Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Maison des étudiants canadiens (MEC)

The Maison des étudiants canadiens (MEC) is a foundation recognized as being of public utility in France and located within the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. Created in 1926 to host Canadian students, it now welcomes graduate students, researchers, interns and artists from Canada and around the world. Beyond accommodation and community life, the MEC plays a concrete funding role through several scholarship and bursary programs designed to ease the financial burden of studying and living in Paris.

The page “Les différentes bourses” presents a portfolio of schemes that primarily support housing costs for MEC residents. The flagship Graduate Studies Scholarship of the MEC, launched in 2019, provides a Canadian master’s or doctoral student with up to 10 months of free housing in Paris, valued at CAD 10,000. The David and Liliane Stewart Graduate Scholarship offers a similar amount to another outstanding Canadian graduate student. A dedicated Baxter & Alma Ricard housing scholarship targets Canadian students from francophone minority communities, again covering up to 10 months of residence at the MEC.

In addition, the MEC runs an “Student Involvement Scholarship” for four residents who actively contribute to community life; each receives a credit equivalent to one month of standard room rent and a certificate from the Ambassador of Canada in France. The site also relays merit and engagement bursaries offered by the Cité internationale universitaire (CIUP), which can fully cover monthly rent in a CIUP residence for students and high-level artists or athletes with limited resources.

These funding programs target primarily Canadian students enrolled in second- or third-cycle (master’s or PhD) programs in Paris, sometimes with specific criteria such as language background, academic excellence or community engagement. Bursaries are always tied to residency at the MEC or within the CIUP and aim to ensure that talented students can pursue their academic projects without being constrained by the high cost of living in Paris.

Through its status as a foundation, its governance involving the Ambassador of Canada and the Comité au Canada, and its MEC Avenir fundraising campaign, the organization mobilizes philanthropic resources to maintain and renovate the residence and to expand its scholarship offering. Profiles of past scholars published on the site illustrate the diversity of disciplines supported—from law, international relations and education science to architecture, neuroscience and the arts—and highlight the broader social and cultural impact of the MEC’s financial support.

The MEC is administered by an 11-member board that includes representatives of the Comité au Canada, the University of Paris, the CIUP leadership, the Québec Government Office in Paris and the residents’ committee. This structure anchors the foundation in both the Canadian and French higher education ecosystems. Partnerships with external foundations such as the Fondation Baxter & Alma Ricard and with the CIUP allow the MEC to co-brand and co-manage certain bursary schemes, while keeping application calls, selection criteria and candidate information accessible directly from its official website.