Studying in FranceCampus France interview questions: what you are asked in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Background, choice of programmes, funding, career plan, after graduation: Campus France interview questions theme by theme, what the adviser is looking for, sample answers and the pitfalls of Maghreb applications.
Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas
Information checked on 6 October 2026.
Every winter, thousands of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian applicants attend the same appointment: around twenty minutes facing an adviser, at the end of their Études en France file (the online platform of Campus France, the French public agency for international students). Campus France interview questions appear on no official list, but they revolve around the same themes, and the adviser always looks for the same thing: a plan that holds together. This article goes through those themes one by one, explains what the assessor wants to hear behind each question, offers examples of well-built answers, then looks at the pitfalls that keep coming up in Maghreb applications: changes of field, gap years, scattered choices. For the general course of the interview, valid in every country, first read our article on the Campus France interview.
What Campus France says about the interview in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Each Campus France office runs its interviews its own way. Here is what the three Maghreb offices themselves publish for the current campaign.
| Country | What is official |
|---|---|
| Algeria | In-person interview; appointment to book from your account within 72 hours of your file being validated; interview deadline set at 15 March 2027, for both DAP and non-DAP |
| Morocco | Interview within 15 days of the Campus France message, in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fès or Tangier, or by videoconference from the Institut français in Agadir or Oujda; « un avis consultatif est donné » (an advisory opinion is given) |
| Tunisia | Lasts about 20 minutes; arrive half an hour early, any delay cancels the interview; answers transcribed and sent to the institutions and to the French Consulate General in Tunis |
DAP stands for demande d'admission préalable, the prior admission request for the first year of a licence (bachelor's). Two official statements sum up the stakes. Campus France Morocco recalls that each institution sets its own admission criteria and that only the receiving institution may accept or refuse a candidate. Campus France Tunisia states that the adviser transcribes the interview and sends it to the institutions and to the consulate. The interview neither admits nor rejects you, then, but what you say there follows you all the way to the visa. For each country's specifics, see our guides to Campus France Algeria, Campus France Morocco and Campus France Tunisia.
One last point, flagged by Campus France Morocco: on interview day, the adviser does not change your file, and your basket of programmes stays as you submitted it. Your answers must therefore defend choices already made.
Campus France interview questions, theme by theme
Campus France Tunisia announces the programme: you set out your motivation, your secondary, university or professional background and your study plan, showing its relevance and solidity in light of your studies and career ambitions. The questions below follow from those themes. The sample answers are illustrative: they show a structure, not a text to memorise, and do not come from real applicants.
1. Your background
- Introduce yourself in a few words.
- Why did you choose this field after secondary school?
- How do you explain these grades, this repeated year, this year without enrolment?
What the adviser is looking for: a logical thread, and your ability to talk about weak points without getting defensive.
> Example of a well-built answer (illustrative): « After a science baccalaureate, I took a licence in computer science. I passed my second year in the resit session: I was discovering programming and had to catch up in mathematics. In third year, my best marks came in web development, and that is what leads me to the master's I am applying for. »
2. Your study plan and choice of programmes
- Why this programme, and not a similar one?
- What does its syllabus contain? Which courses attract you?
- If several institutions accept you, which will you choose?
What they look for: proof that you have read the syllabuses. Naming two specific courses is worth more than three adjectives about the university's quality.
> Example (illustrative): « My three master's programmes are about data. I put Lyon first, because it includes a semester-long company project and a distributed databases course I did not have in my licence. The other two remain consistent, with less hands-on work. »
3. Why France, why this city
- Why not continue in your own country?
- What do you know about the city, housing, the cost of living?
What they look for: a reason linked to the programme, not to France in general. « France is a beautiful country » answers nothing.
> Example (illustrative): « My university does not offer this specialisation at master's level. For Lille, I compared a room in a university residence with a private studio, and my budget is based on the more expensive option, so I am not caught short. »
4. Funding
- Who will fund your studies, and how much per month?
- Do you know the amount required for the visa?
What they look for: an identified sponsor, an amount, evidence. The student visa threshold is 877.50 euros per month for applications filed since 1 August 2026; our article on how to prove your resources details the documents.
> Example (illustrative): « My father is my sponsor. He plans a monthly transfer of 900 euros, and his bank statements for the last six months are in my file. A student job would help, but I have not counted it in my budget. »
5. Your career plan
- Which job are you aiming for, and in which sector?
- How does this programme lead you there?
What they look for: a concrete path, from the degree to a first job. A job title is worth more than « working for a big company ».
6. After graduation, and going back home
- What will you do once you graduate?
- Are you thinking of going back?
What they look for: consistency, not an oath. No answer is imposed. What worries them is a post-degree plan unrelated to the programme, or a pitch focused on settling and working rather than on studying.
> Example (illustrative): « I first want two or three years of experience in data analysis, in France if the opportunity arises, then to work in this field in Morocco. I can name the companies that interest me there. »
Finally, your French gets no separate question: the adviser judges it throughout the interview, by how you understand a follow-up, rephrase and qualify an answer.
Campus France interview questions: the pitfalls of Maghreb applications
Some situations come up often in applications from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. None is disqualifying in itself; what counts against you is not having prepared it.
| Situation | What the adviser wonders | How to present it |
|---|---|---|
| Change of field (biology licence, management master's) | Thought-through plan or fallback? | The trigger, evidence (internship, certificate, project) and the link between the two fields |
| Gap year or interruption | What did you do with that time? | The facts, a document if possible (job, training, family reason), what you took from it |
| Repeated years | Will you keep up in France? | Acknowledge, explain in one sentence, show progress since |
| Scattered choices (law, IT, marketing) | Does the applicant know what they want? | Link them through a common job, or own a clear priority |
| Old degree, several years of work | Why go back now? | The precise need your experience revealed |
| French only just sufficient | Will they follow the classes? | Speak calmly, rephrase, never recite |
Scattered choices. In Morocco, the platform accepts up to 7 choices, according to Campus France Morocco. Filling all seven boxes with unrelated fields hurts the file: the adviser will ask which one really matters, and every answer weakens the others. Our article on the Campus France cover letter shows how to link several choices with one thread.
French level. Campus France Algeria requires at least B1 on the TCF (Test de connaissance du français) to follow the procedure, notes that most institutions ask for B2, and strongly recommends C1 in the humanities. The interview is held in French: it is an oral exam too, without the name.
Documents. In Tunisia, you show the originals, even in Arabic, of your transcripts and diplomas, with translations made only by a sworn translator on the office's list; without originals, the interview is cancelled. Campus France Morocco recalls that forged documents expose you to heavy sanctions.
Intermediaries. Campus France Morocco warns against private agencies, whose files are easy to recognise. A plan written by someone else gives itself away at the first follow-up, when you struggle to defend a sentence you did not write.
Preparing for the interview in ten days
If institutions' answers turn out negative in spring, our article Campus France refusal: what to do goes through the options.
Those who went through the same office as you
Official pages give the rule; those who sat the interview last year, in the same office as you, know how the wait goes, which documents the adviser looked at closely, which follow-ups came. On Compatri, a community brings together a country of origin and a city, « les Algériens de Lyon » or « les Marocains de Lille » for instance, and many of their members came through Études en France. You can join for free even before you have your visa, from the Algerian diaspora in France page or your own country's page. The « Étudiants africains » (African students) group also brings together students from several countries around grants, diploma equivalences and student housing. For the steps, read join your community before you leave.
Compatri is not a Campus France or French government service and does not coach for interviews: it does not replace the official source, which remains your Campus France office's website.
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
What questions are asked at the Campus France interview?
There is no official list, but the questions cover your background, your study plan and choice of programmes, your reasons for France and the city, your funding, your career plan and what comes after the degree. The adviser checks how consistent it all is and judges your French throughout.
How long is the Campus France interview in Tunisia?
Campus France Tunisia announces an interview of about 20 minutes. You must arrive half an hour early with the notice, ID and all originals together with their sworn translations; any delay leads to the interview being cancelled.
Until when can you take the Campus France Algeria interview for 2027?
For the 2027 intake, Campus France Algeria sets the interview deadline at 15 March 2027, for both DAP and non-DAP. File submission closes on 30 November 2026 for non-DAP and 15 December 2026 for the DAP. You book the appointment from your account once the file is validated.
Can the Campus France interview get my application rejected?
The interview does not decide admission: Campus France Morocco speaks of an advisory opinion, and only the receiving institution accepts or rejects a candidate. But that opinion and the record of your answers go to the institutions and, according to Campus France Tunisia, to the consulate. A muddled interview therefore weighs on both the answers and the visa.
How do you explain a gap year at the Campus France interview?
State the facts plainly, back them with a document where possible (employment contract, training certificate, family reason), then say what that period brought to your plan. A break explained in three sentences reassures more than silence or an awkward justification.