Eiffel Excellence Scholarship 2027

The France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship is the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ flagship award for international postgraduate students. It was set up to help French institutions recruit strong foreign students into Master’s, engineering and PhD programmes, and Campus France runs it from the call for applications through to the payment of allowances. Campus France describes the programme as more than 20 years old, with more than 10,000 past recipients and nearly 400 partner institutions.

Dates for the 2027 round are not published yet. In the 2026 round the call opened on 1 October 2025, Campus France accepted files until 8 January 2026, and results came out from 30 March 2026. Expect a similar pattern, but remember that the date that matters to you is your French institution’s internal deadline, which comes earlier.

Nomination by the university

There is no Eiffel application form for students. Campus France is explicit that files sent directly by students, or by foreign institutions, are declared ineligible. Only a French higher education institution can submit you, which means two steps on your side: getting admitted to a programme in France, and persuading that institution to put your name forward. Institutions choose which of their admitted students to submit, so you are often competing with other applicants to the same school before the national panels see your file. Admission alone is not enough.

Campus France’s advice to students is to start with the Campus France office in your own country or the cultural section of the French embassy, then contact the international relations office of the institution you want to join and ask about its Eiffel procedure and deadline. When you apply for admission, say clearly that you want to be considered. The institution needs time to rank its candidates before the January cut-off, so this conversation belongs early in the admission cycle, ideally in September or October.

Writing to the programme

An institution cannot put you forward if it does not know you want a nomination. A short, specific email to the programme’s admissions or international office fixes that. The sample below is illustrative, with an invented name and programme.

1. 1The subject line names both the admission and the scholarship, so the message reaches whoever handles Eiffel files.
2. 2One sentence of record and one of experience. The full CV is already in the application.
3. 3The direct question: internal deadline and documents. Schools set their own procedures, so ask rather than guess.
4. 4A specific reason for this programme. Institutions are judged partly on the candidates they put forward, so they look for people who fit the course.

Who is eligible

• Citizens of countries other than France. Dual nationals who hold French citizenship are not eligible.
• Aimed at applicants up to 29 years old for a Master’s and up to 35 for a PhD
• At Master’s level, candidates already studying in France are ineligible. At PhD level, students currently abroad are given priority over those living in France.
• Not currently holding a French Government scholarship (institutions may still put forward PhD candidates who held one at graduate level in the past)
• Enrolled in a programme leading to a nationally accredited degree. French programmes taught abroad, and programmes under an apprenticeship contract, are excluded.
• Studying in one of the seven Eiffel areas listed below
• Submitted by a French higher education institution

The seven areas fall under two headings. Under science and technology: biology and health, ecological transition, mathematics and digital, and engineering sciences. Under humanities and social sciences: history, French language and civilisation; law and political science; and economics and management. A candidate outside these areas is not funded however strong the file, so check the field first.

What the award pays

Two figures need care. Campus France’s recipients’ handbook gives the PhD allowance as €2,000 a month while its programme page gives €2,100, so treat your award letter as the final word. Travel is reimbursed on receipts, up to a ceiling set by the Ministry for each country, and the return flight depends on Campus France receiving your final academic results.

Tuition is not part of the award, which is why we list the scholarship as partial funding. There is an important exception: French Government scholarship holders are exempt from tuition at public institutions under the Ministry of Higher Education for national degrees (Master’s, doctorate) and accredited engineering degrees. At a private business or engineering school, fees can be substantial, so ask the institution before you accept a place.

A 36-month PhD award is reserved for new doctoral candidates in their first year who are not already studying in France. Shorter PhD awards can be split into stays of at least six months, which suits joint supervision with a university at home.

How selection works

Recipients are pre-selected by their institution and then chosen by a selection commission of seven expert panels, one per field of study. Campus France lists three things the panels weigh: the candidate’s track record of excellence, the host institution’s reputation abroad and its international student policy, and the French Ministry’s cooperation and partnership priorities with the candidate’s country.

Only the first is in your hands, so make it count. Grades and class ranking matter, but so does a clear account of why this programme, in France, at this point in your career. The institution’s own case for you rests on the same material, which is why a vague statement of purpose weakens both filters at once.

Choosing where to apply

Campus France says any French higher education institution can submit applications, so you are not restricted to a fixed list. That widens the field beyond Paris, where living costs are highest and competition for nomination inside the best-known schools can be stiff. A strong regional university with a good programme in your field may be keen to put forward a well-matched candidate.

Look at the programme as a whole: the language of teaching, compulsory internships, and whether an exchange semester abroad is built in. Eiffel funding continues during a required internship or exchange, but an optional one suspends the allowance for its duration, so a programme where the work placement is part of the degree is easier to manage.

After the award

Eiffel scholars must start their programme between 1 September and 30 November of the award year, and the start date cannot be postponed. Scholars send Campus France proof of enrolment and of national health insurance cover, and report academic progress twice a year. Repeating a year suspends the scholarship. A gap year is possible but suspends payments and needs two months’ notice.

Timeline

1. September to October: check the Eiffel areas on Campus France, contact your target institutions and apply for admission, stating that you want an Eiffel nomination.
2. Before the internal deadline your institution sets: send any extra documents it asks for.
3. First week of January: institutions submit their candidates to Campus France. In the 2026 round the cut-off was 8 January.
4. From late March: results are published (30 March in the 2026 round).
5. September to November: the programme starts.

Fields, age guidance and dates are set each round. Confirm the current details on the official Campus France page before applying, and read our guide to choosing the right Master’s programme if you are still deciding between institutions.