Every year the Embassy of France in South Africa awards scholarships to South African students completing their Master’s or PhD degree in France. The French Embassy is proud to continue and to expand this initiative in order to support even more South African students in their endeavours to study in France!
The French Embassy is working together with South African partners (DHET, DSI, NRF and USAf), as well as French businesses present in South Africa. They constitute the Advisory Board whose role is to serve as a forum to reinforce the mobility of students between the two countries, to provide an informed opinion on each scholarship candidate and to explore collectively the funding opportunities from public agencies and private organisations in order to fund all deserving applicants.
Furthermore, the French Embassy has transformed the scholarship into a programme that truly benefits the applicants. All students who are shortlisted after the interview process and the Advisory Board review, are provided with a specific track before their departure to France. This track includes French lessons to assist in their preparations for their time in France and, where available, relevant internships offered within French businesses in South Africa. In this way, the French Embassy is able to help cultivate soft skills amongst the candidates, which will be highly beneficial as they enter their professional careers after having completed their studies in France. This is also a productive use of the months that are otherwise lost due to the difference between the academic calendars in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
As a means to facilitate access to information for potential candidates, and to streamline the application process, the French Embassy has created a dedicated website:
https://www.southafrica-france-scholarships.com
Here, students can find all the information that they need about the programme, all-year-round, and they can also create and submit their online scholarship application during the relevant period.
Campus France South Africa is providing weekly webinars in order to provide all the necessary information to applicants and to connect students with higher education institutions from France. The application results are announced in December each year. This leaves more time for French lessons and for the internships which will take place during February and July, with departure to France in time for the start of the new academic year in September.
To get further information on studying and living in France please contact Campus France South Africa or follow their website and social networks (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram).
The French Embassy, with its public and private partners from France and South Africa, is excited at the prospect of continuing to support students holistically in their plans to study in France.