Embassy of France in the United States - The Chateaubriand Fellowship - Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)

What the Chateaubriand STEM Fellowship gives you

You will receive up to 1,850 EUR per month to carry out part of your PhD research in a French laboratory for a period of 4 to 9 months. The exact amount depends on what other funding you are already receiving. The scholarship also covers your return travel to and from France, as well as your health insurance during your stay abroad. It is administered by the Office for Science and Technology at the French Embassy in the United States, in collaboration with French research organisations such as the CNRS, Inserm and Inria.

Who can apply

• Level: You are currently studying for a PhD. Master’s and Bachelor’s students are not eligible to apply.
• Where you study: You are enrolled at a US university. Applicants of all nationalities are eligible to apply, with the exception of French nationals (persons with dual nationality, including French nationality, are also excluded).
• Field of study: Open to all topics in the fields of STEM and health research: natural sciences, computer science, engineering, mathematics, as well as biology and medicine.
• Where you go: You will carry out your research in a French laboratory (at a university, an engineering school or a public research laboratory). You choose the laboratory yourself and get in touch with them.
• Supervisors: Both your US and French supervisors must agree to supervise this part of your thesis jointly.
• Language: You do not need to know any French. The host laboratory decides what it requires.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the scholarship portal by 25 January. Your application documents must include a summary of your research, a letter of consent from your US supervisor, a letter of invitation from your French laboratory, and at least one letter of recommendation from another professor. A selection panel in France and the US will select the scholarship recipients on the basis of merit; successful applicants will be notified in May.

How realistic are your chances?

This scholarship is aimed at a small target group: you must already be a PhD student at a US university and have a specific joint project, as well as a French laboratory that has agreed to host you. Organising this joint supervision (where both supervisors share the work) is the tricky part. Applicants who can already demonstrate genuine Franco-American collaboration stand out in particular. If you can demonstrate this and have a compelling research proposal, your chances are good, as the majority of applicants are screened out before their academic achievements are even assessed.