MOPGA Fellowship 2027 — Fully Funded Research Year in France
Fully funded Postdoc scholarship in France for International students 2026
France funds about 60 early-career researchers a year for a 12-month climate research stay worth EUR 2,500 a month. The tenth call closes on 15 December 2026.
Eligibility
- Doctoral degree defended between December 2021 and December 2026 inclusive
- Foreign nationality only — French nationals are not eligible
- Must not be residing and professionally active in France at the time of application
- Must not have received a MOPGA fellowship before
- Requires a letter of support from a French host laboratory, co-signed by the laboratory director
Most postdoctoral funding asks you to compete for money and then find a host. MOPGA inverts that. France funds a twelve-month research stay, but only for a project that a French laboratory has already agreed to host, and that agreement is a mandatory attachment rather than a formality. Understanding this early is the difference between a competitive file and a rejected one.
The programme is now in its tenth call. It was created after the Paris Agreement to keep climate research connected to the COP process, and it is funded by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs with Campus France running the competition. About sixty fellowships are awarded each year across five broad themes.
What it covers
The financial package is deliberately simple: a monthly allowance of EUR 2,500 for twelve months, a one-off settling-in allowance of EUR 500, and health cover that includes civil liability insurance and repatriation assistance, with supplementary insurance added once you register with French social security. Fellows hold French Government Scholarship status.
It is not a salary and it is not a full relocation package. International travel to France is not covered, and host laboratories receive no funding under the programme — the fellowship pays the researcher, not the lab. That matters when you negotiate, because a laboratory that has to absorb bench costs is a laboratory that will choose its guest carefully.
The fellowship also cannot be combined with a French employment contract or any other French government funding. If you are offered a postdoc contract at the same institution, you must choose one.
Who can apply
The eligibility rules are unusually crisp, which is useful. You must hold a doctorate awarded less than five years before the deadline, meaning a defence between December 2021 and December 2026. You must be of foreign nationality only; French nationals are excluded even if they hold another passport. You must not be living and working in France when you apply, and you must not have held a MOPGA fellowship before.
The five eligible research areas are earth system sciences, climate change and sustainability sciences, energy transition, societal challenges related to environmental issues, and human, animal and environmental health under a genuine One Health approach. The One Health condition is applied strictly: a project on human medicine with no environmental or animal-health dimension is not eligible, however strong the science.
Eligibility: six questions to ask yourself
1. Was your thesis defended between December 2021 and December 2026? If your defence is scheduled for early 2027 you are outside this call.
2. Is your nationality exclusively non-French? Dual nationals who also hold French citizenship cannot apply.
3. Have you been living and working outside France? A research contract in France during the application period disqualifies you.
4. Does your project sit inside one of the five themes, in the way the call defines them rather than the way your field defines them?
5. Do you already have a named supervisor at a French laboratory who will co-sign the support letter with the laboratory director? This is the binding constraint for most applicants.
6. Have you received MOPGA before? Previous fellows are excluded.
Deadline
Applications opened on 15 September 2026 and close on 15 December 2026. Results are notified between May and June 2027, and the research stay begins between September and December 2027. Everything is submitted through the Campus France platform; applications sent by email are not considered.
Application materials checklist
Prepare a CV of no more than four pages including publications, the doctoral degree certificate or official proof of defence, and a two-page CV of your prospective supervisor in France. You also need a letter of support from that supervisor co-signed by the laboratory director, between one and three letters of recommendation, and a copy of your passport or national identity document.
The written project itself has a fixed shape: title, six keywords, a summary, background and motivation, scientific objectives, methodology and timeline, relevance to MOPGA, and a section on international collaboration or expected impact for your country of residence. Each section has a character limit, and the methodology section has the largest allowance because that is where applications are separated.
How to apply
Identify and contact a French host laboratory first. Explain the project in two paragraphs, name the call, and ask directly whether the laboratory will support an application. Once you have a supervisor, draft the project against the section headings in the call, then submit through the Campus France platform before the December deadline.
https://campusfrance.smapply.io/prog/mopga_2027/
Common mistakes to avoid
Treating the host letter as paperwork to arrange in December. It is the first thing to secure and the last thing applicants actually do. Writing a general climate project rather than one tied to a laboratory's existing work. Ignoring the One Health definition and assuming a public-health angle qualifies. And submitting in French when the reviewers work in English — both are accepted, but a translated-sounding project reads as a translated project.
Tips to win
Address the "impact for your country of origin" section seriously. MOPGA is a diplomatic instrument as well as a scientific one, and a project that connects French expertise to a problem in your home country fits the programme's purpose more closely than one that could be hosted anywhere. Name the laboratory's equipment or dataset you will use. And keep the timeline honest: twelve months is short, and reviewers can tell when a three-year plan has been compressed into one.
More scholarship guides on OEAC:
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=20
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=45
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=106
Not sure whether your profile is competitive? Send your CV and transcripts to an OEAC advisor. We read applications from Afghan, Pakistani, Chinese and US candidates free of charge and will tell you plainly whether this round is realistic for you.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Always confirm the deadline and eligibility on the official page before you apply. Scholarship dates change between rounds, and this listing is a summary — the provider's own page is the authoritative source. OEAC Network lists scholarships for free and is not an agent for any university or funding body.
