THE Embassy of France to the Philippines encourages Filipinos to pursue their graduate studies in France through the PhilFrance Scholarship Program.
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary celebration of French-Philippine diplomatic relations in 2017, the French Embassy 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, 35 Filipino scholars have either been currently pursuing, or recently completed, their graduate degrees in the French language and literature, business, public policy and governance, engineering, mathematics, marine biology, applied chemistry, environmental and ecological sciences, as well as public health.
Continuing to build stronger academic relations between France and the Philippines, the French Embassy has opened two separate calls for applications under the PhilFrance Scholarship Program for the academic year 2018-2019.
The first is directed to Filipino students and professionals wishing to come to France to pursue master’s or doctoral programs in all fields of study. The PhilFrance Scholarships are awarded to highly qualified candidates who have demonstrated strong academic and leadership traits in their scholarly and professional activities.
The scholarship benefits include a partial tuition subsidy, a monthly allowance and a health-care package for the expected length of their academic programs.
The second call is launched within the framework of a cooperation agreement signed between the Embassy of France and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in January 2017. The CHED-PhilFrance Scholarships are open to the faculty and staff of CHED-recognized institutions who wish to pursue master’s or doctoral programs in all disciplines at French higher-education institutions.
Benefits for select candidates include round-trip travel expenses, a monthly allowance, waived registration fees for state-regulated programs at public institutions and a health-care package.
Through a cooperation agreement signed by CHED and Sciences Po, a world-renowned French institution in the social sciences, full tuition for Sciences Po’s graduate programs will be financed as well, on top of all the other benefits offered by the CHED-PhilFrance Scholarships.
Complete information on eligibility, application requirements and awardees’ benefits is available through the PhilFrance Scholarship Program web site, www.philfrance-scholarships.com.
Interested candidates must submit their applications by April 13, 2018, through the online application portal, www.philfrance-scholarships.com.
Why study in France?
FRANCE is a country that welcomes students from around the world. Each year over 300,000 international students choose to study there, making it the fourth most attractive country and the leading non-English speaking destination for inbound student mobility, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
For today’s mobile and globalized youth, including those from the Philippines, France is an attractive destination for studying abroad due to its rich culture and history, as well as a high concentration of internationally ranked French institutions with English as the medium of instruction.
Moreover, public investments and subsidies allow for a more reasonable cost of living and studying for international students in France compared to others in the region.
The country offers a wide range of high-quality specialization courses that can potentially contribute to the development goals of the Philippines. These include programs in sustainable development, disaster-risk reduction and mitigation, heritage conservation, urban planning, social innovation and entrepreneurship, public policy, as well as the sciences.
The availability of these disciplines in France is one of the reasons the country has expressed its commitment to forge a dynamic academic and scientific partnership with the Philippines.
Growing educated community
IT is estimated that more than 250 Filipino students currently reside 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 pursue master’s degrees in the fields of business, natural sciences and engineering, social sciences, as well as humanities.
The embassy’s focus on education and the availability of scholarships, together with the appeal of France as a study-abroad destination, will hopefully encourage more Filipinos to pursue their studies in France.
Through information sessions, participation in education fairs and personalized consultations, the Campus France Manila office brings French higher education closer to the Filipino public and helps prospective students make a more informed decision about their academic plans.
According to French Embassy in Manila Press Attaché Camille Eva Marie Conde, 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. For example, last year we received over 200 applications for the PhilFrance Scholarship and the CHED-PhilFrance Scholarship, and we selected 35,” she said.
Conde added, “Our target is to send more Filipinos to study in France, so hopefully we can receive more applications this year.”
For more information, visit www.philippines.campusfrance.org or contact manille@campusfrance.org. Details on the scholarships offered by the French Embassy are available at www.ph.ambafrance.org.
With a report from the PNA