New provisions have been put in place in accordance with the Decree of May 25, 2016 modifying several aspects related to the doctorate, in particular the composition of the thesis defense jury :
Composition of the jury (article 18 of themodified Order of May 25, 2016):
- The number of jury members is between four and eight.
- At least half are French or foreign personalities from outside the doctoral school and the doctoral student's enrolment institution, chosen for their scientific or professional competence in the field of research concerned, subject to the provisions relating to international thesis co-supervision.
- The composition of the jury must ensure a balanced representation of men and women.
- At least half the jury must be made up of professors or equivalent staff within the meaning of article 6 of decree no. 92-70 on the National Council of Universities and article 5 of decree no. 87-31 for health disciplines, or teachers of equivalent rank who do not come under the Ministry of Higher Education.
- The thesis director and any other person involved in supervising the thesis do not take part in the decision.
Rapporteurs (article 17 of the amended decree of May 25, 2016):
The doctoral student's work is examined beforehand by two rapporteurs appointed by the head of the establishment, who are qualified to direct research or belong to one of the categories[1] mentioned in 1° and 2° of article 16 of the present decree, on the proposal of the doctoral school director, after consultation with the thesis director.
Pre-support
In order to defend a thesis at Ecole Doctorale 372, a pre-tenure must have taken place before the application procedure for thesis defense is launched. This pre-confirmation must bring together at least the local members of the thesis jury and, at best, the prospective final jury, so that a critical and constructive opinion can be given on the thesis as a whole, possible proposals for modifications can be formulated, and a timetable can be defined to make the manuscript supportable.
Pre-submission form.
Dematerialized thesis defense procedure via ADUM
As of January 02, 2023, thesis defense requests will be made exclusively via the ADUM application.
Submission of the thesis defense request: 8 weeks at the latest before the defense date: Complete your defense request in your ADUM personal space (I would like to submit my defense request).
AMU Thesis model + instructions
WARNING: Deadlines for thesis defense requests will be adjusted due to the summer break
Due to the administrative closure of services from July 25 to August 23, no administrative processing of your thesis defense requests will be carried out during this period. Please make the necessary arrangements accordingly.
- Thesis defense request submitted in ADUM by May 29, 2026: Defense possible until July 24
- Thesis defense request submitted in ADUM from May 30 to July 14, 2026: Defense possible starting from September 8
IMPORTANT: Deadlines for thesis defense requests will be adjusted due to the 2026 Christmas holidays
- Submission until October 24, 2026
→ Defense possible until December 19, 2026
→ Administrative closure from December 19, 2026, to January 3, 2027
→ Defenses possible from January 4, 2027 - Submission between October 25 and November 30, 2026
→ Defense possible from January 25, 2027 - Submission from December 1, 2026 onward
→ Defense possible from March 1, 2027 - Between December 20, 2026, and January 3, 2027
→ No applications can be processed due to the administrative closure of services. - Submission from January 4, 2027 onward
→ Defense possible from March 1, 2027
Furthermore, for defenses scheduled between January 4 and January 25, 2027, the deadline for receiving the reviewers’ reports is exceptionally extended to 5 weeks (instead of 3).