What scholarships can I apply for to pursue a Master's in Aeronautical Engineering in the UK and France, and what are the application processes?

The process difference between these two countries matters more than the funding amount: one route you apply for directly, and the other you cannot apply for at all without your university doing it on your behalf.

UK Funding Routes

• Chevening Scholarships: fully funded, covering tuition, a living allowance and travel; requires Indian citizenship, an undergraduate degree, and normally at least 2,800 hours, about two years, of eligible work experience, plus an offer from an eligible UK master's course.
• Commonwealth Master's Scholarships: covers tuition, airfare and a living allowance for applicants who could not otherwise afford UK study, applied for through the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's nominating routes alongside a separate university application.
• University-specific awards: Imperial College London, University of Bristol and University of Southampton all run aerospace-related master's programmes with their own international funding schemes, applied for directly through the university.

France's Excellence Eiffel Scholarship

This is one of the main funding routes for Indian students in French aerospace engineering, covering a monthly stipend, international transport and insurance for master's-level engineering study, though tuition fees are generally not included in the Eiffel award itself. Critically, you cannot submit an Eiffel application yourself: you apply for admission to the master's programme first, and it is your admitting institution, for example ISAE-SUPAERO or another aerospace-focused grande ecole, that nominates you and submits the application to Campus France on your behalf.

A Practical Application Order

Because of the nomination requirement, apply to your French universities early enough that they can complete an Eiffel nomination on their own internal deadline, which is typically well ahead of the general admissions deadline. For the UK, prepare your Chevening essays and references in parallel with your university applications, since Chevening requires you to hold at least one university offer before it will progress your scholarship application.

This Information Is Also Available On

Chevening, official eligibility criteria; Campus France, France Excellence Eiffel Scholarship programme page.

My Advice

Apply to your French universities first if Eiffel matters to you, since missing their internal nomination deadline effectively removes you from consideration regardless of your profile. For the UK, do not wait for a Chevening decision before accepting a university offer, since Chevening explicitly requires a live offer as part of its own process, not the other way around.