|
Seek for a grant
The best solution for the financing of your studies and stay in
France is, of course, to obtain a grant before leaving your country.
But it is not that easy….
The procedure for a grand must often start one year before leaving
your country.
There are different types of grant depending on your country and
the studies you want to follow - subject and level - : government
grants, international or private organizations…; and for the third
cycle, research allocations from universities, from national and
international research centers, training period grants or high level
scientific stay.
Usually, the high the studies, the more numerous the grants. The
third cycle students, the researchers, the engineers are in better
position to obtain a grant than the others, as well as the students
in scientific or technologic subjects, to the detriment of literature
students, sociology or history students… The grant holders can also
benefit from travel fees paid by the organisation which has taken
them in charge. The other students will have to count on the competition
between the different travel agencies and the discount offered by
the airlines. This chapter will only deal with the grants that can
be obtained in your country. In the third part we will give you
some advice to supplement your income once in France.
For further information, apply to the registration's office of the
university you want to register in or to the grant service of the
Ministry under the supervision of which your school is (Education,
Culture, Health…).
First track : the grants obtained in your
country : Most of the foreign grant holders in France
have obtained their grant in their countries. These grants are indeed
three times as numerous as the grants from both the French government
and the international organizations. This is an average figure.
In some countries, it is a higher rate.
It is hard to give you precise details on the criteria permitting
to obtain a grant or on the amount of money granted by the countries
as they are extremely different according to the country and totally
depend on the governments or national organizations which propose
them.
One of the best conditions to obtain a grant to come and study in
France is the difficulty or the impossibility to follow these studies
in your own country. The states welcome also more favorably the
projects in developing economic fields where there s a real need
of skilled workers. Finally, social and school or university criteria
(school reports) are generally taken into account.
The grant holders must get in touch with the embassy or consulate
immediately when they have arrived in France.
Do not forget to ask for information in the university you come
from : there may be a cooperation agreement with a French university
which would permit you to finance your study or research project.
The French government grants (BGF)
:
Granting conditions and criteria
The BGF come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are managed
by different organizations (especially the Cnous and EGIDE).
These grants may be either training support or aid to foreign researchers
working in France. They are reserved for the nationals from countries
which have signed a bilateral cooperation treaty with France. The
beneficiaries are chosen by both the cooperation mission and the
local authorities in the frame of a general financing attributed
by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This one transmits the
files which have been accepted to management organizations which
are in charge of the reception of the grant holder.
The final decision and the period depend on the projects, in the
frame of cooperation programs worked out each year. The social criteria
are not significant for that type of grant. But the school report,
the merit of the student at school or university are taken into
account : final exam passed, indications of the teachers, results
during the year and at the final exam are conclusive to obtain and
renew a grant.
Organizations managing the French government grants
Cnous (Students' Welfare
Service at National level). Reception of Foreign grant holder
students : 6-8, rue Jean Calvin, 75005 Paris. Tel. : 01 40 51
55 55. Fax : 01 40 51 55 56. Internet : www.Cnous.fr ; and its
regional agencies and the Crous (see Addresses at the end of
the guide).
The Cnous is a State organization taking in charge the files
of the grant holders in the establishments under the supervision
of the Education Ministry. It publishes a booklet especially
for them, entitled " Je vais en France " (I go to
france) which can be read in the French embassies abroad.
EGIDE (ex. CIES : International
Center for Students and trainees) : 28, rue de la Grange-aux-Belles,
75010 Paris. Tel. : 01 40 40 58 58. Internet : www.egide.asso.fr
(ex. CIES : Centre international pour étudiants et stagiaires)
: 28, rue de la Grange-aux-Belles, 75010 Paris. Tel. : 01 40
40 58 58. Internet : www.egide.asso.fr
The CIES was set up in 1960 under the eagis of the Cooperation
Ministry. It is a non-profit aking organization whose income
only depends on the price of its services, which gives it its
specific dynamism.
EGIDE has a private status but a public mission : it manages
all the fields of the foreign grant holders in France (the trainees
and the students under the supervision of others ministries
than the National Education) and of French grant holders studying
abroad.
Over the past years, EGIDE, beside its proper missions, has
developed services in favour of the missionaries, of French
or foreign guests, and supports the organization of symposiums
and seminars in France and abroad. Their data process system
is very efficient and can help hiring local collaborators for
French subsidiaries abroad.
Ubifrance (ex. ACTIM : Agency
for technical, industrial and economic cooperation) : 14, avenue
d'Eylau, 75116 Paris. Tel. : 01 44 34 50 00. Fax : 01 44 34
50 01. Internet : www.ubifrance.com
Under the supervision of both the Ministry of the Economy and
of Foreign Trade, Ubifrance works out programs for international
organizations such as UNO, FAO… and programs of technical
information for high level foreign experts.
|
The request
The claim must be made exclusively in your country.
To obtain such a grant and the BGF status (grant holder from the
French government) apply to the cultural service or the scientific
and technical cooperation service of the French Embassy or to the
French mission of cooperation and cultural action in your country.
They will tell you about the procedure. You must make your claim
at the beginning of the academic year (September, October) preceding
your coming to France. According to the country where you live,
you will write to the French Embassy or to the Ministry supervising
the establishment where you want to study (Health for medical studies,
Education for students in literature or history…
In both caes you will have to fill in a grant application form or
a training period grant application form and return it (usually
before February) including all the documents required (marks and
diplomas for the preceding years, registration certificate, covering
letter). Stay in the time limits as, in case of favourable answer,
yiou will have to return your file on time to the managing organization
in France (Cnous or EGIDE). An incomplete form is automatically
turned down. The foreign students who live in France and have a
resident permit can also ask for a grant but they must apply the
French embassy of their own country (never write to the French Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, it never works). Besides, it is advised to obtain
the support of your university in your own country too.
The services and allowances
There are four types of allowances. Each of them gives the student
a status of grant holder from the French government.
The maintenance allowance
The monthly amount, fixed by ministerial decree, varies according
to the level of studies, the scientific qualification and the type
of grant.
It amount to, in 2001/2002 about 600 euros a month (minimum rate).
The maintenance allowance can be completed with various other allowances,
for example, a housing allowance if the administrative organizations
(Cnous, CIES) cannot give you a residence in residence hall.
Source : Je vais
en France, published from the Cnous.
Training expenditure
The tuition fees are generally paid directly by the administrative
organization to the school or possibly refunded to the student on
presentation of documentary evidence. At the university, the grant-holder
is exonerated from simple registration fees. School fees and the
expenses due to linguistic support are also taken into account into
the grant.
For the stays over nine months, the grant holder receives an annual
fixed price for buying his/her books and teaching equipment. Some
spending can be also covered after agreement of the administrative
organization (printing of a report or a thesis, spending specific
to certain studies, travelling expenses…).
Social security
The grant holders of the French government are automatically affiliated
to the French Social Security, student regime, and exempted from
the payment of the contribution, if he meets the two following conditions
: be less than 28 years old on October 1st of the current year (except
dispensation), be registered in school approved by the Social Security.
The Social Security student regime reimburses a large part of the
health expenditure : consultations, medicines, hospital stays, surgical
operations…
If the student does not meet one of the required conditions, his
health expenditure are then held by the Foreign Ministry.
In both cases, the French government deals with the annual contribution
allowing to the grant-holder student to benefit from a mutual insurance
company. This one supplements (sometimes until 100 %) the refunding
of the social security. We shall deal with questions concerning
the health and the social security of all the students foreign in
more details in the chapter " Cheers ! " in the third
part of the guide.
Travel allowances
The way inside the French territory up to the city of assignment
is systematically taken in charge. The travel expenses, for your
travel to France and the return to the country of origin, can be
partially or totally covered after agreement of the Foreign Ministry.
Under certain conditions, the grant holder will be paid back for
the price of his travel for of holidays in his country, or even
the transport of heavy luggage.
Rights and duties of the grant holders
The BGF status is a contract ; it offers rights to particularly
advantageous services, but also implies duties, which, if they were
not respected, could lead to the removal of the grant.
Among these duties :
first of all, the commitment to follow the training for which the
student obtained his/her grant and to achieve the program of study
or training in time, a demand of preliminary license is necessary
for a change of orientation (exceptionally accepted) or for a change
of school ;
the obligation to answer in time to all the questions asked by the
administrative organization (Cnous, AEGIS…) during the studies
(especially certificates of registration, results to the exams,
the teachers' commitments…) ;
the obligation to inform the administrative organization about a
travel outside France for personal motives ;
the impossibility to accumulate two grants (another French grant
or from of an international organization…) ;
the impossibility to earn a wage.
International organizations or NGOs' grants
: The international organizations' grants (from UNO, Unesco, WHO…)
must, generally, be asked by the government of the country of origin
of the student. They are, mostly, financing for post-graduate studies
or research.
The students who benefit from a grant from an international organization
or a NGO should inform the representatives of the organization in
France immediately after arriving in France.
Useful references
Unesco (United nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization) has listed country by country, the possibilities
of grants offered by higher education schools, the governments,
the public or private organizations in a book Studies abroad/Estudios
en el extranjero/Etudes à l'étranger published
twice a year. This guide exists under paper shape and in CD-ROM.
One can order it in bookshops, on the site of Unesco (http://upo.unesco.org/bookdetails.asp?id=2757)
or in the UNESCO bookshop in each UNESCO representation.
Contact : UNESCO in France
: 7, place Fontenoy, 75700 Paris. Tel. : 01 45 68 10 10. Internet
:
ANDES (National Association of Doctors in Sciences) publishes
each year a guide on the different assistance to post-graduate
studies. You can order it on the ANDES site : www.andes.asso.fr/PRESENT.htm
Contact : ANDES. 16, rue
Claude-Bernard, 75231 Paris cedex 05. Tel. : 01 43 37 51 12.
Minitel : 3615 M5*ANDES. E-mail : andes@mnhn.fr
You will find on EGIDE's Internet site a list of possible
financing for the foreigners wishing to come to study in France,
according to their country of origin (any country; any
European country except European Union; French-speaking countries
; OTAN countries ; AELE/EEE countries; EU countries ; Eastern
and Central Europe countries ; developing countries; certain
European countries ; Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Russia,
Hong-Kong, Palestine ; United States, Canada ; South Africa
; Argentina, Brasil, Chile, China, India, Roumania, and OECD
countries ; United Kingdom; Sweden). The organizations mentioned
offer grants in a significant number and the data base are
regularly enriched.
For further information : EGIDE's internet site
:
The
UN site year book, proposing a list of organizations some
of which offering grants and training courses.
|
The Franch-speaking agency for higher education and research
The French-speaking agency for higher education
and research (ex : AUPELF-UREF), an association created in 1961
at the university of Montreal, the present location of its headquarter,
collects 300 establishments of superior education and research
institutes in 49 countries.France ensures 80 % of its total
budget (200 million francs). An major actor of the development
of the French-speaking world, the Agency develops a series of
grant : programmes of mobility for the students in 2nd and 3rd
cycles to French-speaking countries, grants of excellence for
young post-graduated researchers, training courses for students
preparing a PhD, programs for French teachers.
Contacts : AUF
European headquarter : 4, place
de la Sorbonne, 75005 Paris, France. Tel. : 01 44 41 18 18.
Fax : 01 44 41 18 19.
World management : BP 400, Succ.
Côte des neiges, Montréal (Québec), H3S
2S7, Canada. Tel. : 1 514 343 6630. Fax : 1 514 343 2107. Internet
:
|
European Commission programmes : The European Union
students can benefit from specific grants within the framework of
exchange programs of the European Commission. They will obtain information
with the registrar's office or the international relations service
of their university or their school.
Let us remind you that it is forbidden to cumulate two grants from
the same organization or two linked organizations…. So that
anybody may have the same chance.
School assistance : The students,
who intend to join a Grande Ecole (business, engineers…) and
who would have difficulties to finance their studies, given the
high cost generally of school fees, should not hesitate to apply
directly to the establishment. Certain schools have set up a solidarity
fund and propose various helps, taking account of the resources
of the student and his parents : partial exemption from school fees,
exemption of lodging expenditure… These helps that can be cumulated
with a governmental grant can be renewed every year.
Finally, if you are a researcher or a high-level professional and
that you intend to follow a training program in the university,
ask the training and research department UFR where you want to register.
By negotiating and thanks to its support, you can obtain a research
allowance.
If you did not manage to obtain a help before your departure, nothing
is lost : there are the other solutions to finance your stay and
get more money, once in France. We shall deal about the question
it in the third part of the guide in the chapter " get more
money ".
|
How much will it cost?
