Studying in France is made even easier with opportunities for funding for Australian students.
Australian Government Loan
OS-HELP is an Australian Government Loan scheme that allows eligible Australian university students to borrow money in order to undertake an exchange experience. The OS-HELP loan is applied to the student's HECS debt and standard conditions apply. Students should visit the Australian Government's Study Assist website for more information about HECS-HELP and OS-HELP.
Nicolas Baudin Program
The Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant is eponymously named after the famous French explorer and botanical voyager who in 1802, at the same time as Matthew Flinders, charted the coast of New Holland (Australia).
The program is designed to encourage students to undertake study, research or professional development in France.
Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant
The Embassy of France supports the mobility of Australian students to France with the Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant, designed to cover return flights between Australia and France and visa fees.
Students can apply through the following frameworks:
- Students enrolled at an Australian university seeking to take part in an exchange program /study abroad at a French establishment.
- Students seeking to pursue a full degree at a French university (students aiming to graduate with a diploma), including double degrees jointly offered by a French and an Australian university.
- Students enrolled at an Australian university seeking to undertake an internship through the Internships in France Initiative.
Nicolas Baudin Program: Internship in France Initiative
The Nicolas Baudin Internship in France initiative offers students from participating Australian universities the opportunity to undertake a research internship at a French host university in collaboration with an industry partner. The internship offers are jointly created by the French host university and its industry partner, and when relevant, with the Australian partner university if the intern is enrolled within the framework of a pre-existing scientific collaboration.
This co-funding program consists of:
- the Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant from the Embassy of France (A$2500),
- an internship stipend from the host institution in France (~€560/month),
- an additional grant to help cover daily costs (A$2500) from the home university in Australia.
Click here to find out about eligibility criteria, program calendar and how to apply.
PHC FASIC
FASIC (French-Australia Science Innovation Collaboration Grants) is a French-Australian Hubert-Curien Partnership for cooperation in science, technology and innovation. These programs are meant as a catalyst and aims to support the launch and the critical early-stage development of bilateral research projects between France and Australia. They also aim to support the strategic scaling-up of science and technology collaborations.
The FASIC programs are implemented through three different schemes:
- The FASIC Workshops Scheme supports the organisation of bilateral scientific workshops, jointly designed by French and Australian research groups on thematics of strategic interest for the future of the cooperation. To apply, you can refer to the application process on this link.
- The FASIC Researchers Scheme supports researchers’ mobility from France (French overseas territories included) to Australia to develop scientific and technological exchanges of excellence between laboratories in both countries. To apply, you can refer to the application process on this link.
- The FASIC PhD Scheme aims to support PhD candidates’ mobility between the two countries with the view to establish or consolidate individual connections between French and Australian research labs.To apply, you can refer to the application process on this link.
Clic here to learn more about FASIC.
French + Sciences Scholarship
The Embassy of France in Australia is supporting linguistic and scientific stays in France by providing a scholarship to cover the enrolment costs for participants of one of the French + Sciences programs.
Click here for full details on the programs available.
Campus Bourses: a funding search engine
Campus Bourses provides information (program description, eligibility criteria, application process and contact details) on the scholarships offered to foreign students. The tool lists all of the assistance available by the States (French and foreign), regional authorities, companies, foundations and institutions of higher education. Filter your search by nationality, field and level of studies to find the assistance that corresponds to your profile:
- National programs (government agencies, corporations, foundations, higher education institutions) and international programs (French embassies abroad, foreign governments and institutions, multilateral organizations).
- Available in French, English and Spanish
- Users may search by keyword or by set search criteria (nationality, discipline, level of study, type of grant)
- Complete and updated information
French government fundings
Studely Grant
Studely is launching its third edition of the program offering international students going to France the possibility to reduce their expenses related to their stay, for the 2024-2025 school year. Through this program, 30 scholarship holders will be selected through a 100% digital process, based on social criteria and the quality of their academic background. Each winner will receive a grant worth 1,000 euros!
Eligibility:
- You must be a student engaged in a mobility project for a first year of study in France.
- You must be enrolled (or in the process of enrolling) in a France higher education establishment for the 2024-2025 academic year.
- You must have a high-school diploma (no later than 2024).
- Your study period must be more than or equal to 10 months.
- You must not benefit from any other scholarship program.
More information here.
The Eiffel Scholarship
The French Foreign Ministry awards a number of different scholarships of excellence for international students.
The Eiffel program (for Master's or Doctoral level studies) is for the best academic students, who receive funding of €1,700 per month during their study project in France.
More Scholarships
The Major programs are destined for the best foreign students who have graduated from French high schools abroad.
The French Ministry of Higher education and Research also awards scholarships to some foreign students, based on social criteria. To be eligible, students must have been residing in France for at least two years and be paying taxes in France.
The Ministry also finances doctoral contracts managed by the Doctoral schools.
In France, public research is split between institutes of higher education and public organisations such as the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) which covers all fields of research, the IRD (Institute for Research and Development), the ADEME (Environmental and Energy Control Agency) and the IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea). In partnership with the regions, these public bodies finance research allocations for doctoral and post-doctoral students.
Finally, some institutions of higher education offer scholarship programs to enrolled foreign students. To find out more, contact their international relations department.
Scholarships from regional authorities
French regions and towns allocate scholarships to foreign students enrolled in programmes in their region. They also award doctoral and postdoctoral grants managed by the institutes of higher education and research. Regional scholarships may also be allocated to foreign students as part of exchange agreements with foreign institutes.
MOPGA
Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) is an initiative of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, launched on 1st June 2017 following the decision of the United States to leave the Paris Agreement on the climate. It is a call to researchers and students, entrepreneurs, associations and NGOs, students and all civil society to mobilise and join France to lead the fight against global warming.
For more information about the program click here.
The Erasmus+ mobility scholarships for foreign students
Erasmus + is a European Union programme that supports education, training, youth and sport. Through it, over two million students can benefit from a mobility bursary in Europe: it covers the 2014-2020 period, with a budget of 14.7 billion Euros.
The Erasmus Mundus joint Master offer is a study programme that awards scholarships to the world's best students for one or two years, regardless of their field of studies. To receive one, these students must take their Master program in at least two countries participating in the program. Several French institutions of higher education offer joint Master programs.
In the framework of bilateral agreements between institutions of higher education, Erasmus+ also offers mobility scholarships to and from France. They cover travel and accommodation costs. Find out more from the institution you are enrolled in.
Former and continuing Erasmus programs
Some joint doctoral programs are still funded by the old "Erasmus Mundus" program and still award scholarships. Nonetheless, European joint doctorates (EJD) that were set up in the framework of Horizon 2020, the European Union program for Research and Innovation, will progressively replace them.
Some partnerships that came under the old Erasmus Mundus Action 2 program still offer mobility scholarships. Many projects involve at least one French institution.