Dauphine steps up its Support program for students in exile

Bruno Bouchard, President of Université Paris Dauphine - PSL, Vincent Montagne, President of the Dauphine Foundation and Matthieu Jeandel, President of Foundation Unlimited, signed a sponsorship agreement to fund annual scholarships for students in the university's Support program for students in exile, through which over 300 students from across the world have enrolled in the university since 2020.

The program was specially designed to help admit and integrate refugee or asylum seeker students wishing to pursue higher education in France. Once admitted, the aim is to support them throughout their studies at Dauphine and help them succeed.

The program is part of the university's ongoing commitment to students, reflecting its dynamic environmental and social responsibility strategy. Dauphine has received more than 200 applications for 2026, with 30 spots available in the bachelor's, master's and doctorate programs.

EXIL scholarships providing additional support to students in the program

Created by the Newrest group, Foundation Unlimited, with a mission to foster the fulfilment, development and protection of individuals, is supporting the Support program for students in exile at Université Paris Dauphine - PSL. Financial support is provided via sponsorship, through EXIL scholarships for social support that help these students complete their studies while managing their precarious circumstances. When these students arrive in France, particularly in the Paris region, they face family, administrative, financial, medical and emotional hardships. This support meets the goals of solidarity, social responsibility and protection of the individual, adhered to by the university, the Dauphine Foundation and Foundation Unlimited. The total sponsorship amount for the 2025-2026 academic year was more than €60,000.

The EXIL scholarship enables students to apply for support from Dauphine's allocation committee, which meets quarterly. The amounts allocated are paid monthly and may be as much as €600 a month. 32 students have already received financial aid through the EXIL scholarship, representing 39% of the students in the program. The vast majority of applications were successful.

An extraordinary commitment in the world of higher education in France, with over 300 students admitted to the Students in Exile program since 2020

Students are admitted as follows:

1. Through the DU Passerelle program for students whose French language skills are not yet sufficient to pursue higher education (around forty students per year). The DU Passerelle program culminates in a university diploma that certifies the level of French required to enter higher education in France. It's a program designed for students in exile wishing to begin or resume higher education in France and is part of the national Migrants dans l’Enseignement Supérieur (MEnS) network. Université Paris Dauphine - PSL offers two DU Passerelle programs: one at intermediate and one at advanced level. The average age of students - with international protected status, pending protected status or with student visas - is 24, and 77% of them are women. Students from the classes of 2025 and 2026 hail from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Palestine, Russie, Belarus, Georgia, Iran, Myanmar, China, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon. 43% of them have already earned a bachelor's degree and 10% have earned a master's degree in their country of origin.

2. Through the specific procedure for admission to the Bachelor's degree, Master's degree and Doctorate programs for those whose level in French is sufficient for them to enter higher education directly. Some thirty students enroll in the university's programs each year through this procedure, which allows them to manage the many complications arising from the application process, such as unfamiliarity of administrative departments or missing information. Students admitted via this procedure may already hold a DU Passerelle diploma, but applications are open to all students in exile, whether or not they are already established in France.

The number of students admitted to bachelor's, master's and doctorate programs is increasing sharply - from 34 in 2023 to 47 in 2025-2026. In 2025-2026, two thirds of students were admitted to bachelor's degree program and one third to master's degree programs (for the most part in Organizational Sciences). In 2025-2026, 72% were from Ukraine, 6% from Russia, 6% from Palestine, 4% from Syria and 4% from Afghanistan.

3. Lastly, through enhanced social and administrative support for all students throughout their studies. A project manager coordinates the program by regularly monitoring the academic and personal status of all students in DU Passerelle programs as well as bachelor's, master's and doctorate programs.

This support involves various services as well as program departments at Université Paris Dauphine - PSL and includes:

• Administrative support, with tailored assistance for formalities concerning residence, CROUS scholarships and opening a bank account;
• Housing assistance with preferential access to the housing reserved in Dauphine or CROUS residences;
• Healthcare support;
• Access to ad hoc or monthly financial aid through the Dauphine Foundation and now through Foundation Unlimited;
• Access to the Equal Opportunity program with tutoring, student coaching, mentoring and participation in a special week-long orientation program, including support courses;
• Access to consultations with psychologists specialized in exile-related issues.

The university devotes considerable human resources to the Students in Exile program

Its commitments are as follows:

• A full-time Exile program project manager, Rémi Enfon; 
• A teaching team comprising one manager and a team of 8 faculty; 
• Assistance from the Student Services department, from Dauphine Housing, from the Equal Opportunity program and from the healthcare department; 
• Coordination by the manager of the university's Environmental and Social Responsibility department, Guillemette Yver; 
• Involvement of Dauphine's Vice President for Environmental and Social Responsibility, Stéphanie Monjon, and support from Maxence Guilliomet-Duché, Director of the Office of the President; 
• Support from a Dauphine student organization, Fleur de Bitume, a humanitarian group that fights against marginalization.

All of these initiatives are also supported by the commitment of the Dauphine Foundation. The Dauphine Foundation, which has supported the university for 15 years in developing unique projects, including the Equal Opportunity program and the incubator, wishes to step up its support for the Support for students in exile program for the future. The Foundation helps develop the university's ambitions and contributes to its excellence through support from its individual and donors and patrons, with €55 million raised since it was founded.

According to Bruno Bouchard, President of Université Paris Dauphine–PSL: “Université Paris Dauphine PSL has been working diligently and consistently on behalf of students in exile, with more than sixty supported each year, by introducing systems to facilitate their access to higher education and boost their chances of success. The signing of this sponsorship agreement with Foundation Unlimited heralds a new and important phase since it will help further enhance the quality of the support offered by the university.

This program is supported by the entire Dauphine community, and fully reflects our values of engagement and inclusion. It is a considerable commitment in the world of higher education, in terms of duration, the number of students admitted and the human and financial resources deployed to secure our students' success."

Find out more about the Support program for students in exile