Chance for Filipinos to study in world-renowned institutions in France

According to the embassy, the PhilFrance Scholarships are awarded to “highly-qualified candidates who have demonstrated stong academic and leadership qualities” in their scholarly and professional activities (Photo: Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia/Facebook)

MANILA — The Embassy of France in Manila on Friday announced it opened two separate calls for applications under the PhilFrance Scholarship Program for the academic year ‎2018-2019, one program for Filipino students and professionals and another for staff and faculty of Commission on Higher Education-recognized institutions.

According to the embassy, the PhilFrance Scholarships are awarded to “highly-qualified candidates who have demonstrated strong academic and leadership qualities” in their scholarly and professional activities.

The first call, directed to Filipino students and professionals wishing to pursue Master’s or Doctoral programs in all fields of study in France will include “partial tuition subsidy, a monthly allowance, and a health care package for the expected length of their academic programs.”

Meanwhile, the second call, under the CHED-PhilFrance Scholarships, is directed to faculty and staff of CHED-recognized institutions who want to pursue Master’s or Doctoral programs in all disciplines at French higher education institutions.

The benefits for selected candidates under this category will include “round-trip travel expenses, a monthly allowance, waived registration fees for state-regulated programs at public institutions, and a health care package.”

The CHED-PhilFrance Scholarship is launched within the framework of a cooperation agreement signed between the Embassy of France and CHED in January 2017.

Meanwhile, through a cooperation agreement signed by CHED and Sciences Po, a world-renowned French institution in the social sciences, full tuition fees for Sciences Po’s graduate programs will be financed as well, on top of all other benefits offered by the CHED-PhilFrance Scholarships.

According to Camille Eva Marie Conde, press attaché of French Embassy in Manila, there is no quota in the number of applications to be accepted.

“The number of accepted scholars will really depend on the quality of the applications received. Like for example, last year, we received over 200 applications for the PhilFrance Scholarship and the CHED-PhilFrance Scholarship, and we selected 35,” she said.

“Our target is to send more Filipinos to study in France, so hopefully we can receive more applications this year.”

Complete information on eligibility, application requirements and awardees’ benefits is available through the PhilFrance Scholarship Program website: *

Interested candidates must submit their applications by April 13, 2018 through the online application portal.
To make lasting contributions

In its statement, the Embassy of France said it launched the PhilFrance Scholarship Program “to open more opportunities for Filipinos to develop their expertise by studying and carrying out research work in France, with the goal of making lasting contributions to Philippine society.”

Since 2016, there have been a total of 35 Filipino scholars currently pursuing or have recently completed graduate degrees in the French language and literature, business, public policy and governance, engineering, mathematics, marine biology, applied chemistry, environmental and ecological sciences, and public health.

With focus on education and the availability of scholarships, together with the appeal of France as a study abroad destination, the embassy said it hopes to encourage more Filipinos to pursue their studies in France.

There are over 250 Filipino students currently residing in France, with many of them pursuing degrees in world-renowned institutions of higher learning.

Most Filipinos studying in France are part of undergraduate exchange programs between partner institutions or are pursuing Master’s degrees in the fields of business, natural sciences, and engineering, social sciences and humanities.