Selection criteria

The selection criteria depend in part on the type of contract.
♦ For Regional, Institutions, and mixed NR50 contracts, the selection is based on a fully open worldwide competition. Posting the offers is a mandatory prerequisite controlled by the DS. The DS delegates the candidate interviews to the project leaders. They must prepare a report of all their interviews, justifying the choice of the proposed candidate, which is then sent to the DS. A letter from the head of the laboratory is also required. Moreover, the candidates themselves must send to the DS a report of their interview with their potential future thesis supervisor. The DS checks that all the essential issues have been addressed and the absence of patent risks of misunderstanding. The DS also requires a minimum academic performance (a mark above 12/20 in the last year of study) and ranking in the top half of the cohort. The DS also requires letters of recommendation, particularly from the master’s internship supervisor (or equivalent). The application is completed with a CV and a covering letter from the applicant. Candidates are selected at the June Council meeting.
♦ For other contracts, the DS does not require posting, as the choice of candidate may be constrained by rules linked to the funder or co-funder. However, the DS does check the quality of the academic file and ensures that both parties (supervisor/doctoral student) have agreed on the specifics of the thesis project. The selection of these candidates is managed at the level of each site.