Scholarships await Filipinos in France

The French Embassy to the Philippines has announced calls for applications for this year’s academic scholarship program for Filipinos in France, after over 60 academic partnerships have been concluded between French and Filipino universities.

In a statement, the embassy said applications to full scholarships have been opened to students who wanted to be part of an exchange or a degree-awarding program in all fields and levels of study taught in English but with the option to learn French.

The scholarship packages are open to Filipino students or graduates “who can demonstrate academic, leadership and personal excellence through their transcripts and a 500-word essay.”

The embassy said the scholarships will cover tuition and living fees, air travel, and health insurance throughout the course of the programs.

Applications must be submitted to the French Embassy by April 15, 2016.

The embassy said Filipinos should consider studying in France especially that the government was “working to simplify administrative procedures and to improve efforts to allow international students to feel more at home in their adoptive country.”

“There are several key advantages to studying in France, such as the high quality and low cost of its higher education system that consistently places among the top in international rankings, the increasing number of English-speaking programs offered by French institutions, the country’s celebrated culture and way of life, and its localization in the heart of Europe, offering students many possibilities for affordable travel,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Furthermore, and as a result of France’s commitment to host even more foreign students, education in its public universities is almost entirely subsidized for international and domestic students alike, leaving a nominal cost at 300 to 400 euros (P15,000 to P20,000) per student, health care included,” it added.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), France is the third most attractive country and the top non-English-speaking destination for student mobility, welcoming about 300,000 international students each year.

An estimated 350 Filipino students currently reside in France, with a majority pursuing undergraduate academic exchange programs or Master’s degrees in business, social sciences, and humanities.

For more information on the scholarships, visit https://www.ambafrance-ph.org/-Financial-Assistance. YG

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