The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship funds top international students pursuing a Master’s or PhD in France, with a monthly stipend of €2,100 plus travel, insurance, and housing search support. It’s run by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs through Campus France — but there’s a catch most guides underplay: you cannot apply directly, tuition isn’t included, and the deadline that actually matters is your target university’s internal cutoff, not the later date Campus France publishes. Here’s exactly how it works.
Quick Facts
- Managed By: Campus France, on behalf of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
- Named After: Gustave Eiffel; the program launched in January 1999
- Degree Levels: Master’s and PhD only
- Scholarships Awarded Annually: Approximately 400 Master’s and 70 doctoral scholarships
- Monthly Stipend: €2,100 (current rate, effective January 2026)
- Tuition Fees: Not covered — the scholarship funds living costs and related support, not university fees
- Eligible Countries: Any country except France
- Age Limits: 29 or younger for Master’s applicants, 35 or younger for PhD applicants
- Central (University) Deadline: January 8, 2027, for the 2027–2028 cycle — but this is not your real deadline (see below)
- Real Deadline: Each university’s own internal cutoff, typically October–November 2026
The Eiffel Scholarship Deadline That Actually Matters
Campus France’s published deadline — January 8 each year — is when nominated candidates’ complete dossiers must reach Campus France from the university. It is not when you apply. Individual French institutions set their own internal deadlines for prospective students to be considered for Eiffel eiffel scholarship nomination in the first place, and these commonly fall in October or November, sometimes even earlier. If you wait until January thinking you have until then, you’ll likely have already missed the window at most universities. Contact your target institution’s international relations office now to confirm their specific internal deadline for this cycle.
What Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Covers
- A monthly stipend of €2,100
- International transportation to and from France
- National transportation support within France
- Insurance
- Housing search assistance
- Cultural activities allowance
Tuition fees are not covered in France Excellence. You’ll need to fund your university tuition separately — through personal funds, a separate scholarship, or your chosen institution’s own fee waiver, if available. French public universities for international students do charge relatively low tuition compared to the UK or US, which softens this gap, but it’s a real cost to plan for.
Duration
- Master’s: 12 to 24 months, depending on your year of enrollment. Reserved for students studying in France for the first time — you can’t use it to fund a program you’ve already started.
- PhD: 12 to 18 months of primary funding, extendable up to a total of 36 months for candidates in a formal cotutelle (joint supervision) arrangement with a partner university abroad. Cotutelle candidates splitting time between countries must submit a precise schedule to Campus France to avoid a stipend suspension.
Eligibility
- Any nationality except French
- Master’s applicants: 29 years old or younger
- PhD applicants: 35 years old or younger
- A strong, consistent academic record — competitive institutions generally look for an average of at least 15/20 (roughly a strong first-class/distinction-level average) across your last three years of study
- Studying, or planning to study, in one of the program’s priority fields: science and technology, engineering, economics and management, law and political science, or humanities
- PhD applicants must be either starting their first year of a French PhD, or entering a formal cotutelle (joint supervision) agreement with a French institution
A Note for African Applicants
Morocco has historically been among the most represented countries among Eiffel scholars, reflecting strong existing ties between Moroccan and French higher education systems, and Campus France maintains an active office there. Nigeria is specifically listed as a priority country at some institutions, including Paris-Saclay, and is eligible across all participating French universities — Nigerian applicants should check whether their chosen program is taught in French or English, since requirements differ accordingly. Francophone African countries generally — Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Madagascar, and the DRC — tend to have a practical advantage, since French university international offices are typically well set up to evaluate Francophone academic credentials.
How to Apply for France Excellence
- Identify a participating French institution and program in one of the priority fields. Not every French university and program participates every cycle — check directly, since participation can change (Sciences Po, for example, has announced it will not participate in the 2027–2028 cycle at all).
- Apply for admission to the university through its standard admissions process — this typically needs to happen alongside, or before, the Eiffel nomination request, and has its own separate deadline.
- Contact the institution’s international relations office directly to declare your interest in an Eiffel nomination, ideally by late summer before your target intake — don’t wait for a general announcement.
- Submit everything the university’s selection committee asks for — typically your CV, transcripts, and a motivation letter: Personal Statement for Scholarship / SOP Examples, Recommendation Letter for Scholarship
- Let the university’s committee decide whether to nominate you. You do not submit anything to Campus France yourself — only the institution can do that.
- If nominated, the university assembles your full dossier and submits it to Campus France by the central deadline (January 8 for the 2027–2028 cycle).
- Campus France’s independent academic committee evaluates all nominations nationally, based on academic excellence, coherence of your study plan, and your project’s development impact.
- Results are published from around late March, with study typically starting between September and November of that year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for the Eiffel Scholarship directly? No. Only French higher education institutions can submit applications to Campus France. You must first secure a university’s interest and be nominated by them.
Does the Eiffel Scholarship cover tuition fees? No. It covers a monthly stipend, transportation, insurance, and housing search support, but tuition fees are a separate cost you need to plan for.
What’s the current monthly stipend? €2,100 per month, as of the current rate effective January 2026. This is higher than the €1,181–€1,400 figures still quoted in many older guides.
What’s the real application deadline? It depends entirely on your target university’s own internal deadline, typically in October or November. The January 8 date that’s widely published is Campus France’s deadline for universities to submit already-nominated candidates, not your deadline to apply.
Is there an age limit? Yes. 29 or younger for Master’s applicants, 35 or younger for PhD applicants.
Can I apply if I’ve already started my Master’s in France? No, for Master’s applicants — the scholarship is reserved for students studying in France for the first time.
Is Sciences Po participating in the Eiffel program? Not for the 2027–2028 cycle. Sciences Po has publicly stated it will not submit any applications for that academic year — check directly with any specific institution you’re targeting, since participation can vary by cycle.
What fields does the Eiffel Scholarship prioritize? Science and technology, engineering, economics and management, law and political science, and humanities.
Official Resources
- Campus France (official): campusfrance.org/en/france-excellence-eiffel-scholarship-program
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