In France, if you are a student, there are many ways the Government can help you. Many scholarships exist for all educational levels. Keep scrolling to find out what scholarships exist and how you can apply for them if you are a French student or a foreign student.
Scholarships to study in France
There a different kinds of scholarships to study in France. Here are some of them.
Scholarships in France for French Students
You are a French student and dying to know which scholarships you can apply to? Find out more about your options and all the steps you have to take.
What kind of scholarships can I apply for?
In France, there are different scholarships for all different education levels.
Here’s a compiled list of the main scholarships and financial aids :
Grant on social grounds (BSC)
They are granted to students under 28 years of age according to their parents’ income, the number of dependent children, the distance between home and study, their degree and their nationality. To qualify, students must attend classes and exams and make normal progress in their studies. The amount varies: from a single exemption from registration fees and CVEC (student and campus life contribution) to around €5 736 over 10 months. It is awarded by the CROUS.
Merit scholarship (Aide au mérite)
This is a supplement paid to scholarship holders on social grounds and to recipients of specific annual aid who have obtained a ‘very good’ mention in the baccalaureate. It amounts to €900 and is paid in nine installments.
Erasmus’ scholarship (Bourse Erasmus)
It is awarded to students doing part of their studies in Europe as part of an inter-institutional exchange. This aid can be combined with the grant based on social grounds.
International Mobility aid (Aide à la mobilité internationale)
This is a supplement paid to BCS scholarship holders for study stays abroad of between 2 and 9 consecutive months, up to a maximum of €400. It can be combined with the merit-based aid.
Parcoursup Mobility aid (Aide à la mobilité Parcoursup)
It is granted to scholarship students who have made and accepted at least one wish on Parcoursup outside their home academy, up to a maximum of €500 . The aid is paid in one installment at the beginning of the academic year. It can be combined with a grant based on social criteria, an annual allowance or a one-off grant, aid for international mobility and merit-based aid.
Master mobility aid (Aide à la mobilité Master)
It is intended for scholarship-holding students with a bachelor’s degree who are enrolled in the first year of a master’s degree in a region other than the one in which they began their university course. It is worth €1000.
Specific Annual Allowance for students in difficulty (Allocation spécifique annuelle pour étudiants en difficulté)
It is intended for young people who are in long-term financial difficulty and who do not receive a grant based on social criteria. Beneficiaries are exempted from paying tuition fees and social security contributions. This allowance is paid throughout the academic year for 10 months. Its amount corresponds to one of the levels of the grants on social criteria. It can be combined with international mobility aid and merit-based aid.
Talent Grants (Bourse Talents)
They aim to provide financial support to young people preparing for a competitive entrance examination to the civil service. The amount of the grant is €4,000 for students enrolled in a Talents preparatory class and €2,000 for those preparing for a competition outside a Talents preparatory class. The scholarship can be combined with a BCS.
Each of them are different and granted for different reasons. Thus, they all have different step to apply for them. Here’s how!
How to apply for a scholarship in France?
French administration can be complicated, and you have to be well-informed to know about these scholarships, as not everyone knows about them.
Apply for Grants on social grounds (BSC)
To apply for the BSC, you need to prepare all the necessary documents, including the DSE file, a tax notice, proof of schooling for you and your siblings, and an extract from your parents’ divorce decree if they are divorced. Applications must be submitted between 20 January and 15 May of each year electronically on MesServicesÉtudiants.
Apply for Merit scholarship (Aide au mérite)
To apply for merit-based aid, you must meet three conditions: you have a grant based on social grounds, you have obtained the mention Très Bien in your baccalaureate, and you are entering a higher education establishment at the beginning of the school year.Then, there is no particular step to take. As soon as your DSE file is sent to the Crous, they will inform you of the attribution of the merit scholarship.
Apply for Erasmus scholarship
The application for an Erasmus grant is made directly to your school’s international relations department. Each institution sets its own dates, and the application form will be provided to you directly.To get it, you must be enrolled in a higher education institution, have completed your first year of study, be going to an institution that is a partner with your own and be going for between 3 months and 1 year.
Apply for International Mobility aid
You may be eligible for international mobility aid if you wish to follow a higher education course abroad. This training takes place within the framework of an exchange program or an international internship. It can be granted to you if you meet the following two conditions:
- You receive a grant based on social ground or specific annual aid,
- You are preparing a national diploma under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education.
You must collect an application form from the international relations department of your institution, complete it and submit it to the department. The application must be accompanied by a project for a study period or work placement abroad.
Apply for Parcoursup Mobility aid
To benefit from this aid, you must have received a high school grant, be registered on the Parcoursup platform and have definitively validated an admission proposal. The application is made in July, directly on the Parcoursup platform. Please bring proof of registration in a higher education institution and a bank account number.
Apply for Master mobility aid
To benefit from it, you must be a beneficiary of a grant based on social criteria and be enrolled in the first year of a Master’s program in another academic region than your degree.
Apply directly on MesServicesÉtudiants with the attestation of success of your Bachelor’s degree and the certificate of registration in the first year of the Master’s degree
Apply for Specific Annual Allowance for students in difficulty
You must be a student, in long-term financial difficulty and under 35 years of age on 1 September of the training year for which you are applying. Contact the social service of your regional center for university and school works (Crous) to make your request. The specific annual allowance can be combined with international mobility aid, specific one-off aid and merit-based aid.
However, it cannot be combined with a grant based on social grounds.
Apply for Talent Grants
The application is made online. It concerns students in preparatory courses, persons registered with an organization preparing for competitions giving access to a permanent category A or B civil service post, students enrolled in a higher education course specifically aimed at preparing for one or more competitions.
For students not enrolled in a Prépas Talents training cycle, applications can be made online at the following link.
For other students preparing for civil service competitions who are enrolled in the Prépas Talents program, the grant is awarded automatically
How to apply for a scholarship to study in France as a foreign student?
For foreign students who would like to study in France or already are, know that there is financial support at your disposal. There are too many scholarships to quote every one of them, but let us help you sort everything out.
First, there is a website called campusfrance.org that will help you find all the scholarships aimed towards foreign students in France.
Effeil Scholarship Program (Programme des bourses Effeil)
This is a scholarship developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable French higher education institutions to attract the best foreign students into degree programs at master’s and doctoral level.
For Master’s levels, the scholarship can be awarded for between 12 and 36 months. For the PhD level, it is awarded over 12 months.
In terms of benefits, foreign students will receive a monthly grant (between €1100 and €1700) as well as transport, insurance, accommodation, cultural activities, etc.
To apply, you must :
- Contact the Espace Campus France in your country of origin or the cooperation and cultural action department of the French embassy, which will be able to guide you and advise you on your study project.
- Contact the international relations department of a French institution by visiting its website, by e-mail or by telephone, to find out the procedures and the deadline for submitting an application to their department.
It is up to you to choose the school or university that best suits your plans to study in France.
All French higher education institutions can apply.
Then it will be necessary that :
- The institution accepts and supports your application for the Eiffel scholarship.
- The institution submits your application online, on the Campus France website.
Erasmus + and the Crous can also award grants to foreign students.
For the Crous, it is sufficient to meet these conditions:
- enrolled in initial training in France,
- enrolled in a public or private training course giving entitlement to the grant,
- are following a full-time course.
For Erasmus, all you have to do is ask your study institution.
To sum it up
To sum up, there are a lot of scholarship programs in France, for French and foreign students. Often, most applications are now paperless and all you have to do is meet the requirements. These grants will take a weight off your shoulders and allow you to enjoy your student life a little more serenely! So nothing ventured, nothing gained!