Agence universitaire de la francophoniem - AUF - Frankophonie expert practice scholarship

What the Frankophonie internship scholarship covers

You will receive a scholarship package for a work placement abroad amounting to 1 to 3 months. The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), a network of French-speaking universities, will cover the cost of your return flight, a monthly living allowance, and health, accident and repatriation insurance for the duration of your stay. The AUF will book your flight. The amount of the allowance depends on the cost of living in the destination country and any co-funding, so there is no fixed amount. The aim is to enable you to gain practical professional experience in your field of study before you graduate. Visa fees, vaccinations and accommodation costs are not covered.

Who can apply

• Where you study: You are enrolled at a university in Central or Eastern Europe that is a member of the AUF network.
• Study stage: You are about to complete your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. First-year Bachelor’s students are not eligible to apply.
• French: You have a knowledge of French at Level B1 or above. This will be assessed during the interview.
• The internship: This is a compulsory part of your degree programme and will count towards your marks or ECTS credits.
• Where you go: You find a French-speaking employer outside your home country and are taken on by them. This may be a public or private organisation, whether profit-making or not. Employers outside the higher education sector are preferred.
• First time: You have not yet received a similar AUF grant.
• Field of study: Anyone interested is welcome to apply.

How to apply

You apply online via the AUF portal during the annual call for applications. The application deadline is mid-March (in previous rounds it was mid-February). If your application passes the formal assessment, you will be invited to an interview. A regional expert committee then makes the final decision.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding scheme is very narrowly defined. You must be studying at an AUF member university in Central or Eastern Europe, speak French and have already completed a compulsory work placement as part of your degree. This small, precisely defined group severely limits the pool of applicants. If you meet these criteria and can demonstrate that you have a French-speaking employer abroad – particularly one outside the academic sector – your prospects are good. It is precisely these profiles that the selection committee favours.