Student visa
How to structure your Campus France study plan (projet d'études)
Alongside the motivation letter, many Campus France files ask for a study plan, the projet d'études. Applicants often confuse the two. Here is what the study plan is for and how to structure it so it complements, rather than repeats, your letter.
By Mathieu Silva · 3 min read
Study plan vs motivation letter
The motivation letter is addressed to a specific programme and explains why you want to join it. The study plan is broader: it presents your academic and professional path as a whole, and shows how your studies in France fit into it.
A clear structure
- Your academic background: degrees, key subjects and results, in a logical sequence.
- Your professional experience, if any, and what it taught you.
- Your choice of programmes in France and how they connect to that path.
- Why France: the academic, linguistic or professional reasons, stated concretely.
- Your professional project after graduation, realistic and specific.
- Practical preparation: language level, funding and accommodation plans.
Coherence is the key word
Reviewers look for a logical thread from your past studies to the chosen programme and to your career goals. Gaps or changes of direction are fine if you explain them honestly. What weakens a file is a plan that could belong to anyone.
It prepares your interview too
Where an interview is part of your Campus France procedure, the conversation often follows the same themes. Writing a solid study plan is the best preparation; see our guide to the Campus France interview.
A template in six sections
The Student Visa Kit includes a study plan template in six structured sections, in formal French, with an English guide explaining what to write in each part.