France Launches Lafayette Fellowship to Attract American Students
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France has announced the launch of the Lafayette Fellowship, an exclusive new programme designed to attract top American students and researchers as part of the country’s broader higher education diplomacy efforts.
The fellowship, unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron from Villa Albertine in New York, will support 30 outstanding Americans under the age of 27 to pursue one-year master’s programmes in STEM, humanities, social sciences, or the arts at leading French universities. Courses will be offered in English or French.
The initiative comes ahead of the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and aims to strengthen academic and cultural ties between France and the United States. “This fellowship is based on trust and youth,” Macron said, calling on a “new generation of Americans to cross the ocean, not to wage war, but to invent the future of science and culture together.”
Participants will study at 15 top institutions across eight French cities, including Aix-Marseille Université, Sorbonne University, Université Grenoble Alpes, and the Toulouse School of Economics. Fellows will receive free tuition, a €1,500 monthly stipend, round-trip airfare, and visa and admission fee waivers.
In addition to academic study, fellows will join the French-American Leadership Program, gaining exposure to European innovation and policy through mentorship, masterclasses, and visits to major scientific institutions. Applications close on 30 November 2025 for the inaugural 2026 cohort.
The fellowship reflects France’s growing push to position itself as a global education hub amid declining enrolments in the United States. French institutions hosted 445,000 international students in 2024/25, a 3% rise year-on-year, compared to just 0.8% growth in the US, according to SEVIS data.
Earlier this year, France also launched a “Safe Place for Science” initiative to attract researchers from abroad, including those leaving the US following cuts to American scientific programmes.
Donatienne Hissard, director general of Campus France, said, “The challenge for Europe and France is to position themselves as an alternative in this unprecedented landscape.”
Source: THE PIE NEWS
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