Three-year Co-funded Doctoral Scholarships
In 2017, the French Embassy in Lebanon, in collaboration with the Institut Français du Liban, launched the SAFAR program to support the mobility of young Lebanese researchers to initiate or strengthen high-level scientific cooperation projects between France and Lebanon.
Beneficiaries
These scholarships are awarded to Lebanese doctoral students whose theses will be co-supervised as of the start of the academic year 2025. Their aim is to initiate a research project or strengthen an existing scientific collaboration between French universities and Antonine University (UA).
All scientific disciplines are eligible. Priority will be given to subjects of significant interest for Lebanon and the Lebanese partner institutions, aligning with the priorities set within the framework of Franco-Lebanese cooperation. This includes theses integrated into Franco-Lebanese research projects and those that continue projects from the Hubert Curien CEDRE Program (post-PHC CEDRE mobility).
Length of Stay
The funding provided by the French Embassy covers a stay in France for 3 academic years (4 calendar years), alternating with Lebanon. The total duration of the stay in France must be 18 months and cannot exceed 6 months per year, distributed as follows:
- 4 months in 2025;
- 6 months in 2026;
- 6 months in 2027;
- 2 months in 2028.
Services Offered
- Monthly allowance of €1,770, paid monthly, during the stay in France.
- Free visa.
- Support for social security coverage in France.
- Payment of one round-trip plane ticket per stay between Lebanon and France each year.
- Coverage of transportation from the airport to the accommodation on the first trip.
- Priority access to university residences.
- Monthly allowance of $800, paid monthly by UA, for the duration of the stay in Lebanon (over 18 months).
Please note that registration fees in France are not covered by the scholarship.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates for the doctoral scholarship must meet the following criteria:
- Be of Lebanese nationality and reside in Lebanon (individuals of Franco-Lebanese nationality are not eligible).
- Hold a master’s degree from a Lebanese university no later than July 2025. A minimum average or additional criteria may be required by the partner institution.
- Be enrolled in the first or second year of joint supervision or thesis co-direction between a Lebanese institution and a French institution (the joint supervision or co-direction agreement is required to validate the scholarship and visa).
- Choose the joint supervision or co-direction regime between two Lebanese and French institutions (the joint supervision or co-direction agreement will be required to validate the scholarship and the visa).
- Have adequate linguistic knowledge relevant to the working language and research project of the thesis.
Application Requirements
Candidates must provide the following documents:
- Completed application form.
- Valid Lebanese passport.
- Scanned copy of student ID card.
- Transcripts from the last year of study, certified by UA.
- CV (maximum 2 pages, in French or English).
- Description of the research project (2 to 3 pages maximum) specifying the subject, a brief state of knowledge, the questions addressed, the methodology, and the distribution between the two laboratories (French or English).
- Letter from each partner doctoral school confirming approval of the candidate’s application file.
- Letter of recommendation from both thesis directors.
- Letter from both thesis directors confirming the steps towards signing a doctoral agreement in joint supervision or co-supervision.
- Cooperation agreement between the Lebanese partner institution and the French partner institution (optional).
Application Deadline
The application submission deadline is April 1, 2025.
For more information, please refer to: