Scholarships to Study in France for Indian Students
- Last Updated on: May 21, 2025 by
- Sridhar Kongara
Escaping the unbearable summer heat of India, waking up to cool and misty morning in Grenoble, Paris or Marseille. Yes! It is achievable, imagine yourself studying at historic classrooms, participating in research activities at advanced laboratories and being a part of sophisticated French life.
But, most of the Indian students must be scratching their head, how can I make this possible?, although French higher education is affordable and inexpensive in comparison to USA or UK, but what about visa expenditure, payment of tuition fees and Euros for daily expenses?
The answer is French Scholarships for Indian students. Many education portals provides non-comprehensive, partial or obsolete information about scholarships. This article will offer appropriate guidance on scholarships availability to Indian students for supporting their French education dream.
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We’ll try to elaborate and breakdown the essentialities required to successfully claim a government sponsored scholarship or simple private grant. This article will provide useful tips such as, interpreting the scholarship’s jury expectations, adhering to the deadlines.
Whether you are aspiring for bachelor’s PO, dreaming of master’s in engineering or thinking of pursuing doctoral degree, we’ll provide specific information in simplified English, so note down the details to embark your French endeavor
Type of Scholarships to Study in France for Indian Students
Government Sponsored Scholarships
The best scholarships to Study in France for Indian students is offered by the government. Few prominent scholarships are – Eiffel Excellence Scholarship – this scholarship facilitates substantial monthly funds for both master’s and doctoral students. €1181 is provided to master’s students and €1700 for doctoral candidates every month.
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While the Charpak scholarship offers beneficial scholarship funding. It offers substantial amount per month, including tuition fee reduction to beneficiary students. Research candidates are supported via Raman-Charpak fellowship program, offering smooth traveling for research purposes for maximum six months.
These scholarships fosters education and research collaborations, streamlining French higher education to Indian students.
University-Based Scholarships
Next option for financial assistance is through universities. Most of public and private French universities offers beneficial scholarships and tuition fee waivers for Indian students. For instance, The Emile-Boutmy provides up to €13000 tuition fee discount to eligible students. Top French schools provides financial assistance to meritorious students, tuition fee discount and accommodational benefits. These university based scholarships are available on the portals, always look for ‘I want financial aid’ box to avail scholarships
Indian & Company Scholarships
Yes! Indian organizations also provide financial assistance to Indian students for pursuing education in France. Corporates like Reliance, ONGC and SBI regularly facilitates funding every autumn intake. JN Tata endowment provides financial loans up to 10 lakhs with meagre interest rate of 2% annually. While international diversity focused grants like DAAD-CNRS climate fellowship and L’Oréal-UNESCO for women in science provides educational funds and mentorship for Indian students.
EU Mobility Programs
The EU sponsored funding program ERASMUS+ Joint Master Degree is a perfect option for Indian students, who want to experience educational diversity in Europe. This program also includes France, eligible students receive up to €1400 per month, in addition to travel grants and insurance
Take first step towards your Study Abroad Journey
Approach to be a Scholarship Recipient
Conceptualize Academic Achievements
Indian students must clearly conceptualize academic achievements through perfectly crafted Curriculum Vitae. Although, excellent GPA in the university or exceptional percentage in 12th standard in CBSE sounds good, but French evaluators look for projects, course subjects and class rank, thereby well-informed curriculum vitae helps students clinching scholarships. Achieving these Scholarships to study in France will reduce financial burden.
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Language Proficiency & Skills
99.99% of Indian students opt for English-taught programs in France. But, possessing bare minimum French language proficiency like B1 or B2 in DELF & TCF elevates the chances of receiving Charpak scholarship and help in daily interactions. However, English-taught programs need at least 90 in TOEFL or 6.5-7.0 in IELTS. We recommend students crack the language proficiency test six months in advance before the scholarship’s deadlines
Cogent ‘Projet d’Études’
Indian students must concisely explain the projects or internships during their educational journey in India. Relevant projects help the adjudicating committees to interpret your career goals. Thereby clear presentation is essential, ambiguous ideas may face a straightforward rejection
Prohibition of Dual Scholarships Funding
According to French scholarships protocols, Indian students cannot enjoy two different scholarships at one time. But they can combine tuition fee waiver with any Indian grant or financial aid, thereby covering majority of educational expenditure
Age Restrictions & Limits
French authorities strictly adhere to student’s age for scholarship allocation. Students under the age of 25 and 30 years stands eligible for Eiffel postgraduate and Eiffel PhD respectively, even though the concerned university allows older students
Stepwise Application Procedure Guide (Phase Wise)
Phase 01 – Preparation (August – October 2025)
Indian students must start the preparations from early autumn. Select at least seven programs that are suitable for you, craft a professional CV detailing your achievements. Arrange recommendation letters and book an appointment for IELTS and TCF. Early preparation consolidates the scholarship application.
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Phase 02 – Applying (October 2025 – February 2026)
Majority of French scholarships commences the application in the month of October. We recommend, Indian students must obtain a conditional admission offer to apply for Eiffel Excellence or Charpak scholarships through Campus France.
University-specific scholarships are requested in the application form itself, therefore apply during admission process. All essential documents such as Passport Copy, Academic Transcripts, Statement of Purpose and Financial documents must be condensed under 1 MB for hassle-free upload during online process.
Phase 03 – Interview, Results & Visa (March – May 2026)
Once finalized for scholarships, Indian students must be ready to face 10 minutes interview by an embassy officer and two professors. Questions are generally based on career goals, future and culture, and results are mailed to the students.
Selected students get scholarship certificates, handy for showing as evidence for financial sources for visa. Book an appointment at VFS at the earliest, as slots are limited during summer.
Additional Financial Sources for Indian Students
Other than scholarship assistance, France facilitates various other forms of financial support such as, CAF housing aid – apply as soon as you land in France, it reimburses 20-30% of rent amount directly to your bank account. CROUS accommodation support provides housing at low cost of €250 per month, excluding Paris.
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Indian students are eligible to work for 20 hours per week with remuneration of €11.65 per hour, thereby supporting food and housing expenditure without affecting studies.
Many lending institutions like SBI and Global Ed-Vantage accepts one year delay for repayment of education loans. Combining a loan with tuition fee waiver can help the cause to greater extent, helping Indian students to fulfill their dream of studying in France.
Wrapup
- Indian students dreaming of pursuing higher education in France without financial constraints must plan appropriately to be a recipient of either Indian or French scholarships.
- Always apply before deadline, as last minute application may face rejection, provide detailed study plan, rightly supported by recommendation letters. The essays of scholarship must be concise, yet clear and precise.
- Never write ambiguous ideas and unfathomable phrases.
- All Indian aspirants have a great chance of studying in France but must follow and adhere to the guidelines and procedures. Now it’s the right time to turn your dreams into degrees and convert Rupees into Euros.
- Book a call for tailored advice for scholarship as per your course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need to Have French Language Proficiency for English-Taught Programs
Generally, the consultants do charge anything for the institutions they represent, But in Case of public universities they charge between ₹25,000 – ₹75,000 as per the package, providing accurate and trustworthy guidance. However, you can approach the consultant for initial meeting without any charge to consider paid services.
As an Indian Student, Can I Combine Indian Scholarship with French Scholarship?
Absolutely Yes! But it depends on the rules. Many Indian students in the past have combined Eiffel Excellence scholarship for covering living expenses and Indian grant like Reliance foundation for other expenditures
Do I Get the IELTS Waiver, If My CBSE English Score is Above 80%?
IELTS Waiver is possible, Many institutions do accept board exams scores and may grant a waiver, but for scholarship, you must have authentic English language proficiency test scores. We strongly recommend students to opt for a language proficiency test, they are valid for two years.
As a Meritorious Student From India, Showing ‘Financial Needs’ Diminish My Merit Status
Definitely not, in France, as the committee look for needs only after assessing the academic merit. Generally, meritorious students with financial hardships gets priority in France.
