Eiffel Scholarship Programme for Master and PhD, France - 2008

Eiffel excellence scholarships are awarded to high-achieving overseas students to whom French centres of higher education would like to offer a place on a Master’s or PhD course. The courses taken by these students in France ultimately target positions of responsibility in the public or private sector, rather than careers in teaching or research.

The French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs gives priority to candidates from emerging countries (starting with Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and new members of the European Union), though the PhD scholarships also address students from industrialized countries.

Applications from students currently studying outside France will be given priority over those from students already studying in France.

Areas of study covered by the Eiffel programme
Eiffel grants cover the following subject areas:

* Engineering sciences for the Master’s course, and sciences in a broader sense for the PhD course (engineering sciences, exact sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry) life sciences, nano- and bio-technologies, environment sciences, and information & communication sciences).
* Economics and management.
* Law and political science.

Academic levels covered by the Eiffel programme
French centres of higher education putting forward candidates for Eiffel scholarships undertake to enrol successful applicants on one of the following types of course:

* Master’s course
* PhD course co-tutored or co-managed with partner higher education centre in the student’s country of origin

Candidates must not be aged over 30 (in the year of selection) for a Master’s scholarship or over 35 for a PhD scholarship.

Ineligibility factors

* Holders of other French government grants (including welfare coverage grants),
* Previous applicants for Eiffel grants, even in a different subject,
* Applicants not presented by a French centre (i.e. applications by students themselves, or submitted by a non-French centre)
* Duplicate applications, i.e. students proposed by more than one French centre.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications must be submitted with all the supporting documents listed on page 5 of the application form, and bear the official seal of the French higher education centre plus the signature of the official head of the centre (university dean, school director, etc.), formally certifying the statement of the centre’s international outreach policy. The quality charter must also be initialled separately to mark formal acceptance.

Application procedure
Applications for Eiffel grants are submitted by French higher education centres from a shortlist of outstanding students they would like to enrol on their courses. Applications are not accepted from students themselves, or from non-French centres.

Centres submit applications on behalf of candidate students consistent with programme objectives, in accordance with instructions and guidelines issued by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Selection procedure
Selection is performed by a commission made up of three specialist committees (one for each of the three subject areas covered by the programme). Committee members are not allowed to assess applications submitted by their own centres.

Committee members are not allowed to assess applications submitted by centres with which they have professional links.

Selection is to three criteria:

* Academic excellence of applicant, as attested by achievement to date (rated on a scale of 10 and weighted with a coefficient of 3).
* International policy of centre submitting application, operations addressing the geographical region in question, calibre of host unit, and suitability with regard to the application (rated on a scale of 5 and weighted to a coefficient of 3).
* Cooperation policy of French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, especially as regards the priorities set for different countries under the programme (rated on a scale of 5 and weighted to a coefficient of 1).

The commission assesses applications, rates them to these three criteria, and applies the weighting coefficients to produce a score out of 50. It then sets a pass mark and selects nominees to the following principles, on the basis of the number of grants available:

* At least seventy percent of the grants are awarded to the highest-scoring applicants (main list).
* The remainder go to higher education centres whose nominees scored above the pass mark but were not selected on the main list.

The commission then draws up and publishes the list of successful applicants.

Notification of results
The list of successful applicants will be published on-line (www.egide.asso.fr/eiffel).

Results will be notified to the heads of the higher education centres concerned.

The commission’s decision is final, and no discussion will be entertained regarding this decision or the reasons behind it.

Schedule
The schedule for the 2008 Eiffel programme is as follows:

* Application forms available online: September 2007
* Applications to be submitted by 11 January 2008
* Results announced in week beginning 24 March 2008

Results are published in March to enable students to give the French offer full consideration along with any other offers they might have; the best students will often have competing proposals (including offers on funding their studies) from other countries.

Duration of Eiffel scholarship
Master’s course: The Eiffel scholarship is awarded for the duration of the course culminating in the qualification specified in the application, provided the student fulfils the academic requirements of each year.

Upon request by the French host centre, Eiffel scholarship allowances for non-French-speaking students may be extended to cover preliminary French language training of up to one year.

The centre submitting the application must clearly state the overall programme duration, including any compulsory practical courses or internships in France or elsewhere.

PhD course: The Eiffel scholarship is awarded for a maximum of ten months, with no additional language training period.

Amount of Eiffel scholarship
The Eiffel programme does not cover tuition fees (except for preparatory course in French, if applicable), though the higher education centres concerned are invited to apply the best possible financial conditions to Eiffel scholarship-holders.

Enrolment fees at state-run higher education centres are waived for students on French government scholarship programmes such as this.

Master’s courses: Eiffel scholarship-holders on Master’s courses receive a monthly allowance of EUR1,181. In addition, the programme meets various expenses including return travel, health insurance and cultural activities. Scholarship-holders might also be eligible for additional accommodation allowance.

PhD courses: Eiffel scholarship-holders on PhD courses receive a monthly allowance of EUR1,400. In addition, the programme meets various expenses including return travel, health insurance and cultural activities. Scholarship-holders might also be eligible for additional accommodation allowance.

French embassy assistance
If they wish, higher education centres may contact French diplomatic services (cooperation and cultural departments) for assistance in identifying potentially suitable applicants.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned Égide with management of the Eiffel programme.

Égide
28 rue de la Grange-aux-Belles, 75010 Paris, France
Phone +33 (0)1 40 40 59 30
Practical information available on Égide website: www.egide.asso.fr/eiffel

Égide will take charge of paying students’ grants, and of answering enquiries from students and higher education centres regarding the Eiffel programme.

E-mail: eiffel [at] egide.asso.fr