Financing

The Contrat Doctoral, created by thedecree of 23/04/2009, is a real employment contract offered to doctoral students for a period of 3 years, enabling them to carry out either an annual service exclusively devoted to research activities linked to the preparation of the doctorate, or an annual service comprising five-sixths of the effective working time for activities linked to the doctorate and one-sixth of the working time for one of the following activities or a combination of these activities:

Teaching assignments

Complementary non-teaching assignments

• Dissemination of scientific and technical information
• Promoting the results of scientific and technical research
   

Preparing the candidate's file

To apply for a doctoral contract at ED 372, the future doctoral student must :

• inform their Master 2 thesis supervisor or prospective thesis supervisor of their interest in applying for a doctoral contract,
• compile an application file including
  • a completed application form
  • a curriculum vitae,
  • a letter of motivation,
  • transcripts of Master 1 and 2 grades,
  • the thesis proposal (5 pages) setting out the general problem, theoretical and empirical support, general hypotheses, outline of the methodology, expected results and bibliographical references.
    The thesis proposal must be accompanied by :
    • the approval of a researcher authorized to direct research, permanently attached to one of the research units belonging to the ED, and who will be designated as thesis director,
    • the favorable opinion of the director of the research laboratory hosting the future doctoral student.

Initially, a pre-selection of candidates is made within each research unit. Applications from outside the institution are accepted and follow the same selection procedure as that carried out by the research unit likely to host the future doctoral student.
Following approval by the research unit, successful candidates send their application by e-mail to the ED, which then invites them to audition before an ad hoc jury.

Audition procedure

When auditioning candidates, the oral presentation of the thesis project will not exceed 10 minutes. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the jury.

During their presentation, candidates are asked to highlight :

• the question analyzed in the thesis topic,
• the methodology used to answer it,
• the ability to bring the project to fruition.

The oral presentation should include a slide show (8 slides maximum):

• General presentation of the subject,
• Presentation of the implementation of the analysis,
• Presentation of short-term objectives (1st year of thesis), as well as broader directions to follow.

Applications for doctoral contracts 2025-2028 must be sent electronically to the ED ( cindy.albinski@univ-amu.fr ) by : 

• Thursday June 19, 2025 for economics
• Tuesday June 24 2025 for management sciences

Candidate auditions will be held :

• Thursday June 26, 2025 (all day) for economics,
• Tuesday July 1st, 2025 (all day) for management sciences.

Pour promouvoir l'interdisciplinarité au sein d'Aix-Marseille Université, un appel à projet de thèse "Inter-ED" a été mis en place depuis 2008 au titre duquel, pour l'année 2026, dix contrats doctoraux sont dédiés.

Critères d'éligibilité :

Direction :
Le projet de thèse doit être porté par :

• un.e directeur(trice) de thèse HDR ou équivalent
• un.e co-directeur(trice) de thèse HDR ou non-HDR

Ces deux encadrants doivent nécessairement être rattachés à deux écoles doctorales d'amU distinctes, et dans la mesure du possible à deux laboratoires distincts.
Au titre de cet appel à projets Inter-ED, les porteurs du projet de thèse, qu'ils soient directeur(trice) ou co-directeur(trice) ne peuvent émarger qu'à un seul projet.
Les porteurs du projet doivent informer impérativement leurs responsables d'équipes, directeurs d'unités et directeurs d'école doctorale (ED) de leur projet avant son dépôt.

Axes déterminants du Projet :
Le projet de thèse doit être interdisciplinaire et innovant.

Modalités de dépôt :

• Remplir la fiche de renseignement du projet
• Saisir et déposer le projet au plus tard le 10 mars 2026 minuit sur l'AMUform dédié : https://amuform.univ-amu.fr/titre-du-formulaire4581 

La fiche de renseignements du projet doit être dépôsée dans l'AMUForm sous format PDF, intitulée comme suit : 
InterEd_NomDuPorteur_EDXXX(ED principale)_EDXXX(ED partenaire).  
Ex. : InterED_BrunoMartin_ED355_ED67

Le calendrier et les informations concernant l'AAP Inter-ED 2026 sont disponibles sur le site web du Collège doctoral.

The doctoral disability contracts proposed by the Ministry are designed to encourage disabled students to continue their studies up to the highest level, to create a pool of PhD graduates to meet recruitment needs in both academia and business, and to encourage and support higher education establishments to implement the provisions arising from the laws of February 11, 2005 and July 22, 2013.

Emploi jeunes doctorants 2024

Région Sud offers a funding scheme for doctoral candidates, giving them access to a three-year job to complete their thesis. This scheme, which focuses on economic development and employment support, is strongly oriented towards projects carried out in conjunction with socio-economic partners and closely linked to strategic sectors.

Selection of projects under the Région Sud's "Emploi Jeunes doctorants" call for projects

Projects are selected in two phases.

First phase: application from a researcher on a thesis topic

Project leaders send the application file for their project to the Doctoral Training Department (DFD).

The Region selects applications according to the following criteria:

• Ranking established by Aix-Marseille Université's research commission, on the recommendation of the doctoral college council
• Regional interest of the project through integration into regional priority plans: Cancer Plan, Climate Plan, etc
• Involvement of the socio-economic partner and quality of the collaboration
• Potential for adding value to the project (business creation project, patentability, technological extensions or new processes/services, etc.)
• Project accreditation by a Competitiveness Cluster

Second phase: proposal of a candidate for the thesis topic selected by the Region

The selected project leaders send the DFD the dossier of the chosen candidate.
This file consists of :

• A commitment form,
• A CV
• A Master 2 certificate.
  The candidate must meet the following criteria:
• Be enrolled in a PACA region establishment for the preparation of his/her doctoral thesis,
• Be enrolled in the first year of a doctoral program at the start of the academic year following submission of their application, which has been deemed acceptable by the Region,
• Hold a Master 2 degree (or equivalent diploma / exemption procedure to be initiated in this case with the doctoral school) at the time of enrolment in the doctoral program,
• Be under thirty years of age on December 31, 2024.

For further information, please contact the doctoral school corresponding to your discipline and consult the corresponding IntrAMU page

Provisional timetable

• Monday February 19, 2024 at 12:00 pm: Deadline for sending applications to the DFD
• february 20, 2024 to February 23, 2024: DFD examines applications to determine admissibility, and EDs rank applications
• Monday March 11, 2024: Doctoral College Council: inter-ranking of applications
• Tuesday March 12, 2024: Deadline for DFD to send project applications to the Region
• Thursday April 4, 2024: Research Commission: examination of the opinion of the Doctoral College and proposal for ranking
• April 2024: List of selected projects sent by the Region
• Monday May 13, 2024: Deadline for DFD to send applicants' commitment forms to the Region

The Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE) enables a company to entrust a doctoral student with a research assignment, which will form the subject of his or her thesis. The duration of the CIFRE can be either a 36-month fixed-term contract or a permanent contract. The doctoral student will be able to finance his or her thesis and gain initial experience of the business world.

The Eiffel scholarship program is a tool developed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development to help French higher education establishments attract the best foreign students to degree programs.

It is designed to train future foreign decision-makers in the private and public sectors in priority fields of study, and to stimulate applications from students from emerging and industrialized countries for doctoral studies.

The Collège Doctoral (CD) coordinates calls for thesis proposals (AAP):  AMU-DGA (DGA partners club), AMU-CEA Cadarache, Partenariat International SHS, COFUND DOC2AMU program and Labex A*MIDEX.

Doctoral contracts Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA)

Aix-Marseille Université has been a member of the DGA Partners Club since May 2013. 
As such, AMU research units can benefit from thesis co-funding from the DGA.

AMU-CEA Cadarache call for co-funded thesis projects

The aim of this co-financing scheme, which is part of the framework agreement between AMU and CEA Cadarache, is to strengthen existing collaborations between the research teams/units of the two establishments, as well as to encourage new collaborations.

Call for DOC2AMU thesis projects

The DOC2AMU project, led by Aix-Marseille Université's doctoral college, is an innovative doctoral program based on the principles of interdisciplinarity, intersectorality and international openness. It is an H2020 COFUND MSCA project co-financed by the European Commission and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council, with financial support from the A*MIDEX foundation.
This project will enhance the profile of the Aix-Marseille site and raise AMU's profile in all Marie Curie programs.
It is also strongly anchored in the local area, and should help create new synergies locally.