Eiffel Excellence Scholarship for ASEAN Students Applying to French Universities

What the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship is

The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship, run by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs through Campus France, funds top international students pursuing a master's degree or a doctorate in France. It targets students from outside France who show strong academic records and clear career plans, and ASEAN students compete for places alongside applicants from other regions.

Two tracks

The scholarship runs a master's track and a doctoral track, each with its own age limit and funding structure. Applicants for the master's track must be under 29 years old, and applicants for the doctoral track must be under 35 years old, according to Campus France's Eiffel program page .

You cannot apply directly

Eiffel works differently from most scholarships you might already know. Only French higher education institutions submit an application on a student's behalf, so you do not create your own application account and apply yourself. If you want an Eiffel scholarship, contact the international office of the French university or grande ecole you plan to study at, and ask them to nominate you before the institution deadline.

Institutions that already work with the Eiffel program keep their own access credentials to the application system. If your target institution has not worked with Eiffel before, it needs to contact Campus France directly to get set up before it nominates any student.

2026 session timeline

For the 2026 session, applications opened October 1, 2025 and the submission deadline fell on January 8, 2026. Campus France began announcing results from March 30, 2026 onward. Because your host institution controls submission, confirm its internal deadline early, since many universities set an earlier internal cutoff to leave time for their own review before the Campus France deadline.

What the scholarship covers

Eiffel awards include a monthly living allowance for the length of your funded period, along with support toward international travel and health insurance. Some institutions add extra support such as help with cultural activities or accommodation search. Check your nomination letter for the exact benefits your institution has arranged, since some components depend on the specific university.

Priority fields

Campus France sets priority academic disciplines for the Eiffel program each year, and past cycles have centered on fields such as engineering, economics and management, and law and political science. If your intended field falls outside the priority list your target institution names for its Eiffel nomination round, ask the international office whether it still submits candidates in your area, since practice varies by institution.

How ASEAN applicants should prepare

• Shortlist French institutions and programs in your field early, since you need their cooperation to apply at all.

• Contact the admissions or international office directly to ask whether they participate in the Eiffel program and by when they need your file internally.

• Prepare a strong academic record and a clear explanation of your career plan, since Eiffel selects on excellence and on how well your plan fits France's priority fields.

• Apply for program admission and the Eiffel nomination together, since your institution typically needs to admit you before it nominates you for funding.

Why ASEAN students consider Eiffel

France hosts strong programs across engineering, business, and public policy that appeal to ASEAN students planning a return to the region after graduation. The Eiffel scholarship removes much of the cost barrier to studying at a top French institution, which is part of why competition for nomination slots runs high across all applicant regions, including Southeast Asia.

Selection criteria beyond age

Age limits set only the minimum bar for eligibility. Campus France selection panels rank nominated candidates on academic excellence, the strength and clarity of your study or research project, and how well your background and career plan fit France's priority fields for that session. A strong nomination file typically includes excellent transcripts, a well written project statement, and recommendation letters that speak directly to your readiness for the specific program.

If your institution does not nominate you

Not every French institution participates in the Eiffel program every year, and even participating institutions limit how many candidates they nominate, since Campus France caps submissions per institution. If your target university declines to nominate you, ask whether it plans to participate in a future session, and look at other funding routes such as your home country's government scholarships or the institution's own international student funding, since Eiffel is only one of several ways to fund study in France.

After you receive an Eiffel scholarship

Once selected, you receive a formal award notice through your host institution, which also manages your monthly allowance payments during your funded period. Keep your student visa and residence permit documents up to date throughout your program, since your Eiffel funding does not replace the immigration steps required to study in France. Contact your institution's international office early if your funded period ends before your program does, since Eiffel funding does not automatically extend past its set duration.