Eiffel Ph.D. scholarships

Campus France's Eiffel program is designed to support the international recruitment of French higher education institutions, in a context of increased competition between developed countries to attract elite foreign students in Master's or Doctorate level courses. The Department of Education through Research and Doctoral Studies (FEDORA) centralizes the applications for the Doctorate component, through the mailing address fedora-for@insa-lyon.fr.

The Eiffel scholarship scheme at the doctoral level is evolving for the 2025 campaign, and is now divided into two parts:

1. 36-month scholarships for candidates who will be in the 1st year of their Ph.D. in 2025-2026 and who are new arrivals (residing abroad and not enrolled in a French institution), with the aim of supporting the attractiveness of research in France. This type of scholarship must be done outside the framework of a Double Diploma.
2. For all candidates, and in particular those already in the course of their thesis as part of a co-supervision or co-supervision, scholarships of 12 or 18 months, depending on the year of registration, with the aim of supporting existing cooperation or those under construction.

Eligibility

• Candidates must be no more than 32 years old at the time of the application
• Applicants must be of foreign nationality (dual nationals are not eligible)
• The beginning of the first stay in France must take place between September 1 and November 30 of the year in which the scholarship is awarded. Within the framework of this call, Double Degree projects are privileged for 12 and 18 month scholarships.
• Students already receiving a grant from the French government under another program at the time of application, are not eligible, even if it is a social security grant.
• The thesis must be conducted, for 12 and 18 month scholarships, in the framework of a Double Degree or co-supervision.

Application file

The application form for the PhD component must be completed (it will be opened at the insitutiton level after a first contact by the PI). It consists of three parts:

1. Information about the candidate
2. Presentation of the application
3. General information about the institute

The PI must complete parts 1 (information about the candidate) and 2 (submission of the application).

Please note:

• Only French higher education institutions can submit applications
• For the student's file to have a chance, his ranking in his promotion is one of the most influential criteria. So remember to fill it in the file.
• Students studying abroad have priority over those already residing in France.
• A supporting letter from an external person (PU, DR or HDR) is now required.

Pre-selection

Complete (parts 1 and 2) and eligible applications will initially be analyzed jointly by the DAREI, the Research Vice-Presidency and the FEDORA Department. The President of the institution will proceed to the final ranking of the applications. Then, the official list will be sent to Campus France.

At the same time, DAREI validates the selected applications online and informs of the decision of the INSA Presidency concerning the applications in January.

Finally, Campus France announces its results around April and the list of winners will be posted on the website: http://www.campusfrance.org/fr/eiffel.

The main objective of this pre-selection is to be in line with the institution's research and international policy. The aim is to demonstrate the actions implemented by the institution for promoting its international influence and improve the quality of the reception of international students, and more particularly the winners of the Eiffel program, and to indicate the actions taken to ensure the follow-up of the scholarship holder during and after his training in France.

Timeline / Calendar

The Campus France website on Eiffel scholarships: https://www.campusfrance.org/fr/le-programme-de-bourses-eiffel