Scholarship

Would you like a grant to finance your studies?

The ENSM can grant financial aid to students enrolled in initial training at the ENSM, provided that the application is submitted before Friday 30 May 2025.

Scholarships are awarded according to the criteria set out in the Order of 24 June 2013 (Journal officiel de la république française of 3 July 2013).

Higher education scholarships based on social criteria, established by the State for students at the Ecole nationale supérieure maritime (ENSM), may be awarded to candidates who have been admitted to enrol at this school and who are regularly enrolled in initial training for one academic year. Grants based on social criteria are awarded to students who meet the following conditions of nationality, age, studies, qualifications, resources and attendance :

• French students
• Andorran students with a French education
• Foreign students who hold the nationality of one of the Member States of the European Union or of another State party to the European Economic Area or of the Swiss Confederation, provided that they meet one of the following conditions: they have previously held a full-time or part-time job in France. The activity must be real and effective and must have been carried out in an employed or self-employed capacity; or provide evidence that one of their parents or legal guardian has received income in France; or provide evidence of a certain degree of integration into French society. The degree of integration is assessed on the basis of the length of residence (minimum one year), schooling in France and family ties in France. In any case, this condition is not required if the student can prove 5 years of regular uninterrupted residence in France.
• foreign students with refugee or stateless status, recognised by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA)
• foreign students holding a valid residence permit, who have been resident in France for at least two years and whose tax household (father or mother or legal guardian) has been in France for at least two years.

Age requirements

Students must be under 28 years of age on 1st September of the academic year in which the first application is made. The age limit may be raised depending on the length of civic service or voluntary service and by one year for each child brought up. From the age of 28, students receiving a grant must not interrupt their studies in order to continue to receive a grant.

Study conditions

To be eligible for a grant, students must be enrolled in initial training at ENSM and be studying full-time.

Degree requirements

Applicants for a higher education grant based on social criteria must hold a French baccalaureate or a qualification or diploma accepted as exempt or equivalent for entry to the school’s first year entrance selection. This condition is not required for the award of a scholarship for promotion to the second year for those who have passed their end-of-first-year examination.

Resource conditions

Income conditions: when examining the student’s file, the income used to calculate the grant entitlement is that received during the year n-2 in relation to the year in which the grant application is submitted and, more specifically, that shown on the ‘gross overall income’ or ‘gross overall deficit’ line of the tax notice(s) for taxation, non-taxation or non-assessment, restitution or reduction. To these resources must be added, where applicable, income received abroad as well as income subject to the flat rate and not appearing on the aforementioned line of the tax notice… However, in the event of a lasting and profound change in financial circumstances resulting in a reduction in resources during year n-1, income for year n-1 may be taken into account. Any incomplete declaration or deliberate inaccuracy will result in the application being rejected without further formality.

Merit-based grants are awarded to students who meet the following conditions, in accordance with the criteria set out in the Order of 28 June 2022 on the award of merit-based grants to students in initial training at the Ecole nationale supérieure maritime:

– Student receiving a grant based on social criteria for the year 2023-2024
– Students who have obtained a ‘Mention Très Bien’ in their baccalauréat.

Please note:

All applicants are eligible for merit-based scholarships, regardless of nationality.

If a student is repeating a year, he or she will not be eligible for merit-based grants. However, if the applicant is repeating a year for medical reasons, aid may be granted.

A student may not receive merit-based aid more than 3 times (this restriction applies to both linear and reoriented courses).

Award procedures

Applicants must submit a special application for merit-based aid to the grants committee. It is paid in addition to the grant based on social criteria, which is applied for via the Maritime Social Service in charge of the ENSM site where the applicant will be studying.

The final decision on whether or not to award merit-based aid is then taken by the Scholarship Committee and notified to the applicant.

Attendance requirements
Attendance at all the teaching activities set out in the reference framework, including compulsory placements and effective presence at the statutory assessment tests during the academic year, is essential to maintain the grant.

SEND YOUR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION to the Service Social Maritime in charge of the ENSM site where you will be studying:

Service Social Maritime Le Havre
182 quai Georges V, 76600 LE HAVRE
Tel: 02.35.42.46.03
lehavre@ssm-mer.fr

Service Social Maritime Marseille
43 rue Montgrand, 13006 MARSEILLE
ensm13@ssm-mer.fr

Service Social Maritime Saint-Malo
Délégation Mer et Littoral – Bâtiment Infinity
3 Rue du Bois Herveau – 35400 SAINT-MALO
Tel: 02 90 57 40 90
stmalo@ssm-mer.fr

Service Social Maritime Nantes
11 Rue Arsène Leloup – 44100 Nantes
Tel: 02 40 84 24 53
secretaire-nantes@ssm-mer.fr

Application deadline: Friday 30 May 2025

1.1. Special provisions

In situations attested by a social assessment revealing the inability of one of the parents to meet his or her maintenance obligation, a higher education grant based on social criteria may be awarded on the basis of the income of the tax household concerned alone.

1.1.1. Single parent

If, on the student’s parent’s tax return, the letter ‘T’ appears corresponding to the situation of a single parent (defined in the last paragraph of article L. 262-9 of the Code de l’action sociale et des familles), the income of the parent concerned alone is taken into account, unless the letter ‘T’ appears on the tax return of both of the student’s parents.

The same applies if the parent responsible for the student can prove that he/she is in receipt of the family support allowance or the increased active solidarity income as a single parent.

1.1.2. Student’s parents separated (divorce, legal separation, dissolution of PACS, de facto separation)

In the event of separation, the income taken into account is that of the parent who is responsible for the student, provided that a court decision or a private deed countersigned by lawyers and filed with a notary stipulates that the other parent is obliged to pay maintenance. The same applies when maintenance is provided for in an agreement that has been given enforceability by the director of the Caisse d’allocations familiales (CAF) under the conditions set out in article L. 582-2 of the French Social Security Code.

In the absence of a court decision, a private deed countersigned by lawyers and filed with a notary providing for the payment of maintenance or an agreement to which the director of the CAF has given enforceability, the resources of both parents are taken into account.

In the absence of such a decision, deed or agreement, and in the case of the voluntary payment of maintenance, the income of both parents is taken into account, taking care not to count the maintenance twice.

Where a court decision or a private deed countersigned by a lawyer and filed with a notary provides for the student’s alternating residence with both parents at the time of his or her minority, the income of both parents is taken into account, even if one parent is paying alimony to the other, taking care not to count the alimony twice. However, if the agreement approved by the judge, the court decision or, where applicable, the agreement co-signed by the parents stipulates that the student is dependent on one of them or if it is justified and recognised for tax purposes that one of them is the student’s main carer, the income taken into account is that of the parent who is the student’s main carer.

In the case of a student of legal age who is not mentioned in the court order or the private deed countersigned by lawyers and filed with a notary, the income of either the parent who is the student’s tax dependant or the parent or parents who pay direct maintenance to the student should be taken into account.

In the absence of any mention of the payment of maintenance in the court order or the private deed countersigned by lawyers and filed with a notary, the former spouses may attest to the fact, duly recorded and recognised for tax purposes, that each of them is responsible for at least one of their children; in this case, the right to a grant should be examined solely on the basis of the income of the tax household concerned.

1.1.3. Remarriage of one of the student’s parents

When the new spouse takes in one or more student children from the spouse’s first marriage as a dependent for tax purposes, the scholarship entitlement of these students must be examined on the basis of the resources of the new couple.

Failing this, the provisions of point 1.1.2 apply.

1.1.4 – Civil solidarity pact

Where the civil solidarity pact (Pacs) involves both of the student’s parents, the income of both parents is taken into account.

If one of the two members of the couple is not a parent of the student, the right to a grant must be assessed, depending on the case, in accordance with the provisions of point 1.1.3 above.

1.1.5. Cohabitation

Where both parents of the student are cohabiting or in a common-law relationship, the income of both parents is taken into account.

If one of the two members of the couple is not the student’s parent, the provisions of point 1.1.2 apply.

1.1.6. French student or national of a Member State of the European Union other than France, of another State party to the European Economic Area or of the Swiss Confederation whose parents reside abroad

In the case of French students, the French consulate must provide, on a confidential basis, the information needed to assess the family’s resources and expenses, including an assessment of the level of income, taking into account the local cost of living. Tax income alone is not sufficient to assess these material difficulties for households abroad. If it is not possible to provide information enabling the overall gross income to be calculated, the consulate may request additional financial information that is strictly necessary for processing the application and enabling a reliable income figure to be calculated, and this must be supported by documentary evidence to be requested from the families.

A European student whose parents do not live in France must submit all the documents required to examine his/her entitlement to a grant: either a tax notice or similar document for year n-2 or, in the absence of such a document, the salary slips of the parent(s), legal guardian or person delegating parental authority for the last three months of year n-2. The income thus obtained, transposed into euros where applicable and after adding back the amount of tax paid where this is deducted directly at source, constitutes the family’s total gross income, which must be taken into account in the same way as in France.

1.1.7 Foreign student

This student must enclose with his/her grant application a sworn statement from the parent(s), legal guardian or delegate of parental authority responsible for him/her indicating whether income is received abroad and, if so, the amount in euros. If so, this income will be added to the overall gross income shown on the tax notice issued in France.

As a transitional measure, the provisions set out in point 1.1.6 above relating to students who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union whose parents do not reside in France apply to British nationals who received a higher education grant on social criteria in 2020-2021 for studies begun or continued in France or in another Member State of the European Union, in a State party to the European Economic Area, in the Swiss Confederation or in the United Kingdom, or continued in a member country of the Council of Europe.

1.2 Exceptional provisions

1.2.1. Relating to the reference year n-2

Income for the previous calendar year, or even the current calendar year, may be taken into account. In this case, the income actually received during the year in question is examined after adding back the amount of tax paid when this is deducted directly at source and after taking into account the change in the cost of living during that year or those years measured by the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) in order to compare it with that of the reference year. These provisions apply in the event of a lasting and significant reduction in family resources resulting from illness, death, unemployment, retirement, divorce, de facto separation or legal separation duly recorded by the court, or when the personal situation of the student and/or his/her spouse is taken into account (see point 1.2.2 below) following a recent marriage or birth.

These provisions also apply in the event of a reduction in resources as a result of a leave of absence, part-time work, a long-term reduction in working hours or unpaid leave (e.g. parental leave).

These provisions also apply to students whose parents are over-indebted, in receivership or compulsory liquidation, or have to cope with exceptional situations such as a drop in income following natural disasters or epidemics.

1.2.2. Income

The student’s income alone, or that of the tax household to which he/she is attached, may be taken into account under the following conditions:

– students who are married or have entered into a civil solidarity pact in application of articles 515-1 et seq. of the French Civil Code: the couple, spouse or partner must have monthly resources equal to or greater than 90% of the net minimum wage, thus ensuring their financial independence. The persons concerned must have drawn up a joint tax return separate from that of the parents, legal guardian or person delegating parental authority. The foreign student must meet the conditions set out in appendix 2, with the exception of being attached to a tax household (father, mother, legal guardian or person delegating parental authority). Where a grant has been awarded on the basis of the income of the couple or of the spouse or partner of the grant applicant, this aid will continue to be awarded for the current academic year, even if, in the meantime, this income has decreased or even disappeared, in particular in the event of departure on civic service, voluntary service in the armed forces or international voluntary service, separation duly recorded by the court, divorce or widowhood;

– a student who has one or more children of his or her own for tax purposes and who is no longer included on the tax return of his or her parents, legal guardian or delegate of parental authority. The foreign student must meet the following conditions, with the exception of being attached to a tax household (father, mother, legal guardian or delegate of parental authority);

– a student of full age who has been the subject of a guardianship or delegation of parental authority during his or her minority: the income of the tax household to which he or she is attached is taken into account or, failing that, his or her personal income if it exists;

– students who are orphans of both parents: the income of the tax household to which they are attached is taken into account or, failing that, their personal income if it exists. The foreign student must meet the conditions set out above, with the exception of being attached to a tax household (father, mother, legal guardian or delegate of parental authority);

– refugee students: the income of the tax household to which they are attached is taken into account or, failing that, their personal income if it exists;

– students benefiting from subsidiary protection: the income of the tax household to which they are attached is taken into account or, failing that, their personal income if it exists.

A student benefiting or having benefited in the five years preceding his/her majority or emancipation from a measure financed by the departmental council under the child welfare scheme in application of articles L. 222-1 to L. 222-5 of the Code de l’action sociale et des familles (financial aid, home help, administrative placement or ward of the State) or article L. 228-3 of the same Code (legal placement, withdrawal of parental authority, departmental guardianship, delegation of parental authority or open educational assistance) is not subject to any means test. Students must provide proof that they are benefiting or have benefited from such a measure. Foreign students must meet the conditions in appendix 2, with the exception of being attached to a tax household (father, mother, legal guardian or delegate of parental authority).