Before you can enrol in a PhD in France, you must find a thesis supervisor and subject. What are the steps?
Find your program
To find out where to apply, check our Research portal.
It lists the Doctoral schools and has a number of Doctoral programmes, Masters and Post-Doctorate internships.
PhD application process
How to do a Doctorate in natural and technological sciences or in the social sciences and humanities
1) Apply for thesis subjects that have been published by French researchers.
You will find these subjects on the Campus France Research portal.
There are two types of subjects: those already funded by the host establishment (choose "Type: Contract"), and those for which you must have your own funding (choose "Type: Grant").
2) Contact the researcher or Doctoral School that published the subject.
You can also build your own research project by taking up contact with a researcher directly.
How to find a researcher to be a thesis supervisor?
It is best to start by targeting specific people rather than sending your research project proposal to every researcher in the related field. The theme of your research project should correspond to the specialty of the researcher. Don't send a proposal on a study of the history of Franco-Spanish relations to a historian specialised in the Far East!
After you've sent the proposal to the right person, you'll have to engage with the researcher in order to refine your thesis topic. To maximize your chances, you need to be flexible and ready to move away from your initial proposal.
And if you are able to obtain funding, it is important to mention this in your introductory message.
“Cotutelle” international joint PhD
This scheme promotes mobility of doctoral candidates while encouraging scientific cooperation between French and Australian research teams. Candidates conduct their research under the supervision and guidance of a PhD adviser from each of the two universities involved in the program, through the framework of cotutelle agreament between them. Working jointly, both advisers provide a full measure of supervision for the candidate.
Undertaking a cotutelle thesis requieres either applying for an existing one, or creating your own in the same way as a thesis (as above).