The historical mission of the French Academy in Rome is to be a residency for fellows (known as "pensionnaires"). Since the XVIIth century, it has hosted artists and scholars, in order to allow them to pursue their work, studies and research. The French Academy in Rome has hosted the greatest French artists and architects of the past: Fragonard, Ingres, Berlioz, Carpeaux, Bizet, Debussy, Garnier.

It is now internationally open to all fields of literary and artistic creation, history of art as well as works of art and monuments restoration.

The French Academy in Rome welcomes at Villa Medici every year in September a new class of fellows for a period of from 12 to 18 months. The selection competition is open to French-speaking artists and researchers of all nationalities, aged from 20 to 45 (at the time of their stay in Rome) who are selected for their projects and personal dossiers on the criterion of excellence.

Candidates can apply from all creative artistic disciplines (architecture, visual arts, musical composition, design, traditional crafts, screenplays, literature, photography, scenic design, stage/film direction and choreography) as well as history and theory of art and the restoration and preservation of artworks or monuments.