MOPGA 2027 applications close on 15 December 2026. The programme supports twelve-month research stays in France focused on climate and environmental challenges, with arrivals planned between September and December 2027.
What is covered
Campus France lists a €2,500 monthly allowance, a €500 settling-in payment and specified health and insurance cover. International travel is excluded, and the fellowship is not renewable.
Who qualifies
Applicants must have foreign nationality without French nationality, meet the recent-doctorate requirement, undertake international mobility, and not be residing and professionally active in France when applying. Previous MOPGA recipients are excluded. The call defines the usual doctorate window as December 2021–December 2026, with a documented maternity-related exception.
This is research mobility rather than a master’s or PhD scholarship. Apply through the Campus France MOPGA 2027 portal and read the full host and document requirements before submission.
Independent application-planning guidance
Make a relocation budget before treating the monthly allowance as disposable income. Estimate the costs due before the first payment, including travel and any deposits or initial accommodation expenses. Ask the prospective host which practical arrangements it can assist with and which costs remain yours.
A useful research plan begins with a question that can be investigated during a one-year stay. Identify the data, facilities or expertise you need in France and how they connect to work you have already done. Avoid proposing a project whose essential permissions or materials are unlikely to be available in time.
Discuss scope with the host early. Agree on a realistic sequence of preparation, analysis and outputs, and identify a smaller deliverable that remains possible if part of the research is delayed. Planning for risk strengthens the proposal without pretending that research outcomes are predictable.
Keep your eligibility evidence precise. Record the actual thesis-defence date, current location and professional situation. If an exception might apply, gather the supporting documents and ask the programme team how to present them. Do not infer eligibility from a broad description such as early-career researcher.
Explain the collaboration beyond the travel itself. What would the French host contribute? What would you bring? How could the relationship continue through shared methods, publications or further research once the visit ends? These are useful planning questions even where the application form uses different headings.
Finally, review the financial and scientific sections together. The timeline should fit the intended stay, and the practical arrangements should support the proposed work. Retain copies of the application and host correspondence, and avoid buying travel before the relevant arrangements are confirmed. The funding can provide substantial support, but understanding excluded costs is essential to deciding whether the placement is financially workable.
Separate the arrival budget from the research budget
As an independent planning exercise, make two worksheets. The first should cover getting yourself to the host city and settled there. The second should cover doing the actual research. Keeping them separate prevents personal living support from being mistaken for a budget for equipment, software, samples or specialist services.
For the arrival worksheet, record each payment’s likely timing, the currency in which you must pay it, and whether the estimate is confirmed. Include a cash reserve appropriate to your circumstances rather than assuming every reimbursement or administrative step will be immediate. If a host offers help, ask what that help means in practice and whether it has been formally agreed.
For the research worksheet, assign an owner to each dependency. Who can confirm access to the dataset? Who controls the instrument booking? Who will clarify whether a proposed method needs further approval? These questions are particularly important where the work crosses institutions. A scientific collaboration can be promising while its practical arrangements remain unfinished.
End with a decision point: what must be confirmed before you can responsibly commit to relocating? That list should guide your next conversation with the host rather than sit unused beside the application.
Read the official programme details and application instructions. Check the current instructions before submitting, including any conditions specific to your circumstances.
