26 programmes and training pathways found from official sources. Confirm current availability, licensing, and operating privileges directly with each institution.
This summary describes the profiles indexed here; it is not a count of vacancies.
Read the individual participation terms: a broad clinical pathway label does not establish hands-on access.
10 focus areas are represented. Compare the curriculum and supervision within your intended subspecialty.
Cerebrovascular comparison guide →Functional & epilepsy comparison guide →General & multi-subspecialty comparison guide →Neuro-oncology comparison guide →Ask the selected host in France whether your qualifications fit this specific post, which patient-care activities are permitted, and who arranges registration and immigration documentation. Country coverage does not imply that every profile accepts international applicants.
International application checklist →Before committing, request the current cohort dates, supervisor, expected weekly activities and a breakdown of support and costs. Confirm whether the official source describes this programme, an institution-wide policy or an older intake.
Compare your shortlisted profiles →What international applicants should confirm before committing time or fees.
A French DU or DIU is an advanced university qualification, not automatically a hospital job or permission to operate. The directory labels clinical fellowships, diplomas and national DFMS/DFMSA placements separately.
DFMS is for eligible non-EU doctors still in specialty training; DFMSA is for doctors who have already completed specialty training. Both combine theory with supervised hospital placement and do not by themselves grant unrestricted French practice rights.
French B2 is required for DFMS/DFMSA unless formally exempted. Any independent medical practice requires the applicable authorisation and registration; university admission alone is not enough.
Before paying fees, confirm the current cohort, a host clinical post where required, salary or self-funding, visa route and whether the activity is observer-only or hands-on.
Official DFMS/DFMSA guidance →Clinical · Travelling fellowship · Research pathways are represented. Country-level licensing, language and visa requirements are not inferred; confirm them with the host and the current national or regional regulator.
International applicant guide →Recorded information is not a guarantee of funding, eligibility or a currently open intake.
Sorbonne Université Faculty of Health
Paris · France
Listed lead Florence Huguet, MD, PhD
Funding: Self- or employer-funded university diploma; this is not a salaried fellowship appointment.
Exposure: Intracranial stereotaxy, benign brain tumours, cerebral vascular malformations, brain metastases, spine SBRT, dosimetry and quality control.
Eligibility: Foreign doctors must be authorised to practise medicine in France.
Still to confirm: Deadline · Positions · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Insurance · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official Sorbonne Université programme page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild — Paediatric Epilepsy and Neurosurgery Unit
Paris · France
Funding: The official page does not publish funding details.
Exposure: Selection of candidates for surgery, sEEG electrode planning, epilepsy surgery in developmental and epileptic encephalopathies and tuberous sclerosis, insula exploration, imaging, intraoperative ECoG, RF thermocoagulation, parallel case workshops, and hands-on sEEG analysis (Natus), electrode planning (Brainlab) and thermolesion (Alcis) workshops.
Eligibility: Not specified on the official page.
Still to confirm: Eligibility · Deadline · Positions · Training level · International eligibility · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Insurance · Application documents · Application route · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official Hôpital Fondation Rothschild masterclass page. Reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Sorbonne Université Faculty of Health
Paris · France
Listed lead Nadya Pyatigorskaya; Damien Galanaud (current webpage teaching leads)
Funding: The required two-year placement must be paid full-time; university tuition remains payable each year.
Exposure: Advanced diagnostic, functional and interventional neuroradiology, including aneurysms, AVMs, stroke intervention and spinal procedures across 12 modules.
Eligibility: Qualified radiologists or radiology trainees and neurologists or neurosurgeons with at least four specialty semesters may apply; applicants need relevant neuroradiology experience and a full-time paid placement in an approved service.
Still to confirm: Current status · Deadline · Positions · International eligibility · Medical registration · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Insurance · Accommodation
Source: Official Sorbonne Université programme page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Université Paris-Saclay / CHU Bicêtre
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre · France
Listed lead Steven Knafo; Nozar Aghakhani; Fabrice Parker (university teaching leads)
Funding: Tuition is programme-specific and must be confirmed during registration.
Exposure: Multidisciplinary advanced education across diagnostic and medical-surgical management of spinal cord disorders.
Eligibility: Open to holders of a French or foreign diploma; applicants must be doctors or interns in neurosurgery, orthopedics, neurology, PM&R or radiology
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Positions · Training level · Medical registration · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Insurance · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official Université Paris-Saclay programme page. Reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Grenoble Alpes University Hospital
Grenoble · France
Listed lead Pr E. Gay (Chief of Neurosurgery)
Funding: Not clearly published on the directory page.
Exposure: Postgraduate neurosurgical training; the operative scope and level of participation must be confirmed directly.
Eligibility: Aimed at young neurosurgeons from African countries with basic surgical skills and fluency in French.
Still to confirm: Funding · Training exposure · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Training level · Medical registration · Examinations · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accreditation
Source: Official WFNS training-centre register. Reviewed 13 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
AP-HP Lariboisière Hospital / Université Paris Cité
Paris · France
Listed lead Sébastien Froelich, MD, PhD
Application status: The department describes two fellows per year and directs applicants to ask about future availability; no dated open vacancy is published.
Funding: Salary, fees and benefits are not published on the departmental fellowship page.
Exposure: Advanced skull-base clinical and laboratory training with Sébastien Froelich; multidisciplinary case review, twice-monthly resident/student teaching, and clinical or anatomical research. The research objective is at least two international publications by completion, not a guaranteed outcome.
Eligibility: The department documents previous fellows from Japan, Taiwan, Canada, South Korea and European countries. This demonstrates international participation, not unrestricted current eligibility: confirm the appointment, French authorisation, language and immigration conditions directly.
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · International eligibility · Examinations · Visa / work authorisation · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Accreditation
Source: Official Lariboisière neurosurgery clinical fellowship page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Aix-Marseille University Faculty of Medical Sciences
Marseille · France
Listed lead Pr Stéphane Fuentes; Pr Benjamin Blondel (teaching leads)
Funding: Tuition is applicant-specific and published through the continuing-education registration process.
Exposure: Multicentre education covering degenerative disease, tumours, infection, trauma, deformity, cervical pathology and complications across French partner universities.
Eligibility: Surgical specialty residents (general surgery DES; orthopaedics and trauma, paediatric surgery or neurosurgery DESC) and holders of equivalent diplomas; orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons holding the French state Doctor of Medicine degree or one from an EU country.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · Positions · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Accreditation
Source: Official Aix-Marseille University programme page. Reviewed 14 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
CHU de Nice (Nice University Hospital)
Nice · France
Funding: Depends on the practitioner's legal status, which determines the salary rate; published rates include salary, administrative fees and hospital fees.
Exposure: Mentorship-driven clinical training in a highly specialised department, with refinement of clinical skills and the possibility of involvement in research and teaching; neurosurgery is listed among the surgical specialties able to host fellows.
Eligibility: Designed for international physicians; the hospital reports hosting more than 10 physicians from GCC countries each year for five years.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Medical registration · Examinations · Visa / work authorisation · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official CHU de Nice fellowship programme brochure (2026). Reviewed 9 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon
Bron · France
Listed lead Federico Di Rocco — current HFME service head and ISPN-listed fellowship director
Application status: ISPN describes a clinical fellowship and observership; a current funded vacancy and intake dates still require confirmation with HFME.
Funding: The undated ISPN listing quotes FFI pay plus on-call payments; the current salary and employment terms are not confirmed.
Exposure: Paediatric brain and spinal tumours, hydrocephalus/endoscopy, craniosynostosis, malformations, trauma and epilepsy surgery. The current HFME service describes four weekly multidisciplinary meetings; historical ISPN bed/case counts are not treated as current.
Eligibility: Non-EU applicants must be able to meet requirements for a valid visa; neurosurgery qualification and occupational health check required
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Deadline · Positions · Participation level · Medical registration · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official ISPN international fellowships page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
AP-HP Lariboisière Hospital / Université Paris Cité
Paris · France
Listed lead Sébastien Froelich (named programme contact)
Funding: Funding and fees are not published.
Exposure: Neuroanatomy, surgical approaches, white-matter pathways and technology/VR research. Fellows can observe Froelich or Mandonnet according to their project and join departmental case meetings; consultations are optional. The stated goal is two international peer-reviewed papers, not a guaranteed outcome.
Eligibility: The department lists previous research fellows from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil and other countries. Acceptance is project-based; associated-researcher administrative processing takes approximately two to three months after acceptance. No nationality-wide guarantee or visa sponsorship is published.
Still to confirm: Eligibility · Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Training level · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official Lariboisière neurosurgery research fellowship page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Department of Neurosurgery, Strasbourg University
Strasbourg · France
Application status: Listed by the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section as accepting trainees; no current call, deadline or start date is stated on the page.
Funding: Not stated on the official page; confirm with the host.
Exposure: Observership offered (no fellowship listed), covering surgery and endovascular treatment (EVT) of cerebrovascular disease.
Eligibility: The hospital’s general observation pathway accepts doctors and medical students in France and abroad. Applicants from a non-EEC institution with an existing cooperation agreement apply through their institution’s administration. Others use the hospital’s standard steps.
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section — International Sites for U.S. Trainees & Faculty. Reviewed 11 Nov 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Besançon University Hospital (University of Burgundy and Franche-Comté)
Besançon · France
Application status: Listed by the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section as accepting trainees; no current call, deadline or start date is stated on the page.
Funding: Not stated on the official page; confirm with the host.
Exposure: Fellowship and observership offered, covering surgery and endovascular treatment (EVT) of cerebrovascular disease.
Eligibility: The Section lists this centre among international sites accepting US trainees and faculty.
Still to confirm: Eligibility · Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Training level · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section — International Sites for U.S. Trainees & Faculty. Reviewed 11 Nov 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
