Other Exchange Programs and Scholarships

Eiffel Excellence Scholarship 2025

The Eiffel Scholarship Program was established by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help French institutions of higher education attract top international students to their master’s and doctoral programs. Its purpose is to train future foreign decision-makers in the private and public spheres in priority areas of study.

The fields of study covered by the Eiffel scholarships and taught at ENS are:

•     SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
  • Biology and health
  • Ecological transition
  • Mathematics and Numeracy
  • Engineering sciences

•     HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • History, French language and civilization
  • Law, Political sciences
  • Economics, Management

FUNDING (2025)

    Master's level: The ENS does not accept applications for Eiffel scholarships at master's level.
    Doctoral level: Eiffel scholarship holders receive a monthly allowance of €1,800, as well as direct payment for certain services: international and national transport, insurance, accommodation, cultural activities, etc.

HOW TO APPLY TO EIFFEL SCHOLARSHIP THROUGH ENS?

1.First check your eligibility:

CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY

• DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP: The scholarship is awarded for the academic year corresponding to the call for applications. Students must begin their stay between September 1 and November 30 of the year in which the scholarship is awarded. The Eiffel scholarship is awarded for a period of 12 to 36 months:
  • 36-month scholarship, conditional on enrolment in 1st year of thesis only
  • Scholarship duration of 18 months or 12 months, for all candidates whether already in the process of completing their thesis or newcomers to France or abroad, in co-directorship or cotutelle.
    • 12 months for an enrolment in 2nd or 3rd year of thesis
    • 18 months for an enrolment in 1st or 2nd year of thesis
• AGE: Candidates must be no more than 32 years old at the time of the 2024 application campaign, i.e. born after March 31, 1992.
• NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS: Must be of foreign nationality. This program is reserved for candidates of foreign nationality. Candidates with dual nationality, one of whom is French, are not eligible.
• GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION: Students studying abroad have priority over those already living in France.

2. Send your application to the International Relations Department (dri@ens.psl.eu), indicating which course you wish to apply for.

Please enclose the following documents:

•     PHOTOCOPY OF IDENTITY DOCUMENT containing the following information: surname, first name, date of birth.
•     CURRICULUM VITAE of the applicant, written in French or English, on one or two pages, giving details of academic and professional experience, if any.
•     DIPLOMAS AND RANKINGS: copies of most recent diplomas obtained, indicating date, specialization, honors and any other documents attesting to the candidate's excellence and performance.
•     LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE OR DIPLOMA (if applicable).
• TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS  from the last three years, referring to an academic career in France or abroad.
•      Candidate's PROFESSIONAL PROJECT, written in French or, failing that, in English, on one or two pages. This presentation may be supported by an opinion from outside the school, for example from a company.
• Presentation of THESIS PROJECT, written in French or English (5 pages maximum). This document must give a precise account of the subject of the thesis, the research objectives and hypotheses - the innovative nature, impact and benefits of the project.
• A reasoned opinion on the scientific quality of the thesis topic, written by a university professor/research director with expertise in the research field concerned (in compliance with ethical rules, contact us for any question).
• CURRICULUM VITAE of the university professor/research director in question (max. 2 pages)
• FUNDING PLAN for the thesis
• "CO-TUTELLE AGREEMENT" or ATTESTATION OF "CO-DIRECTION" signed by the French and foreign parties, including the schedule for alternating stays in the event of split periods.

Application deadline: November 24, 2024

3. The DRI will determine whether it is possible to apply to the ENS.

4. DRI will submit your application online on the Campus France website.

5. Publication of results: winners will be contacted by e-mail by Campus France.

RULES

Please consult the program regulations below, as well as the Campus France website on the call for Eiffel 2024 scholarships.

Regulations Eiffel 2025 Recipients

CONTACT CAMPUS FRANCE

All information is available on the Campus France website. For practical questions, please write to candidatures.eiffel@campusfrance.org

ALSO AVAILABLE

Campus France Grant search engine

France Diplomacy website

Call for applications ENS Group - China Scholarship Council (CSC) PhD program 2025

The Écoles Normales Supérieures (Ulm, Paris-Saclay, Lyon, Rennes) have signed a cooperation agreement with the China Scholarship Concil (CSC)  which provides funding for 20 PhD students in the ENS group, on the basis of a selection by the ENS and by the CSC.

The selection criteria will take into account the quality of the application, the host laboratory at ENS’ interest in the topic of research, and the existing cooperation with the home university of the candidates.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• The scholarship is for a maximum duration of 4 years. Its amount is 1350 €/month.
  In the case of a joint supervision, the scholarship will be granted for the periods in which the student is in France.
• Candidates must be citizens and permanent residents of the People’s Republic of China at the time of the application and must not be currently working abroad
• Successful candidates must return to China upon completion of their PhD studies or after a postdoctoral stay abroad (upon agreement by CSC)
• Candidates must fulfill the general admission and selection requirements of ENS and doctoral studies department and obtain the agreement of the relevant doctoral school. They must have a good level in English for candidates in science, or in French for candidates in the humanities.
• Candidates must be accepted by a laboratory supervised by ENS Ulm

PhD Project Proposals:

Cognitive sciences:

Neuroscience/biology:

Humanities:

Philosophy:

Documents to download:

                                              Application deadline: February 14, 2025

Schedule:

•  Call for thesis subject proposals: from October 16, 2024 to November 15, 2024
•  Publication of PhD project proposals and application open to candidates : from December 16, 2024, to February 14, 2025
• Selection by the ENS group: February 28, 2025
• Application on CSC platform : from mid to end of March 2025
• Final selection:  end of June 2025
• Registration at ENS : July 2025

Jean Walter Zellidja Research Grants 2025 (Granted by the Académie Française)

History

Mr. Jean Walter, an architect, made a donation to the Académie française. These funds are earmarked for travel and study grants for French youth.
Since 1976, these grants have been awarded to students from grandes écoles or universities who, outside of their degree, wish to participate in a different training or pursue personal research through a stay abroad of about a year.

Conditions

• Must be younger than 30 years old at the time of the application
• Must be a doctoral or postdoctoral student at the ENS
• Must be a French-speaker

Applications

Please send the following documents to: dri@ens.psl.eu before January 7, 2025:

• your CV
• your research project ( 1-2 pages minimum)
• an invitation letter from the host university

To the attention of selected students: a dossier with required information will be sent to you, make sure to duly complete it and, please send it back to the DRI before February 6, 2025.

For further information, you can contact the secretary of the Académie française : 01 44 41 87 63.

Other Information

• Only applications for stays starting in July of the competition year will be considered
• Winners are informed by post of the decision. No report of the deliberations of the committee is publicly available.
• Applying to the scholarship under the conditions required does not confer any rights.