Bourses de master

The applications are now open!

This scholarship program offers competitive fellowships for students following the Interdisciplinary Master in Life Science (IMaLiS) or the Chemistry in Life Science master (CSVD), and has been established to specifically support two categories of students:

•   International students (10,000 €/year)
•   French students with a degree in a scientific discipline other than Life Sciences (6,000 €/year).

In addition to providing the fellowship, the program can reserve rooms at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris for some of the students.

Conditions for application

 Students holding a foreign bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, or in another discipline, but with a demonstrated background in Life Sciences, are eligible to IMaLiS and its scholarship program, at either the Master 1 or Master 2 levels (Master 2 applications require completion of a 4-year bachelor). The level of admission will take into account both student wishes and faculty evaluations of the candidacy. If a student is recruited at the Master 1 level, s/he may obtain a one-year scholarship that can be renewed for one additional year to cover the second year of IMaLiS. If recruitment takes place at the Master 2 level, the fellowship will be awarded for one year only. However, after completion of the Master 2 year, students are eligible to apply for additional fellowships under the auspices of the PSL Institute of Innovation and Technology or to pursue PhDs in PSL laboratories.

 Students holding a French Master 1 degree or equivalent (i.e. having completed a second year of engineering school) in Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or Geosciences who have demonstrated interest in Life Sciences are eligible for the scholarship program and for the IMaLiS Master 1, to gain complementary training in Biology. In this case, renewal of the fellowship for continuation in the Master 2 program is not guaranteed, but can be obtained on a competitive basis.

 Students holding a French Master year 2 degree or equivalent (i.e. engineering school diploma) in Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or Geosciences who have demonstrated interest in Life Sciences are also eligible for the scholarship program and for the IMaLiS Master 2.

Recipients of Master’s scholarships must spend their second semester internships on interdisciplinary life science projects in laboratories belonging to PSL-Qlife. Internships are remunerated (approximatly 550€/month). This comes on addition to the scholarship. The choice of the lab and project is made in agreement with the teaching team.
Acceptance is contingent upon successful completion of prior degree.

Application procedure

Application for a scholarship is included in the application to the IMaLiS and CSVD Master’s program (only one application is required). You will need to complete the PSL online application form for M1 or M2 and to upload the following documents:

• A curriculum vitae, including the coursework you have completed and details of the subjects and modules that have made up your higher education to date.
• An ID photo.
• A letter of motivation (typewritten), introducing yourself, indicating how you foresee your professional career, what the graduate program will bring you, and specifying the courses that you would like to follow, in particular if it concerns the specialized courses offered by the institutes Curie and Pasteur.
• Scans of your bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) and of your undergraduate and postgraduate academic transcripts. Please supply any available official information regarding your relative ranking (e.g. top 5%) and the number of students in the class.
• Two or three letters of recommendation to be uploaded to the platform by professors or researchers who know you well.

All candidates preselected on the basis of their written application will be invited for an interview at the Ecole normale supérieure. The interview will first include a discussion with a faculty panel. The discussion is designed for you to present yourself: your general scientific background and motivation, your career objectives, etc. This interview will decide whether you are accepted to the Master. If this is the case, you will proceed with two oral examinations on scientific topics, which will allow the jury to establish the list of the beneficiaries of the scholarships. The first oral examination is in Life Sciences, whereas you have to select the discipline of the second one in the online application among Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry and Geosciences. Travel expenses for selection interviews can be partly defrayed. If need be, videoconference interviews will be organized. On the days of their oral examinations, the candidates who are physically present will be offered the opportunity to visit PSL institutions.
On the basis of the interviews, a list of students accepted with funding and a ranked waiting list will be established. Students on the first list will be enrolled in the Master’s and benefit from the scholarship. Those on the waiting list will be enrolled in the Master’s if they wish. If students who have received scholarships withdraw, their scholarships will be offered to those on the waiting list based on their ranking.

Timetable for the 2024/2025 academic year:

Online applications: opening January 11th, 2024
 Deadline for application: March 11th, 2024
 M1 Interview by videoconference: April 22nd-24th, 2024,
 M2 Interview by videoconference: April 25th-29th, 2024,
 Oral examination for Qlife fellowship by videoconference: April 30th-May 3rd, 2024,
 Establishment of principal and waiting lists: beginning of May, 2024.