Government of France-Embassy of France in Burkina Faso - Scholarships for Doctoral Students

French Embassy doctoral scholarship (Burkina Faso)

You will receive up to 1,500 EUR per month for each month you spend in France, spread over 1 to 3 stays over a total period of up to 3 years. In addition to the monthly allowance, the scholarship may cover a return flight between your place of residence and your place of study, social security for the entire duration of your stay and – provided you are enrolled at a French university – exemption from enrolment fees. Not every applicant will receive all of these benefits; you may receive some or all of them. The funding is provided by the French Embassy in Burkina Faso in collaboration with Campus France.

Who can apply

• Level: You are a PhD student. Master’s and Bachelor’s students are not eligible to apply.
• Nationality: You hold Burkinabe citizenship.
• Where you study: Your PhD is being carried out under a ‘co-supervision’ arrangement, alternating between France and Burkina Faso, which means that two universities are jointly supervising your thesis.
• Stage of thesis: You can also apply if you have already started your final-year dissertation.
• Time in France: If you are enrolled at a French university, the duration of your stay must be at least 6 months per year. If you are not enrolled there, each stay may last for a maximum of 3 months.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects.

How to apply

Please submit your application in hard copy to the Campus France office in Ouagadougou or by post in a sealed envelope by 30 September 2025 at 17:00 local time. Late or incomplete applications will be automatically rejected. A selection panel will meet in November 2025 and will notify the selected candidates by email. The programmes will begin in 2026.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding scheme is very restricted: only PhD students from Burkina Faso with a co-supervision arrangement are eligible to apply, and only around 10 new scholarships are awarded per round. The pool of applicants is small. The real hurdle is already having a French supervisor and a co-supervision arrangement. If you have this partnership and a compelling research project, your chances are good.