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Funding

Partial / Stipend

International Selection

Master's ScholarshipFrance · Paris

École normale supérieure – PSL (ENS-PSL)

Application Deadline

December 15, 2026

Official Page

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

“Must not have resided in France for more than 10 months during the academic year of the competition or the preceding academic year … Must provide proof of completion of at least three years of study toward a foreign university degree. … Candidates must justify at least one year of undergraduate studies awarded by a foreign university. … Candidates must not have been registered in a high school or higer education institution in France more than 6 months (in total) during the academic year of the competition and the preceding year ;” Eligibility

  • Education required

    Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor

  • Age requirement

    ≤ 25 yrs

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The International Selection is ENS-PSL’s competitive entrance exam for students who have studied at a university outside France. It runs in two tracks, Arts & Humanities and Sciences, each with its own rules.

Admitted students join École normale supérieure in Paris in the third bachelor’s year or first master’s year, study at ENS-PSL and a university in parallel, and finish after three years with a master’s and the ENS diploma.

Benefits & funding

  • €1,000 a month for 36 months, paid only into a French bank account; not paid during a gap year.
  • A furnished room on an ENS-PSL campus on request; rent is charged (amount not yet published).
  • Tuition is covered by the French state; registration fees are payable.
  • Leads to a master’s (M1+M2) and the ENS graduate degree (72 extra ECTS); no ten-year service commitment.

Eligibility

  • Any nationality; one attempt only (past applicants are barred).
  • Arts & Humanities: no older than 25 on the opening date; three years of study toward a foreign university degree completed (or in the third year now); not resident in France over 10 months in the competition year or the year before.
  • Sciences: under 26 on the opening date; at least one year of undergraduate study at a foreign university (two by enrolment); not registered at a French school or university over 6 months in total in those two years.
  • Arts & Humanities expects French at about B1; Sciences sets no level.

Application process

  1. 1
    Choose one track and one discipline; apply on the OnePSL30 platform by 15 December 2026, 14:00 Paris time (no iCloud email addresses).
  2. 2
    Arts & Humanities: motivation letter and a 3-page research project in French (in Economics, Linguistics, Cognitive studies the letter also in English, the project in French or English); Sciences: cover letter in French or English. Both need 2–4 recommendation letters.
  3. 3
    Shortlisted candidates sit remote tests: Arts & Humanities a written exam in French, a discipline oral and an interview (French, English allowed); Sciences a discipline oral and an interview in French or English.

Program timeline

  1. Applications

    16 Oct – 15 Dec 2026

  2. Shortlist

    21 Jan 2027 (Arts) / 27 Jan 2027 (Sciences)

  3. Remote tests

    15–26 Feb 2027 (Arts) / 3–19 Mar 2027 (Sciences)

  4. Results

    9 Mar 2027 (Arts) / 26 Mar 2027 (Sciences)

  5. French courses and registration in Paris

    September 2027

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