MOPGA 2027 Visiting Fellowship: €2,500 Monthly Support for International Early-Career Researchers in France

MOPGA 2027 Visiting Fellowship: €2,500 Monthly Support for International Early-Career Researchers in France

The Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) 2027 Visiting Fellowship is a 12-month research stay in France for early-career researchers working on climate, environmental, energy-transition, or related One Health questions. Campus France runs the call on behalf of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space (MESRE). The fellowship is intended to bring an international researcher into a French host laboratory and give that researcher the time and setting to complete a defined project.

The 2027 application portal opened on 15 September 2026 and closes on 15 December 2026 at 23:59 Central European Time. Successful fellows are expected to arrive in France and begin their research stay between September and December 2027. The award includes a €2,500 monthly allowance for 12 months, a €500 settling-in allowance, and health, civil-liability, and repatriation assistance. International travel is not covered by MOPGA, so applicants must plan that cost separately or discuss possible help with the host laboratory.

This is a strong opportunity for a researcher who already has a focused project and a credible French host. It is not a general postdoctoral job board, a doctoral scholarship, or a laboratory grant. The host institution does not receive a separate MOPGA budget; its role is to provide the scientific environment and resources needed for the fellow’s work.

Key details at a glance

What the fellowship pays for

The headline support is a monthly allowance of €2,500 for twelve months. That payment is made directly by Campus France to the fellow and is designed to cover living expenses during the research stay. The first month also includes a €500 settling-in allowance. Applicants should treat the settling-in payment as a one-time contribution for establishing themselves in France, not as a recurring supplement.

MOPGA also includes health insurance, civil-liability insurance, and repatriation assistance. Campus France says supplementary health insurance follows once the fellow is registered with the French social-security system. Those protections are part of the fellowship conditions, but they do not remove the need to understand French registration, housing, tax, and banking procedures before arrival.

International transport to France is explicitly outside the programme. A host laboratory may be able to help with travel, but that is a separate arrangement and is not guaranteed by MOPGA. The same distinction applies to research expenses: the French laboratory must provide an appropriate scientific environment and the resources needed for the approved project, while MOPGA itself is intended to cover the invited researcher’s living expenses. Ask the host what equipment, access fees, field costs, data costs, and conference expenses it can support before submitting.

The fellowship is non-renewable and lasts twelve months. It is tied to a research-stay agreement between the host institution and the fellow. Successful applicants receive the status of French Government Scholarship holders under the research-stay framework described on the official page.

Who can apply

MOPGA 2027 is open to researchers of foreign nationality. All nationalities are eligible except French nationality. Applicants must be applying for international mobility to France and must not be residing and professionally active in France at the time of application. Someone who is temporarily visiting France is not automatically disqualified by that fact alone, but the official rule is about residence and professional activity; candidates with a complicated status should ask Campus France before relying on an interpretation.

The doctorate rule is precise. You must have defended your PhD thesis between December 2021 and December 2026 inclusive, meaning the doctorate was awarded less than five years before the application deadline. If the diploma has not yet been issued, Campus France accepts an official thesis-defense certificate, proof of thesis deposit, or another official document from the institution confirming that the defense took place. A defense after December 2026 does not meet the published rule for this call.

Campus France says a maternity-leave exception may extend the five-year reference period by 18 months per child or by the actual duration of maternity leave, with supporting documentation. The exception is not automatic: include the relevant information and evidence in the application file.

Previous MOPGA fellows cannot apply again. The programme is also not for master’s or current PhD students. The applicant needs a completed doctorate, a French host laboratory, and a project that fits the programme’s themes.

Research themes and what “fit” means

The call recognises five broad areas: Earth system sciences; climate-change and sustainability sciences; energy transition; societal challenges related to environmental issues; and human, animal, and environmental health under an integrated One Health approach. Innovative uses of advanced technology in those areas receive particular consideration.

The One Health condition deserves care. A project focused only on human medicine or clinical outcomes is not enough. To fit, it must genuinely examine the interaction among human health, animal health, and ecosystems. A proposal about heat-related disease that also studies environmental exposure and animal or ecosystem effects can be a better fit than a conventional clinical project with a climate keyword added at the end.

Humanities and social sciences are eligible when the project addresses the published environmental themes. Policy, economics, law, education, urban planning, and social research can therefore fit, but the environmental problem and the proposed contribution must be explicit. Reviewers should not have to infer why the work belongs in MOPGA from a general statement about sustainability.

Finding and securing a French host laboratory

A French host is part of the application, not a detail to arrange after selection. Campus France says finding a laboratory or research unit is an integral part of the process. Use the Research in France portal, laboratory directories, professional networks, and existing supervisors or collaborators to identify a group with the methods, equipment, datasets, and supervision capacity your project needs.

Contact potential hosts with a short, useful message. State the research question, why the work belongs in France, what you would do during twelve months, and which facility or expertise you need. Include a concise CV and a draft project summary. A generic request for “an invitation letter” is weaker than a specific collaboration proposal that lets a professor decide whether the scientific fit is real.

The required support letter must be signed by the scientific supervisor and co-signed by the laboratory director, or accompanied by a director’s letter of commitment. It must confirm that the scientific environment and resources needed for the project will be available and that the project is consistent with the laboratory’s objectives. Give the host enough time to review the plan and complete its institutional approvals.

Application process and required documents

Applications are submitted through the Campus France SMApply portal. Email submissions are not accepted. Create the account early, read the FAQ and application guide linked from the portal, and keep a copy of every uploaded document.

The project form asks for a title, six keywords, and several short narrative sections: a summary of up to 2,000 characters; background and motivation up to 2,000 characters; scientific objectives up to 2,000 characters; methodology and timeline up to 4,500 characters; relevance to the MOPGA initiative up to 2,000 characters; and international collaboration or expected impact for the applicant’s country of residence or origin up to 2,000 characters. The limits include spaces, so draft in a character-counting editor rather than trimming at the last minute.

The required documents are:

1. A CV with publication list, limited to four pages.
2. The doctoral degree certificate or official proof of the degree or defense.
3. A two-page CV for the scientific supervisor at the French host laboratory.
4. The supervisor’s support letter, with the laboratory director’s co-signature or separate commitment letter.
5. One to three recommendation letters.
6. A passport or national identity document.

Applications may be written in English or French. Make sure names, dates, affiliations, and project titles match across the form, CV, host letter, and identity document. Inconsistencies create avoidable questions in an otherwise competitive file.

Timeline and planning around the deadline

The portal opened on 15 September 2026 and closes on 15 December 2026 at 23:59 CET. Set an internal deadline at least a week earlier so the host can correct a letter, a recommender can replace a missing upload, and the portal has time to process a final submission.

Campus France says successful applicants arrive and start their stay between September and December 2027. The English call currently lists notification of results as “May–June 2026,” a date that falls before the application deadline and appears inconsistent with the rest of the 2027 timetable. Treat that line as requiring confirmation: check the application guide and portal notices for the corrected notification year rather than planning travel from the printed line alone.

Use the months between submission and the decision to discuss a research-stay agreement, immigration requirements, housing, social-security registration, budget assumptions, and the practical start date with the host. A selection is not a substitute for those arrangements.

How to make the proposal persuasive

Start with one environmental problem and a testable contribution. A reviewer should be able to say, in a sentence, what will be learned, measured, designed, or changed during the twelve-month stay. Then connect each objective to a method, a host capability, and a realistic milestone.

Explain why France is necessary for the project. Name the host laboratory’s relevant expertise, collection, instrument, field site, model, or partnership. Avoid treating the host as a prestigious address. The best rationale shows that the work would be materially weaker without this specific scientific environment.

Use the international-collaboration section for a concrete two-way benefit. Explain how the fellowship advances the applicant’s country of residence or origin, what knowledge or data will travel back, and how the French collaboration can continue after the stay. Keep claims proportional to the twelve-month period.

Make the timeline operational. Identify the first tasks, data or field approvals, analysis milestones, draft outputs, and final handover. If the project depends on permits, samples, interviews, or restricted data, state the status of those dependencies and the fallback plan.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying without a committed French host laboratory.
• Treating MOPGA as a doctoral or master’s scholarship.
• Proposing a project that mentions climate but does not fit one of the five themes.
• Calling a purely human-health study “One Health” without animal and environmental integration.
• Assuming MOPGA pays international airfare or laboratory costs.
• Submitting a host letter that lacks the laboratory director’s required commitment.
• Exceeding character or page limits, especially in the CV and project sections.
• Waiting until December to request recommendation letters or identity documents.
• Sending the application by email instead of through SMApply.
• Reusing a previous MOPGA award or omitting a prior fellowship from the eligibility check.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply if my PhD certificate is not ready?

Yes, if you have defended the thesis by the required date. Campus France allows an official defense certificate, proof of thesis submission, or another institutional document confirming the defense while the final diploma is pending.

Is travel to France funded?

No. International transport is not covered by MOPGA. Ask the host laboratory whether it can provide separate assistance.

Can a French national apply from abroad?

No. The 2027 call is for foreign nationals and excludes French nationality.

Can I apply for a master’s or PhD place?

No. MOPGA 2027 is a visiting fellowship for researchers with a completed doctorate. Campus France points students toward other programmes, including the France Excellence Eiffel scheme.

Can I submit by email?

No. The application must be submitted through the official SMApply portal during the application window.

Is the fellowship renewable?

No. The published terms describe a non-renewable twelve-month fellowship.

Official links and next steps

Read the official MOPGA 2027 call at Campus France, then review the MOPGA 2027 application portal and its FAQ and guide. If the programme fits your research, contact a French laboratory now, request the supervisor and director commitment, and draft the character-limited project sections before the December deadline. Questions about the call can be sent to [email protected].