July 2026 for free movers in one current version); students on formal exchange programmes have their housing arranged through their host institution’s international relations service; and scholarship holders managed by Campus France have housing booked by Campus France and should not contact CROUS directly for that allocation. In every case, ask your host institution early whether it has a CROUS agreement for its international students. See Campus France — Where to Live During Your Stay for the current procedure.

Beyond CROUS, students use private student residences, flatshares, and private rentals. Most private landlords require a guarantor; international students under 30 can often use the free public Visale guarantee scheme if eligible. Many students in France, including international students who meet the conditions, can apply for housing assistance from CAF, the family allowances fund, which can reduce monthly rent — eligibility and amounts depend on your lease, resources, and status, so apply through CAF after you have a signed lease and a French bank account, and do not count a specific CAF amount in your budget until CAF confirms it. For visa purposes, France requires proof of sufficient resources — the amount and accepted proofs are set in the current visa guidance for your country, so check France-Visas, the official visa site, for the figure that applies when you apply, rather than relying on a figure quoted in an old article.

Eligibility in General

Across French scholarships, common eligibility threads are: you are not a French national (and for many awards, not a dual national including French or EU citizenship where the award specifies); you meet the academic requirements for admission to the French programme itself; you have not already received the same French government scholarship for the same level; you are within any age condition in that cycle’s regulations; and your programme falls within the award’s eligible fields and levels. For Eiffel specifically, you must be supported by a French institution, your programme must be an eligible master’s, engineering, or doctoral programme in one of the seven fields, and you cannot combine Eiffel with another French government scholarship. For Émile Boutmy, you must be a first-time Sciences Po applicant from outside the EU whose household does not file taxes in the EU. For embassy scholarships, nationality and sometimes years of residence in the home country are decisive. There is no substitute for reading the eligibility article of the exact call you are applying under.

Language deserves a separate note. France offers a growing number of programmes taught entirely in English, especially at master’s level, in Grandes Écoles, and in international tracks. Many other programmes are taught in French and require a certified French level, commonly B2 or C1 depending on the programme, proven by DELF, DALF, TCF, or a university-recognised test. A scholarship does not waive the teaching-language requirement of the programme. Eiffel recipients may in some cases add a short intensive language course before their programme, but Campus France states the Eiffel scholarship does not cover the cost of such language courses, and any extension is limited and must be indicated in the application. Learn French even if your degree is in English — daily life, administration, internships, and post-study opportunities in France are all substantially easier with French, and employers notice it.

How to Apply Step by Step

Step 1: Choose programmes and cities, in that order of work. Use Campus France’s programme catalogues, each university’s site, and the directories linked in the introduction to build a list of five to eight programmes that match your previous degree. For each one, record teaching language, tuition for your category, scholarship routes attached to it, and all deadlines.

Step 2: Contact institutions early about scholarships. For Eiffel, this step is the application. Email the international relations or master’s programme office in early autumn, stating your nationality, previous degree and grades, the programme you are applying to, and that you wish to be considered for Eiffel nomination. Ask for their internal deadline and required documents. Institutions select which candidates they will put forward; silence or a late enquiry in December is often too late.

Step 3: Apply for admission through the correct channel. Depending on your nationality, residence, and level, you may apply through Études en France / Campus France in your country, through the university’s own platform, through Mon Master for French master’s admission where applicable, or through a Grande École’s own admissions. Follow the channel that applies to you — using the wrong portal can invalidate an otherwise strong file. Sciences Po applicants must include the Émile Boutmy request inside that admission application.

Step 4: Prepare documents to French standards. Typically: passport, CV in the format requested (French institutions appreciate a concise, structured CV), degree certificates and transcripts with certified translations where required, language certificates (English and/or French as the programme requires), a motivation letter / statement of purpose tailored to the programme, recommendation letters, and for PhD applicants a research proposal and supervisor contact. For Eiffel, the institution will tell you exactly which pieces it needs to complete its submission; provide them well before its internal deadline in the exact file formats requested.

Step 5: Institution submits, you wait — actively. Once the institution has submitted an Eiffel or similar nomination, monitor your email, complete any Études en France steps, prepare your financial proofs for the visa, and start housing research without signing anything non-refundable until your funding and visa position are clear.

Step 6: Visa, Social Security, and arrival. Apply for the long-stay student visa through France-Visas and your local visa centre as soon as you have admission and funding proof. On arrival, validate your visa / residence permit within the required period, register for free student Social Security at etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr, open a French bank account, finalise your lease and CAF application, and register with your institution. Campus France-managed scholarship holders will receive specific arrival, housing, and first-payment instructions — follow those over any general guide, including this one.

Deadlines and Timeline for 2026/2027

This timeline reflects the pattern and specific dates of the most recent completed Eiffel call (deadline 8 January 2026, results from late March 2026) and the general French admission calendar. If you are applying in a later cycle, treat the months as the expected pattern and confirm every date on Campus France and your institution’s site for that cycle.

Selection Criteria and How to Improve Your Chances

French excellence scholarships select on academic excellence first: grades in your previous degree, the prestige and relevance of your preparation, the quality of your motivation letter and, for research, your proposal and supervisor fit. Eiffel panels also consider the institution’s international strategy and the candidate’s potential as a future decision-maker in their field and home country — which is why a clear post-degree project, leadership or professional experience where relevant, and a coherent reason for choosing France and that specific programme matter. A generic letter praising France in general will not compete with a specific letter that names courses, labs, professors, and a career plan that the degree directly enables.

Practical improvements that genuinely help: apply to programmes that match your transcript rather than collecting famous names; write your motivation letter for one programme at a time; obtain recommendation letters from academics who know your work and can give examples; present your grades with context if your university’s scale is unfamiliar (an official grading-scale explanation helps panels); meet every internal deadline with a complete file, because institutions cannot nominate incomplete candidates; and learn French to at least a basic level before you apply, even for English-taught programmes, and state that honestly — it signals integration and seriousness. If you are rejected in one cycle, a stronger, better-matched application in the next cycle is a normal path; many successful scholars applied more than once or succeeded at a different institution than their first choice.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

First, applying directly for Eiffel as a student — those applications are declared ineligible. Second, assuming Eiffel pays tuition and therefore not asking your institution what fees, if any, remain for your programme type. Third, budgeting on the old €178 master’s fee as a new non-EU student for 2026/2027 without checking whether differentiated fees apply to you. Fourth, missing a university’s internal Eiffel deadline while watching only the national January deadline. Fifth, forgetting to tick or complete the Émile Boutmy section inside the Sciences Po application — it cannot be added later. Sixth, applying for a French-taught programme without the required French certificate, hoping the scholarship will waive it. Seventh, treating Paris as the only option and then discovering your allowance cannot cover Paris rent, when the same programme quality exists in a lower-cost city. Eighth, paying any person or company that promises a guaranteed French government scholarship, guaranteed admission, or a guaranteed visa. No legitimate party can promise those outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does the Eiffel Scholarship pay per month in 2026?

According to the current Campus France Eiffel implementation page consulted in October 2026, master’s recipients receive €1,200 per month from January 2026 and doctoral recipients receive €2,100 per month from January 2026, plus services such as transport, insurance arrangements, housing assistance, and cultural activities. Older pages quote €1,181 and €1,700 — confirm the amount in your cycle’s Eiffel regulations.

2. Does Eiffel cover tuition fees?

No — Campus France states tuition fees are not covered by the Eiffel programme itself. However, French government scholarship holders in eligible public programmes leading to a national diploma or accredited engineering degree are exempt from tuition charges under Article R719-49 of the Education Code. Private or non-eligible programme costs are not covered — confirm your exact position with your host institution.

3. Can I apply for Eiffel myself?

No. Only French higher education institutions can submit Eiffel applications, via Campus France. You must first be accepted and supported by an institution, which then submits on your behalf before its internal deadline and the national deadline.

4. How much is public tuition in France for non-EU students?

For 2025/2026, Campus France lists differentiated fees of €2,895 per year at bachelor’s level and €3,941 at master’s level for non-EU students, with PhD enrolment at €397 and no differentiated fee for doctoral students. From September 2026 the government has directed broader application of those differentiated fees for new non-EU entrants — confirm the fee in your admission letter for 2026/2027.

5. What is the Émile Boutmy Scholarship and who can apply?

It is Sciences Po’s tuition-grant scholarship for first-time international applicants from outside the EU whose household does not file taxes in the EU, admitted to eligible bachelor’s or master’s programmes. Recent published terms describe up to a full tuition exemption or €9,500 at undergraduate level and €18,500 per year at master’s level, determined at admission — check the terms for your admission year, as earlier cycles used different tiered amounts. PhD, one-year master’s, exchange, and most dual-degree applicants are not eligible.

6. Can I study in France in English without speaking French?

Yes, for programmes taught entirely in English, which are numerous at master’s level and in Grandes Écoles — you must meet that programme’s English requirement. For French-taught programmes you need the stated French level, usually B2 or C1. Even on English-taught programmes, learning French is strongly recommended for daily life, administration, internships, and employment.

7. How do I get CROUS student housing?

Independent international students apply through trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr in the summer period stated by Campus France for that year. Exchange students are arranged through their host institution, and Campus France-managed scholarship holders have housing booked by Campus France. Demand exceeds supply, so apply as early as the platform allows and pursue private options in parallel.

8. Can I work part-time as a student in France?

International students with a valid student residence permit are generally permitted to work a limited number of hours per year under French rules — the current limit and conditions are stated on official French administration and France-Visas guidance, so check those at the time you apply. Treat part-time work as a supplement, never as the funding that your visa financial proof depends on, unless the official guidance for your case explicitly allows it.

Sources & Verification

Sources consulted at write time (October 2026): Campus France — France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship Implementation (monthly allowance €1,200 master’s / €2,100 doctoral from January 2026, duration, tuition exemption under Article R719-49, travel, health, housing and cultural services, first payment and obligations); Campus France — The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme (fields, levels, older allowance figures €1,181 / €1,700 on that programme page, “tuition fees are not covered,” institution-only submission); Campus France — Tuition Fees (€2,895 bachelor’s / €3,941 master’s differentiated fees, €178 / €254 non-differentiated rates, €397 doctorate, government covering around two-thirds of cost); Campus France — Where to Live During Your Stay (CROUS rents, trouverunlogement.lescrous.fr procedure, different routes for free movers, exchange students and Campus France scholarship holders); Sciences Po Émile Boutmy published terms as summarised from Sciences Po scholarship pages for recent cycles (eligibility, exclusions, tuition exemption amounts and renewal / loss conditions — amounts vary by cycle and must be confirmed for your admission year); and French government / ICEF and education-press reporting of the spring 2026 announcement on broader application of differentiated fees from September 2026. Every amount in this article is attributed to the source and cycle stated beside it.

Disclaimer: Scholarship details, amounts, deadlines, tuition fees, and eligibility change yearly. Always confirm deadlines and amounts on the official website — Campus France, your French embassy, and your chosen institution — before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency. We never promise selection, admission, or visa approval, and no one else can legitimately guarantee those outcomes for you.