Glossary

Caisse d’allocations familiales. Organization responsible for paying family and social benefits.

A fixture of French social life. At any time of day, an individual or group can take a moment to relax at a café.

A card mailed to international students after they enroll in the French social security system. The card enables the physicians and pharmacists who serve the student to apply electronically for reimbursement of their charges. The card makes it unnecessary to send a paper request for reimbursement with the social security system. Electronic reimbursements are processed more quickly than paper ones.

Consult the 'Healthcare coverage for students and researchers'.

Security or damage deposit. At the beginning of a lease or rental contract, tenants leave a sum of money with the property owner to pay for any damage they may do to the property. At the end of the lease, if no damage has occurred, the deposit is returned to the tenants.

See more information on  'Financial support housing'.

A debit card with a magnetic strip and an embedded electronic chip that can be used to purchase goods and services or to withdraw cash from ATMs (using one’s 4-digit PIN, or personal identification number) and to make online payments. The card is not a credit card. Transactions are debited from the cardholder’s bank account. Weekly cash-withdrawal limits apply. The limit varies depending on whether one is withdrawing cash in France or abroad.

Plus d'information sur la page 'Opening a bank account in France'

European Health Insurance Card. Document enabling a European Union national to receive healthcare in a member state other than his or her own.

Conventions industrielles de formation par la recherche. Under this scheme, a company receives financial assistance to recruit a young doctoral student whose research, supervised by a public research laboratory, will lead to the presentation of a thesis.

Courses held in lecture halls with note-taking and morelimited interaction with the teacher.

Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Research organization whose researchers can work in university research units.

A shared rental or a roommate. In a shared rental, several people lease a rental property, each having the same rights and responsibilities.

Consult the 'Logement' page.

Component. All French universities are made up of components such as UFRs (unités de formation et de recherche, or academic departments), IUTs (instituts universitaires de technologie, university based institutes of technology), and various types of centers and institutes.
 

CERFA document drawn up and signed by the host organization for a non-EU researcher on contract, as a guest (employed by his/her home institution), or receiving a grant of over €1650 net per month. The hosting agreement is essential for obtaining a Passeport Talent - Chercheur visa or residence permit.

Carpooling. By sharing a car, two or more passengers can save on fuel, reduce the fatigue of driving, and cultivate new contacts.

Consult the page 'Get around in Strasbourg'
 

Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (primary health insurance fund). A government agency that processes claims for reimbursement of health-care costs for participants in the French social security system. New participants in the system are given the address of the CPAM office serving their area.

It is to that address that you will send your claims (feuilles de maladie) for reimbursement of health-care costs.

Consult the 'Healthcare coverage for students and researchers' page.

Convention de séjour de recherche. Document drawn up and signed by the host organization (university or research organization) for researchers, PhD students or post-doctoral fellows, funded by a research grant from a foreign institution or the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Contribution de vie étudiante et de campus. Contribution payable annually by all students enrolled in initial training.

More information: https://cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr