PhD enrolment and yearly re-enrolment
Entry requirements and criteria for the first year of the PhD programme
Under the responsibility of accredited institutions, doctoral schools implement an admissions policy based on explicit and publicly available criteria. Some of these criteria are set by national regulations. Doctoral schools provide applicants with information on entry requirements, the skills required, and so on.
Education and qualifications Opens a new window
To be enrolled in the first year of a PhD programme, (Opens a new window) unless an exemption has been granted by the head of the institution on the recommendation of the doctoral school council, the candidate must:
- hold a Master’s degree or another qualification conferring the rank of Master’s degree,
- have completed a course of study or gained professional experience demonstrating their suitability for research.
Research topic and laboratory Opens a new window
The (Opens a new window) topic of the doctoral project must enable the production, either individually or collectively, of original scientific work at an international level and take into account the requirements of national research and innovation policy.
In order to carry out their research on this topic, candidates must be affiliated with a research laboratory whose quality is recognised through a periodic national evaluation, and which is attached to a doctoral school.
Supervision Opens a new window
During their PhD, doctoral students must receive (Opens a new window) personalised academic supervision of the highest standard.
This requirement is reflected in criteria relating to:
- the affiliation of the PhD supervisor with the doctoral school,
- the availability of the PhD supervisor and, more generally, of the supervisory team,
- the PhD supervisor and, where applicable, other members of the supervisory team must hold either a qualification to supervise research or authorisation granted by the institution.
Requirements for the PhD programme
When a doctoral student first enrols on the programme and during annual re-enrolment, the director of the doctoral school verifies that the scientific, practical and financial conditions are in place to ensure the smooth progress of the doctoral student’s research and preparation for the doctoral degree.
This includes the proposed funding for the doctoral student and the research work, as well as the enrolment framework (initial training, lifelong learning, accreditation of prior learning), the time that can be devoted to preparing the PhD if it is undertaken on a part-time basis, and so on.
The training agreement and the PhD charter
The PhD charter
A doctoral charter sets out the other terms and conditions that apply to everyone within an accredited institution and a doctoral school, in particular regarding:
- the procedures for seeking mediation in the event of a dispute between a PhD candidate and their supervisor,
- the PhD candidate’s commitment to respond to any requests for information regarding their career path and professional development following completion of their PhD,
- compliance with the requirements of scientific integrity and the doctors’ oath taken at the defence.
This charter is signed by the relevant parties when the doctoral candidate first enrols on the PhD programme.
The training agreement
In accordance with this charter, a training agreement, signed by the PhD candidate, their supervisor, and the head of the host research laboratory and of the doctoral school, sets out the conditions for carrying out the research and preparing the PhD thesis, and in particular:
- the institution offering the PhD programme, the doctoral school and the host research unit,
- the name(s) of the supervisor(s), the head of the host research unit and the PhD candidate, as well as the rights and obligations of the parties involved,
- a commitment to uphold, throughout their research, the principles and requirements of scientific integrity,
- the subject of the PhD and the specialisation of the degree; where applicable, the PhD candidate’s funding arrangements, with mandatory details on a number of points such as the time devoted to preparing the PhD, the duration of the thesis, the doctoral candidate’s career plans and their individual training pathway in relation to these personal plans, the objectives for disseminating the research (dissemination, publication and confidentiality, intellectual property), etc.
The training agreement must take into account any other existing agreements (for example, a collaboration agreement in the case of a joint research project or an international thesis co-supervision agreement).
It may be amended whenever necessary, upon re-enrolment and by mutual agreement between the parties. The institution of enrolment is responsible for ensuring its implementation.
Duration of the PhD programme
Reference period
Where the PhD is undertaken on a full-time basis as part of initial training, the doctoral programme lasts three years (three consecutive academic years).
Possible changes to this reference period
Where a PhD is undertaken on a part-time basis and/or following professional experience, this period may be extended to six years. The duration of the PhD is determined at the time of initial enrolment, taking into account the time the PhD student can devote to their studies when undertaking the programme on a part-time basis, as well as the skills and research experience they have already acquired.
Extensions
Extensions may be granted beyond the period initially set for the preparation of the PhD.
Extensions available on request
Extensions to the duration of doctoral studies may be granted, upon request, by the head of the institution to doctoral students with a disability, or who have taken maternity, paternity, childcare or adoption leave, parental leave, sick leave lasting more than four consecutive months, or leave of at least two months following an accident at work.
Special extensions requiring prior approval
Finally, annual extensions may be granted on an exceptional basis by the head of the institution, on the recommendation of the supervisor and following consultation with the supervisory committee and the director of the doctoral school, upon receipt of a reasoned request from the doctoral student.
Please note that extending the duration of your doctoral programme does not automatically result in an extension of your doctoral funding. It is usually necessary to secure an extension of your funding first, before you can obtain an extension to the duration of your doctoral studies.
In the event of a gap year
In the event of a gap year or gap semester, the duration of the break is not taken into account when calculating the duration of the doctoral programme.
Enrolment in the first year of a PhD programme: a step-by-step guide
The applicant Step 1 of 6
- submits an application to enrol in a doctoral program
The PhD supervisor Step 2 of 6
- provides an assessment on the applicant and on the doctoral research proposal,
The director of the research laboratory Step 3 of 6
- provides an assessment of the project’s quality and the conditions for its implementation,
The director of the doctoral school Step 4 of 6
- Based on these recommendations and provided that all scientific, logistical, and financial conditions are met to ensure the successful completion of the doctoral project, the director of the doctoral school proposes to the university president that the applicant be admitted to the doctoral program,
The university president Step 5 of 6
- authorizes the applicant's enrolment in the doctoral programme
The applicant Step 6 of 6
- pays the doctoral program registration fee and the student and campus life contribution (CVEC), completes the registration process, and then receives their doctoral program registration certificate.
Yearly re-enrolment procedure
The PhD candidate Step 1 of 6
- is applying for the renewal of their enrolment.
- Please note: regardless of the date of initial enrolment on the PhD programme, PhD enrolment must be renewed at the start of each academic year (and finalised by 31 December of the current year).
The PhD supervisor Step 2 of 6
- gives their opinion on the doctoral candidate’s application to renew their enrolment.
The Individual Monitoring Committee Step 3 of 6
- gives their opinion on the doctoral candidate’s application to renew their enrolment.
- If the duration exceeds the period originally planned for the PhD (between 3 and 6 years), the individual supervision committee will also provide an opinion on the request to extend the duration of the PhD programme.
The director of the doctoral school, Step 4 of 6
- on the basis of these recommendations and provided that all the necessary scientific, practical and financial conditions are in place to ensure the smooth running of the doctoral project, proposes to the head of the institution that the PhD candidates be re-enrolled on the doctoral programme,
The head of the institution Step 5 of 6
- authorizes the PhD candidate's re-enrolment in the doctoral programme
The PhD candidate Step 6 of 6
- pays the doctoral program registration fee and the student and campus life contribution (CVEC), completes the registration process, and then receives their doctoral program registration certificate.
If non-renewal is being considered
If, at step 4 of the yearly re-enrolment procedure, it is decided not to renew the registration, the procedure continues, after step 4, with the following steps:
The director of the doctoral school, Step 5 of 7
- after consulting the supervisor, shall notify the doctoral student in writing, stating the reasons, that it is proposed not to renew their enrolment
The PhD candidate Step 6 of 7
- may request a further opinion on the renewal of their enrolment from the Research Committee of the Academic Council or the equivalent body within the accredited institution.
The head of the accredited institution, Step 7 of 7
- on the basis of these recommendations, takes the decision not to renew the student's status
- and notifies the PhD candidate of this decision.
In the event of a gap year
In the event of a gap year, the PhD candidate remains enrolled at the institution, which issues them with a student card and charges them reduced tuition fees. The same rate applies regardless of the length of the break (gap year, gap semester etc.)