University in France
Strasbourg, Grand Est, France
University profile
The Institut national du service public (INSP) is the French public operator for the recruitment, initial training and continuing training of senior civil servants and senior executives of the State. It was created on 1 January 2022 as the successor to the École nationale d'administration (ENA) and is organised by decree no. 2021-1556 of 1 December 2021. It is a public school of application rather than a conventional university: its students are civil-servant trainees admitted by competitive examination, international public managers and mid-career executives.
Its headquarters are in Strasbourg, in the Commanderie Saint-Jean in the Marais-Vert district, with a Paris branch at 2 avenue de l'Observatoire in the 6th arrondissement, beside the Luxembourg Garden. Strasbourg hosts the first common teaching phase of each cohort and the opening phase of the international cycles, while Paris hosts several continuing-education and master's activities.
The INSP has five missions: organising the entrance competitions (concours) and the preparatory classes that lead to them; providing the initial training of its trainee civil servants; offering continuing professional training, including degree-awarding and certified programmes; conducting and funding research on public action; and promoting the European and international influence of France, notably by training students from other countries. Governance rests on a board of directors, a pedagogical council, a scientific council and a finance committee.
Initial training lasts 24 months with five internships and missions and is built around a common core shared with the other schools of public service. The Voie Orient route admits applicants for the diplomatic career. The continuing-education catalogue includes long cycles such as the Cycle des hautes études de service public, the Cycle des hautes études européennes and the Cycle supérieur de perfectionnement des administrateurs de l'État, plus two masters and two Mastères Spécialisés accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles (CGE).
International students join the Cycle international long (for early-career public managers) or the Cycle international de perfectionnement (for experienced executives). Nearly 4,000 international executives from five continents have been trained at the school, and an alumni network for former international students is run with associations such as Servir. The INSP is an associate member of France Universités and a partner of Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL).
Training fees for the Cycle international long are 5,000 €. Living and placement costs are borne by the student and are estimated at 1,800 € per month. A French government grant may be requested from the French embassy, or sought from a national or international, public or private institution.
Students admitted to the Prépa Talents preparatory class receive financial aid of 5,000 €, which can be combined with the national means-tested higher-education grant, and accommodation in a university residence paid for by the INSP.
Each year the INSP funds a doctoral grant reserved for its former Cycle international long students. Details: doctoral and post-doctoral funding.
The programme fee is 10,900 €.
Browse the scholarships listed for Institut national du service public (INSP) and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Institut national du service public (INSP) →Open to young international public servants or academics who do not hold French nationality and are not acquiring it. Applicants need a master 1-level degree or equivalent, an excellent command of French (level C1, spoken and written), a good command of English, and resources allowing about 1,800 € per month for living costs in France (grants included). Selection runs through French embassies in several stages: online application, pre-selection on file, a written test (written expression 1 h, reflection and knowledge 1 h 30, specialisation test 1 h 30 in either International Relations or Comparative Administration and Public Management), an oral at the embassy, and a final selection committee with a waiting list. For the 2027 intake, online applications ran from 21 September to 20 November 2026, written tests 14-18 December 2026, orals 22 February to 12 March 2027, selection committee in early May 2027, confirmation of admitted candidates at the end of June and start of term at the end of August 2027. Contact: [email protected].
For experienced executives of foreign public administrations in positions of responsibility. The same nationality, master 1-level degree, French C1, English and 1,800 € monthly resource conditions apply. The cycle lasts 8 months, with an initial phase in Strasbourg, a three-month placement in a French administration and a phase in Paris with French trainees of the CSPAE. Applications for 2027 were open until 20 November 2026.
The external competition is open to French nationals or nationals of an EU or EEA state who hold a licence or another level 6 qualification (or a recognised equivalent). It consists of five written admissibility tests and three oral admission tests for admissible candidates. Other routes include the internal competition, the third competition, the external competition for doctors, the external 'Talents' competition for grant-holding students, and the Voie Orient competitions. The Prépa Talents preparatory class supports students who are eligible for a means-tested grant or who are job seekers.
Delivered with Université Paris Dauphine-PSL as a national master's degree (grade de master), entry at M2 level (bac+4), September to June, applications by file via MyCandidature with a CV and a covering letter.
Open to trainees in initial training, who register in an accredited doctoral school; the INSP funds doctoral contracts in French universities and one doctoral grant a year reserved for former Cycle international long students.
Trainees complete practical placements in prefectures, embassies, central and regional administrations and international bodies.
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