The France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship 2027–2028 at Aix-Marseille University is open for international applicants pursuing eligible master’s, engineering and doctoral study in France. From biology and digital technology to law, economics and ecological transition, the programme supports ambitious postgraduate plans with a monthly allowance, travel and insurance services.
Your first application goes to Aix-Marseille University, which decides whom to nominate for the national competition. That creates two practical questions: which university submission route fits your degree, and does scholarship pre-selection also secure admission? The answers differ for master’s and doctoral applicants. This guide walks you through the eligibility checks, documents and separate deadlines so you can build the right file before the university’s November cutoffs.
Build your AMU Eiffel application
01 Which degrees, subjects and applicants can AMU nominate?
AMU can nominate eligible postgraduate applicants across Eiffel’s seven priority fields; this is not a bachelor’s scholarship. The fields are biology and health; ecological transition; mathematics and digital technology; engineering; French history, language and civilisation; law and political science; and economics and management. Choose an actual degree or research project within these categories, not merely a subject label.
| Your route | Age and location rules | Practical starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Master’s / qualifying engineering | Born after 31 March 1997. AMU requires applicants not to be living in France when applying. | Identify the exact degree, faculty and entry year, then complete AMU’s pre-selection form. |
| Doctorate | Born after 31 March 1991. Candidates abroad receive priority; residence in France is not an automatic exclusion. | Find an AMU thesis supervisor and establish the doctoral-school requirements. |
French citizenship excludes you even if you hold another nationality. Previous unsuccessful Eiffel applications at the same level cannot simply be resubmitted through a different institution. A former master’s Eiffel recipient may be considered for certain doctoral awards, but not the 36-month doctoral route. Only one institution may submit your national nomination.
Your previous qualification and language skills must also meet the chosen programme’s requirements. Eiffel does not provide a universal IELTS exemption or make every course English-taught. For doctoral fit, AMU’s research environment spans 13 doctoral schools, including mathematics/computing, engineering, law, economics, life sciences and biomedical research.
02 What does the Eiffel scholarship actually pay?
Eiffel provides living support and services, while tuition treatment depends on the programme and applicable exemptions. Master’s recipients receive €1,200 monthly. Support can last up to 24 months for M1 entry, 12 months for M2 entry and 36 months for an eligible engineering degree.
Doctoral funding can run for 12, 18 or 36 months, depending on the route and thesis stage. Campus France’s official sources currently disagree on the monthly doctoral amount: its 2027-linked regulations state €2,000, while its public overview states €2,100. I would budget against the lower figure until AMU or Campus France confirms the amount in writing.
Services include eligible international and domestic travel, insurance, accommodation-search assistance and cultural activities. Housing assistance does not mean free accommodation. Eiffel does not pay tuition or training charges itself; qualifying national degrees and accredited engineering qualifications at eligible public institutions can benefit from registration-fee exemptions. Establish the charges remaining for your exact course before accepting an offer.
03 What should your master’s or doctoral file contain?
Master’s applicants submit a compact pre-selection PDF; doctoral applicants need a developed research and supervision file. Keep the university’s first-stage requirements separate from the later national nomination documents.
- AMU master’s pre-selection: prepare a CV, motivation letter explaining your study choice and career plans, three years of transcripts and your latest diplomas. Merge the documents into one PDF named NOM.Prénom. The overview calls the recommendation optional, but the live form lists recommendation letters in its upload instructions. Include one if available; otherwise request clarification before submitting. The form warns that uploaded documents cannot be changed after submission.
- Doctoral academic file: prepare ID, a French/English CV, degrees and ranking evidence, three years of transcripts, a 1–2-page career plan and a 1–5-page thesis proposal covering objectives, hypotheses, originality and expected contribution. Add the full thesis funding plan and an expert assessment with the expert’s CV.
- Doctoral expert and international agreement: the national guide imposes independence rules beyond simply finding someone outside AMU: the expert must be qualified in the field, have no joint work/publications with the proposed supervisor or host team, and be outside your home institution and country and not share your nationality. The expert’s CV is limited to two pages. The 12/18-month routes require the relevant signed international co-supervision agreement; the 36-month first-year route has different conditions.
- Later national nomination: prepare applicable language evidence, the signed candidate declaration and any additional documents AMU requests. The national checklist includes identity evidence even though AMU tells master’s applicants not to add unsolicited ID documents to the initial local PDF.
My recommendation is to secure the independent doctoral expert early: the eligibility restrictions can make that slower than writing the proposal. For a master’s file, use the motivation letter to connect specific AMU training with a credible professional goal, supported by your academic record.
04 How do you apply through Aix-Marseille University?
Use AMU’s local procedure first; the university submits successful nominations to Campus France. The official AMU funding call provides the university’s instructions. For national conditions, read the 2027 application guide and Eiffel funding regulations. The public Campus France overview is the source of the differing doctoral allowance mentioned above.
- Choose the exact programme. Record its full French title, faculty and intended entry year. AMU’s master’s form requires these details; scholarship eligibility does not replace the course’s academic or language requirements.
- Master’s applicants: submit the local form. Complete the AMU Eiffel 2027–2028 pre-selection form and upload the single correctly named PDF. Review it before submission, especially the reference-letter discrepancy.
- Doctoral applicants: arrange supervision, then email DRI. Use the AMU Doctoral College directory to identify your school and supervisor. Send the requested dossier to [email protected], copying your supervisor, with the subject “Eiffel Doctoral Fellowship – Complete Application”. The supervisor obtains the laboratory and doctoral-school directors’ recommendations. DRI then provides online-form access and further instructions.
- Complete degree admission separately. AMU Eiffel pre-selection does not constitute admission. Follow the university’s admission procedure for your profile: Études en France applies to relevant overseas residents; other M1 applicants generally use Mon Master and M2 applicants may use eCandidat. Doctoral admission follows the doctoral-school process.
- If AMU supports you, finalise the nomination with its team. Supply the later national documents as requested and ensure no second institution nominates you. University support is a nomination, not the final scholarship award.
Do not wait for the January national deadline: AMU closes student submissions in November. Direct student submissions to Campus France are ineligible, and nomination by multiple institutions leads to rejection.
If you are still choosing a host, our comparison of French universities offering Eiffel nomination routes explains why each institution’s internal procedure matters. Compare programme fit before requesting a nomination.
05 What else should AMU applicants know?
Does the TIGER programme list also define Eiffel eligibility?
No. TIGER and Eiffel are separate awards. AMU also lists AMIDEX mobility support tied to funded projects; neither listing establishes an open university-wide 2027 application window for those schemes.
Can I hold another French government scholarship with Eiffel?
No. The current national guide excludes concurrent French state scholarship funding, even when the other award covers only a specific expense. Declare existing funding before AMU submits your nomination.
Is international co-supervision compulsory for every doctoral award?
No. The 12/18-month mobility routes require an international co-supervision arrangement. The 36-month route targets first-year doctoral newcomers and does not require cotutelle; discuss the correct category with your supervisor.
06 When does AMU close Eiffel applications for 2027?
The last date to apply for the France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship 2027–2028 through Aix-Marseille University is 11 November 2026 at 9:00 a.m. for master’s applicants, and 25 November 2026 at 9:00 a.m. for doctoral applicants. These are French local times, CET (UTC+1).
AMU’s call opened on 2 October 2026. Its timetable lists 11 December 2026 for notifying selected master’s applicants, although a later paragraph still contains a placeholder. The institution’s national nomination deadline is 6 January 2027; Campus France announces results from the week of 12 April 2027. These later dates do not extend AMU’s student deadlines.
Your three moves today: identify the exact degree or doctoral school, start the slowest document or expert request, and build the academic case that explains why AMU fits your plans. Master’s applicants should then review the single PDF; doctoral applicants should agree the submission timetable with their supervisor.
