Campus France

CampusBourses delivers instant information on financial aid by allowing you to perform searches customized to your needs. From the licence (bachelor) to the postdoc levels, CampusBourses contains data on grant and scholarship programs of national and local governments, corporations, foundations, and institutions of higher education. 

Aid from public institutions in France and from the European Union

Under the Erasmus program of the European Union European students are eligible for grants to support study in France or another EU country. The Erasmus Mundus program is open to non-Europeans: grants are offered under multilateral master's and doctoral programs and special partnership projects. 

Funded from a budget of approximately €100 million (2008), the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs provides a large number of grants to international students. A quarter of the grants are awarded by the ministry's offices in Paris (e.g., grants under the Eiffel and Major programs. The rest are awarded by France's embassies. Information on all French government grants is available from the culture and cooperation service of France's embassies and consulates general. Since June 2009, information on these programs has also been available through CampusBourses. 

The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research awards need-based and affirmative-action grants to French citizens and certain groups of foreign students, notably those who have lived in France for at least two years and whose residence for tax purposes is located in France. The ministry also funds doctoral contracts, which are managed by doctoral departments throughout France.

Publicly funded research in France takes place in institutions of higher education and public research organizations. Most prominent among the latter is the CNRS (national center for scientific research), which operates in all disciplines. Others specialize in, for example, economic and social development (IRD), energy and the environment (ADEME), or exploitation of the seas (IFREMER). France's pubic research organizations fund doctoral and postdoctoral research, often in partnership with the country's regional councils. 

Regional councils award grants to students and scholars enrolled in institutions in their region. Most regions offer doctoral and postdoctoral support that is administered by institutions of higher education and research. Such support is usually funded in partnership with a pubilc research organization or a private firm. Other regional grants may be available to international students under exchange agreements with educational institutions outside France. 

Some higher education institutions offer grants and other financial assistance. Interested students should inquire at their institution's international office, which can also provide information on the aid programs of public institutions.