Rights and obligations of the France Excellence Europa scholarship holder

Campus France, the French agency for the promotion of higher education, hospitality and international exchange, is responsible for managing and monitoring your educational stay in France. To understand your rights and obligations, we invite you to take note of the details in this memorandum and to contact Campus France (boursiers.europe@campusfrance.org) if you’d like more information. In the course of your communications, we ask you to always provide the file number assigned to you.

1) Duration of the France Excellence Europa scholarship

The scholarship is awarded for the duration of the expected educational instruction. No deferral of the scholarship is possible. The stay must begin be between September 1 and December 31 of the year the scholarship is awarded.

The stay is financed by the scholarship only for the periods taking place in France, except in some cases for internships or exchange programs (see below). 

• The France Excellence Europa scholarship is granted for a defined number of months in order to allow the beneficiary to complete the coursework for which his/her application has been accepted. The student must meet the academic requirements for each year of the program to continue receiving the scholarship.

• The duration of the scholarship shall not exceed 12 months for a Master’s 2 enrollment, 24 months for a Master’s 1 enrollment.

• In case of internships and/or exchange programs

By internship, we mean: "a temporary duration of work experience in a professional setting during which the student acquires professional skills and implements what he or she has learned in order to obtain a diploma or certification. The trainee is given one or more assignments in accordance with the educational program defined by his/her educational institution and approved by the host organization. Any student wishing to participate an internship is offered an internship agreement by the institute of higher education”.

Internship: This is an integral part of the training program and is taken into account in obtaining a diploma. The procedures for approving the internship to obtain the diploma are outlined in the diploma requirements. The student/scholarship recipient must obtain the agreement of the professor in charge of his or her degree to embark upon an internship.  This is subject to an internship agreement. In the framework of the France Excellence Europa scholarship, the agreement must be sent to Campus France at least one week before the beginning of the internship.

Exchange program or moving abroad: Academic exchange programs or moving to another campus - including internationally - must be strictly required for graduation and must be included in the degree program. In the framework of the France Excellence Europa scholarship, the student/scholarship recipient must notify Campus France of the date of their move.

In the case of a compulsory internship or foreign exchange program, the scholarship is limited to a maximum of one year, provided that the period spent abroad does not exceed the total time spent in France.

Required internship or exchange program:  A scholarship recipient who completes an internship retains the benefit of his or her scholarship only when it's a required internship/exchange program which is included in the curriculum of the program for which the scholarship was awarded and within the maximum duration of the scholarship awarded.

In all other cases, the scholarship will be suspended for the duration of the internship/exchange program.

Optional internship or exchange program: This is at the initiative of the student/scholarship recipient who wishes to supplement his or her curriculum. The scholarship is systematically suspended for the duration of any internship or exchange program that's not required by the course curriculum. The rules applicable in this case are those of a caesura (see below).

• In the event of a caesura

By caesura, we mean: “A supervised gap year allowing students to suspend their studies for one year. The motivations of students wishing to benefit from this year without the risk of interrupting their studies can be diverse. They can include pursuing various types of training, an internship in a company or civic service, joining an association, working in a company or initiating a specific project in order to build a profession.”

The gap period is authorized, but results in the termination of the scholarship with a possible deferral of the scholarship.

The stipends as well as the status of French government scholarship recipient will be suspended during the gap year.

In the event that the scholarship is discontinued, the benefits will be discontinued. Thus, if the scholar resides in a student residence hall provided by Campus France, the scholar will need to return to their place of residence on the date the scholarship ends.

The request for a gap year must be sent to Campus France at least two months before the beginning of the period. It must specify the timeframe (start date and end date) and motivations in relation to the scholarship recipient’s plan.

It’s also advisable to inform Campus France two months before the date of return from the gap year. In all cases, students returning from a gap year must be announced no later than July 31 of the year of return. Any return from a gap year that’s not announced within this timeframe shall not guarantee the resumption of the scholarship.

Only one gap year can be granted during the awarded scholarship period. This cannot be less than or greater than one year.

• The signing of an apprenticeship or professional contract by a France Excellence Europa scholarship recipient automatically leads to termination of the scholarship. In the event that the award is discontinued, all benefits are discontinued. Thus, if the scholarship recipient resides in student housing provided by Campus France, the scholar must return to their place of residence on the date the scholarship ends.

• In order to receive the first payment of the scholarship, the recipient must begin his or her studies at the host institution in France.

2) Amount of the France Excellence Europa scholarship

2.1 Installation allowance

Method of payment: The allowance is available in cash from a Western Union counter upon the arrival of the scholarship recipient in France.

Amount: France Excellence Europa scholarship recipients shall receive an installation allowance of 1,700 EUR.

2.2 Maintenance allowance

Method of payment: The scholarship is paid semi-annually via a bank transfer to an account in France opened by the scholarship recipient upon commencement of the coursework. To this end, the statement of bank identity (RIB) must be sent to Campus France.

Amount: France Excellence Europa scholarship recipients shall receive a half-yearly allowance of 6,850 EUR.

For students enrolled in public institutions under the Ministry for Higher Education, please recall that the status of French government scholarship recipients exempts them from the payment of administrative registration fees for a national degree.

In other situations, course fees are not covered by the France Excellence Europa program. 

Accommodations

As a French government scholarship recipient, you can reside in CROUS (university residence halls). You must inform Campus France if you wish to do so, so that Campus France can identify, along with CROUS, the availability of accommodations in your host location.

Rent will be your responsibility. 

1) Social protections

• For scholarship recipients without a European Health Insurance Card

Campus France will take out a social protection contract on behalf of scholarship recipients for the first three months of their stay in France, pending their enrollment in the French social security system.

France Excellence Europa scholarship recipients must register on the website https://etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr/#/ to receive French social security.

The site is available in French and English. 
 

• For scholarship recipients with a European Health Insurance Card

Scholarship recipients with a European Health Insurance Card don’t need to do anything. They will continue to have access to health care in France and will be reimbursed for a portion of their medical expenses as if they were in their own country.

2) Supplementary health insurance (mutual insurance)

Campus France will take out a complementary health insurance contract on behalf of scholarship recipients.

For scholarship recipients without a European Health Insurance Card, the contract will be validated upon receipt of the provisional social security number, communicated to Campus France by the recipients.  

We offer:

• Weekend outings which allow you to enjoy yourself for a few days, meet other scholarship recipients and discover a French city, region or European capital.

• Short stays of 3-4 days for a touristic and cultural discovery of a region of France or a European capital, all in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

• Sporting activities for fun and relaxation.

• Shows which allow you to catch a glimpse of the culture.
  Two catalogs per year are available in your personal space on our website.
  All activities are offered at discounted rates, suitable for student budgets. The Welcome Services department is at your disposal: culture@campusfrance.org

The France Excellence Europa provides you rights and services. You have also to repect some obligations. 

• The France Excellence Europa scholarship is awarded for a predetermined educational program in terms of subject matter and duration.

• The benefit of the France Excellence Europa Scholarship implies the obligation to participate fully in the educational program’s activities, and in particular to take all exams and to submit to the discipline of the assigned institution. In this regard, France Excellence Europa scholarship recipients must provide Campus France with proof that their training has been successfully completed during the educational follow-up campaigns: collection of school certificates (September-October), 1st semester educational evaluations (end of January-beginning of February), collection of final results (end of May).

• The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs reserves the right to stop payment of this scholarship if the scholarship recipient’s actions are incompatible with the goals of this program.

• Recipients of the France Excellence Europa Scholarship must send Campus France a certificate of enrollment for the current year upon the start of instruction.

• Recipients of the France Excellence Europa scholarship must inform Campus France before beginning an internship or going abroad.

Campus France is at your disposal to assist you during your stay. 

Please contact : boursiers.europe@campusfrance.org