For recent college graduates, master - and doctoral - degree candidates, young professionals with less than five years of experience.
6 to 10 months in France
Up to 20 grants awarded
- 8 to 10 in the hard and life sciences
- 8 to 10 in the arts, humanities, and social sciences
Doctoral candidates must not have obtained their PhD before completing the proposed Fulbright grant period in France. Otherwise, they should plan on applying to the scholar program.
Important note: candidates in the hard sciences without concurrent enrollment in a PhD must apply and commit to pursuing a Master's degree in a related field in France. There are many excellent degree programs offered at French institutions of higher education - taught in both French and English - that include as part of the curriculum a research internship (most often, one semester full-time). Our requirement is due to French visa and research regulations. Candidates must specify in their application to which degree program(s) they are planning to apply.
You are eligible if:
- You recently received a bachelor's or master's degree, or
- You are a doctoral student enrolled in a US university, or
- You are an artist or professional with less than five years of professional experience (others should apply to the US Scholar Program).
You must be a citizen of the United States to receive a Fulbright grant. If you reside in France at the time of application, you cannot receive a Fulbright grant to France.
It depends on your project. At minimum, we expect applicants to have completed on year of French study (or the equivalent) before receiving the grant.
French language proficiency is recommended, commensurate with the requirements of the project. Sponsored language courses are not offered by the Fulbright program in France; however, candidates are encouraged to check with the host institution for language course possibilities. In the Fulbright online application, applicants should include a Language Self-Evaluation and a Foreign Language Evaluation by a professional language instructor in relation to their language proficiency.
If you are applying to a degree program, you will need to satisfy the language requirement for that program.
Many host institutions offer language courses.
Independent Study/Research:
Letter required for independent study or research at deadline
Graduate Degree Enrollment:
Letter of acceptance required prior to grant start
It is the applicant's responsibility to secure affiliation with a French university or research center. A letter of affiliation should be submitted with the application. If the applicant is enrolling in a degree program, proof of acceptance is not required before or during the application process, but awards are made conditional upon acceptance by the chosen institution before arrival.
Before beginning the application process, candidates should take time to research the best possible place to pursue the chosen course of study, taking into consideration the institution's faculty, achievements, publications, and research.
Candidates who will be applying to university study programs must pay attention to university program application deadlines and requirements. They should also pay particular attention to the requirement of enrolling with Campus France, a mandatory step in the application process. Access the Campus France "Etudes en France" enrollment portal here.
Applicants may also consult the Campus France USA website for general information on visas, studying in France, and French institutions of higher education. Please note that the Campus France higher education directory includes programs offered in French and in English.
Music and Fine Arts
Applicants are encouraged to establish contact with specialists in their fields before applying for a grant, and to solicit invitations to study under them. Although the Fulbright Commission in France prefers affiliation with accredited institutions, applicants may be authorized to study with private teachers. Please note that additional personal funds will be needed to cover costs for private lessons, rehearsal facilities, studio space, etc. Musicians and visual artists looking to carry out a project in the Paris area are encouraged to apply for the Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Award.
Awards are conditional upon your acceptance into the program that you identified in your proposal. However, you do not need to prove your acceptance before applying for a Fulbright grant.
Tuition fees for standard public university programs were set at 3770 Euros per year for Master’s programs for the 2022-2023 academic year for non-EU citizens. (Private institutions and other special degree programs may have higher tuition rates.) We encourage applicants to inquire with prospective institutions about scholarships and tuition waivers.
Please note that, according to French law, all students are required to pay student fees ("contribution de vie étudiante et de campus" or CVEC) as part of enrollment. In 2022-2023, these fees were 95 euros.
Any grantee staying in France for a period of over 90 days must obtain a visa. Fulbright grantees will receive guidance regarding the visa process upon selection.
Candidates residing in France at the time of application are not eligible for consideration.
2025-2026 competition will open on April 2, 2024
Please consult the Institute of International Education's website for further information.
For American candidates, the Fulbright Commission is assisted an independent institution in the United States: the Institute of International Education (IIE). This institution pre-selects the best candidates with the help of juries made up of university professors, professionals, and Fulbright alumni. Their reccomendations are sent to the Fulbright Comission in France which then submits the candidates' project proposals to specialists in France for evaluation. These specialists then submit their comments to the Fulbright Comission Selection Committee which makes a final decision.
Grantees will be required to attend a mandatory 1- to 2-day in-country orientation in late September or early October, and a 2-day mid-year conference in February (organized by the Fulbright Commission in France).
Apply by October 2023 for a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award. Through a partnership between Fulbright France and the Embassy of France in the United States, up to 3 successful US applicants who have been awarded a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to pursue a full master’s degree in France will receive additional support as a Graduate Scholar in France and gain access to the general benefits of the Graduate Scholars program, including tuition exemption.
Launched in 2022 by the Embassy of France in the United States and Campus France USA, the Graduate Scholars in France program provides full-tuition scholarships to high-potential students who choose to pursue Master's degrees in French higher education institutions.
More information about the Graduate Scholars in France program.
