If you already have the Campus France Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) 2027 page open, this explainer is still useful. It puts the money, the eligibility window, and the host-laboratory letter in decision order, and it flags where theme five (“One Health”) is narrower than the title sounds.
Scholarship Tally editors checked the official Campus France MOPGA 2027 programme page (updated 15 September 2026), the MOPGA research themes page, and the MOPGA 2027 application portal on 30 September 2026. The programme page also links an Application Guide PDF for form detail. We are not the selection panel. Re-check the live official pages before you submit because deadlines and application requirements can change.
Is this the right call, or should you wait?
Read on if you:
- Hold a doctoral degree, or will have defended your thesis between December 2021 and December 2026 inclusive
- Are not a French national, are not residing and professionally active in France at the time of application, and have not previously received a MOPGA fellowship
- Want a 12-month research stay in a French laboratory on climate, Earth systems, energy transition, environmental society questions, or a genuine One Health project
- Can secure a French scientific supervisor and a support letter (co-signed by the laboratory director, or paired with a director’s commitment letter) before the portal closes
- Can plan for international travel separately (not covered by the programme; a host laboratory may be able to help)
This call may not fit if you:
- Are a Master’s or PhD student (Campus France’s FAQ: there is no MOPGA call at those levels)
- Need airfare and lab running costs as a guaranteed package
- Want to stack the fellowship with a French employment contract (research or postdoctoral) or other individual funding from a French government entity
- Are still shopping for a host and have no named laboratory
- Are proposing a medicine-only or human-health-only project without an animal-health or ecosystem dimension under theme five
Start-here facts (official): tenth MOPGA call; funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space (MESRE); implemented by Campus France. Applications opened 15 September 2026. Deadline 15 December 2026 (SMApply portal lists 15 December 2026, 23:59 CET). Results May–June 2027. Arrival window September–December 2027. Apply online through the MOPGA 2027 application portal. The application portal lists the deadline as 15 December 2026 at 23:59 CET. Applications may be submitted in English or French.
That results gap matters. Anyone who needs a salary bridge in early 2027 should not treat MOPGA as a near-term paycheck.
What the fellowship pays, and what it does not
Official page wording: each fellowship includes, exclusively:
- A monthly allowance of €2,500 for twelve months
- A €500 settling-in allowance during the first month of the research stay (official FAQ)
- Health coverage: health insurance, civil liability insurance and repatriation assistance, then supplementary health insurance once the fellow is registered with the French social security system
Fellows receive French Government Scholarship holder status (Boursier du Gouvernement Français, BGF). The fellowship is paid directly by Campus France. A research stay agreement must be signed between the host institution in France and the researcher.
Not covered by the programme (official FAQ / page):
- International travel to France (not covered by the programme; the official FAQ states that the host laboratory may be able to provide support with these costs)
- Laboratory running costs (the programme does not fund the host laboratory; the support letter must confirm that the scientific environment and resources required to carry out the project will be made available)
- A renewable second year (twelve months; not renewable)
Do not describe the fellowship as covering all research-stay expenses. The official package specifies a monthly allowance, a settling-in allowance and health coverage, while international travel is not covered by the programme and host laboratories do not receive programme funding for laboratory costs.
Eligibility without the brochure gloss
Applicants must (official list):
- Hold a doctoral degree awarded less than five years before the application deadline, meaning thesis defence between December 2021 and December 2026 inclusive
- Be exclusively of foreign nationality (all nationalities except French)
- Apply for the purpose of undertaking international mobility to France
- Not be residing and professionally active in France at the time of application
- Not have previously received a MOPGA fellowship
Defence timing trap: If you defend after December 2026, the official FAQ says you cannot apply. If the diploma is not yet issued but the defence has happened inside the window, Campus France allows an official certificate, proof of thesis submission, or other official institutional proof that the defence took place.
Maternity leave: The official 2027 FAQ states that the eligibility period may be extended in the case of maternity leave by 18 months per child or by the actual duration of the maternity leave, subject to supporting documents. Include the required supporting evidence in the application file. Do not invent other exception categories the pages do not list.
The five themes, and the One Health trap
Eligible research areas (official):
- Earth system sciences
- Climate change and sustainability sciences
- Energy transition
- Societal challenges related to environmental issues (themes page wording: “societal challenges of environmental issues”)
- Human, animal and environmental health under a One Health approach
The programme page states that innovative approaches involving advanced technologies in the research areas listed above will be given particular consideration during the selection process. That is not a published scoring formula.
One Health is the common failure mode. The programme page states: only projects adopting an integrated “One Health” approach, taking into account the interactions between human health, animal health and ecosystems, are eligible. Projects focusing solely on medicine or human health without a genuine environmental or animal health dimension are not eligible. Read that limit as applying to the fifth theme (human, animal and environmental health). The other four themes remain eligible on their own terms. The themes page frames One Health as work at interfaces: human and veterinary medicine, agronomy and ecology, sociology, geography, and related fields. Campus France will not pre-clear your topic by email (official FAQ).
For theme five, the project must adopt an integrated One Health approach that takes into account interactions between human health, animal health and ecosystems. Projects focused solely on medicine or human health without a genuine environmental or animal-health dimension are not eligible.
Humanities and social sciences are eligible when the project falls within the published themes (official FAQ).
The host laboratory requirement
Finding a French host laboratory is part of the application. The host must provide a scientific supervisor, and the application requires a support letter from the scientific supervisor, co-signed by the laboratory director or accompanied by a letter of commitment from the laboratory director, confirming that the scientific environment and resources required will be available and that the project is consistent with the laboratory’s objectives.
Document detail from the programme page and linked Application Guide:
- The supervisor’s CV (Application Guide: max 2 pages)
- The support letter / director commitment package described above
Host laboratories do not receive MOPGA programme money for lab costs. When you email a potential host, say that clearly. Asking them to “cover everything” after reading an aggregator post is how good candidates burn the relationship.
Campus France points applicants to research laboratory directories and the Campus France Research in France Portal, and to existing supervisor networks. French labs can also advertise postdoctoral opportunities on that portal.
What you actually submit
Submit online only through the SMApply portal. Applications may be in English or French.
Project description fields the programme page lists (with character maxima including spaces):
- Project title; keywords (6)
- Research project summary (max 2,000 characters)
- Background and motivation (max 2,000)
- Scientific objectives (max 2,000)
- Methodology and timeline (max 4,500)
- Relevance to the MOPGA initiative (max 2,000)
- International collaboration and/or expected impact for the applicant’s country of residence or country of origin (max 2,000)
Required documents (programme page + Application Guide; PDFs, clear filenames, keep files light):
- Applicant CV including publications (max 4 pages)
- Doctoral degree certificate or official proof of degree
- CV of the scientific supervisor at the host laboratory (max 2 pages)
- Letter of support / director commitment as above
- Letter(s) of recommendation (minimum 1, maximum 3)
- Copy of passport or national identity document
- Supporting evidence for a maternity-leave eligibility extension, if applicable
If the live form’s character limits disagree with a PDF you downloaded earlier, follow the live form.
Process order that can save time
- Confirm that you meet the doctoral-degree, nationality and France-residence requirements.
- Draft a project that fits one of the five eligible research themes (for theme five, show the human–animal–ecosystem link).
- Identify and contact a French host laboratory and scientific supervisor. State clearly that the programme does not fund laboratory costs and does not cover international travel.
- Secure the required support letter and laboratory-director confirmation.
- Gather the remaining required documents and complete the online application before the deadline.
Selection (official): scientific experts appointed by MESRE assess applications; a scientific committee then makes the final selection. Weights, quotas, and number of 2027 awards are not published on the pages we checked. Do not invent them.
After an award: status and limits
Successful applicants receive BGF status under the research-stay scheme in the French Research Programming Law 2021–2030 (Loi de programmation de la recherche, LPR, Article 12) and Article L.434-1 of the French Research Code (see also the MESRE circular linked from the programme page). Official rule: this French Government fellowship cannot be combined with a French employment contract, such as a research contract or postdoctoral contract, or with any other individual funding awarded by a French government entity. Arrival is expected between September and December 2027 for a 12-month stay. Visa and residence steps are outside this explainer; follow Campus France and French consular instructions after an award.
Failure modes we can name from the official rules
- Submitting outside the SMApply portal (official pages require online submission through the portal)
- Defence outside December 2021–December 2026 with no documented maternity/parental extension that the FAQ allows
- French nationality, or residing and professionally active in France at the time of application
- Prior MOPGA fellowship
- Theme-five project that is clinic-only
- Strong science with no host letter (or a letter missing director confirmation)
- Assuming airfare is included
- Treating aggregator “fully funded” copy as if it overrode Campus France’s exclusive benefit list
FAQ
Is MOPGA 2027 a Master’s or PhD student scholarship? No. Campus France’s FAQ states there is no MOPGA call for Master’s or PhD students. This call is for early-career researchers who already hold (or have defended) a doctorate in the stated window.
Does the fellowship cover flights to France? No. International travel is not covered. A host laboratory may offer help; that is not guaranteed by the programme.
Can French nationals apply? No. Applicants must be exclusively of foreign nationality; French nationality is excluded.
What if my PhD diploma is not ready yet? If you have already defended inside the eligibility window, Campus France accepts official institutional proof that the defence took place (see the official FAQ).
Can Campus France tell me in advance if my topic is eligible? No. The FAQ says they will not pre-clear project eligibility; your project must fall within the published themes.
Does the host laboratory receive MOPGA money for running costs? No. The programme does not cover laboratory costs. Discuss resources with the host; the support letter must confirm the scientific environment will be available.
Where do I apply? Only through https://campusfrance.smapply.io/prog/mopga_2027/.
What if I have dual nationality that includes French? The 2027 pages do not spell out dual nationality that includes French. The published test is exclusive foreign nationality and exclusion of French nationality. Write to [email protected] with your documents; do not assume.
Who do I contact with questions? [email protected] (programme FAQ and SMApply portal). The research themes page also lists [email protected] for Campus France’s MOPGA mailing list.
Official sources
- MOPGA 2027 Visiting Fellowship Program (Campus France)
- MOPGA research themes
- MOPGA 2027 application portal (SMApply)
- Application Guide PDF linked from the Campus France MOPGA 2027 programme page
- Contact: [email protected]
Facts on this page were checked against those sources on 30 September 2026. If Campus France updates the call, trust the live official pages over this article.
