Public Health

PhD program

Preparing for a PhD requires proactive planning, which may take several months before enrolment.

To undertake a PhD in Public Health, applicants must meet the following prerequisites:

• A sufficient academic background
• A clearly defined doctoral project
• An available thesis supervisor and a host research unit
• Secured funding

Prerequiste

Conditions for a Favorable Admission Review

Academic Background

You Applicants must hold a Master’s degree (Master 2) or an equivalent qualification in the chosen specialty. This is generally a Master’s program related to one of the specializations of the Doctoral School, although equivalencies may be considered.

Funding

Applicants must have secured funding for the duration of their doctoral studies. Funding may take the form of:

• A doctoral contract or a funded research contract
• A concurrent professional activity, provided that sufficient time is available to complete the doctoral work

Doctoral Project

• The doctoral project must be feasible within an expected duration of three full-time equivalent years.
• A doctoral thesis must correspond to the scientific output of three research articles, of which:
  • Two must be accepted or under review for publication in peer-reviewed international journals, with the doctoral candidate as first author, and
  • The content of the third article must be included in the dissertation manuscript.

If substantial methodological work is required prior to analysis, a dedicated chapter highlighting this contribution may also be counted.

Thesis Supervisor

Unless an exemption is granted, the thesis supervisor:

• Must be a member of one of the research teams accredited by the Doctoral School
• Must hold the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR)
• May supervise a maximum of three doctoral candidates (or the equivalent in cases of co-supervision), including yourself.

Defining a Doctoral Project

Preparing for Your First-Year Enrolment

Identifying a doctoral topic that motivates you, finding an available thesis supervisor, and securing funding within the required timeframe all demand proactive preparation several months before enrolling in the PhD program.

To begin this process, you may consult the list of host research teams accredited by the Doctoral School.

It is also possible to complete your PhD within another research team. In this case, please contact the Doctoral School beforehand to discuss your situation.

Specific Doctoral Arrangements

If you wish to gain research experience abroad during your PhD, or if your accepted doctoral project requires you to conduct part of your work in another country, an international co-

supervision agreement may be an option to explore with your thesis supervisor. If a substantial portion of your research will be carried out in another European country other than France, you may also consider pursuing a doctorate with the European label.

Alternatively, if you aim to move toward applied research (R&D) or to work in a non-academic sector, a PhD undertaken in partnership with industry under a CIFRE agreement may offer significant advantages.

All such specific doctoral pathways involve dedicated administrative procedures that must be anticipated in advance.

Funding Your PhD

To explore the various mechanisms and potential sources of doctoral funding, we recommend consulting the funding directory developed by ANDES.

You may also refer to the section “Finding Funding” for additional guidance.

Finding Funding

In accordance with current regulations, the École Doctorale de Santé Publique (EDSP) ensures that all admitted candidates have secured funding covering the entire duration of their PhD. Funding availability is therefore a key criterion in the selection process.

Doctoral funding generally takes two forms:

1. Dedicated PhD Funding

This includes doctoral contracts, research contracts, or industry partnerships under the CIFRE agreement. Applicants must monitor relevant calls for proposals well before applying for admission, and submit applications to various funding, with the support of their prospective thesis supervisor.

2. Concurrent Professional Activity

This may include a clinical appointment or a research engineer position within a laboratory. In such cases, sufficient time must be formally allocated to the doctoral project, and the employer must provide explicit approval.

Admission to the EDSP

Once all prerequisites have been met, applicants must follow the admission procedure described below. The detailed instructions are available in the following document:

There are two admission routes: the Competitive Track for doctoral contracts and the Application-based Track for all other funding types

Admission Procedure

1. Submission of the Project by the Thesis Supervisor in ADUM

2. The applicant submits their candidacy on the corresponding project in ADUM, attaching the doctoral project and all relevant funding documentation

2.1. For the Competitive Track, no additional documents are required. 2.2. For the Application-based Track, candidates must upload the supplementary funding form when applying with a concurrent professional activity.

3. The candidate and the thesis supervisor must verify the final consolidated PDF, as this is the file will be reviewed by the EDSP Admission Review Committee, or by the Jury for Doctoral Contract Awards. They must ensure that all materials required to understand and evaluate the project are included. If anything is missing, they should contact the EDSP before submission.

Once complete, the application will be examined by the Admission Review Committee of the EDSP, which meets regularly. Following this review, the EDSP will communicate its decision. If needed, further discussion or clarification with the school’s leadership may occur.

Enrolment and annual re-enrolment follow the same two-step process. First, the Doctoral School of Public Health (EDSP) reviews and validates the required documents. Once EDSP approval is granted, the administrative enrolment with the University can be completed.

Enrolment at the EDSP

Enrolment is only possible once the applicant has received formal admission approval from the Doctoral School.

It is possible to enrol in the PhD programme while maintaining a primary professional activity.

Annual Re-enrolment at the EDSP

Annual re-enrolment also takes place in two stages:

• Following the CSI meetings, the EDSP sends re-enrolment authorizations via email.
• Once this authorization is received, the re-enrolment procedure can be completed on the ADUM platform.

Finalizing re-enrolment requires the establishment and validation of the Individual Follow-Up Committee (CSI) by the EDSP leadership. (Guide in English)

Directory of Ongoing Doctoral Theses

Current PhD topics - Université Paris-Saclay 

Current PhD topics - Université Paris Est

Doctoral Training and Supervision

PhD research at the EDSP is reinforced by complementary training, designed to broaden and consolidate the doctoral experience.

Three Main Objectives

• Enhance scientific and technical skills directly related to the doctoral project
• Expand knowledge into other fields or disciplines to enrich general scientific culture
• Support career development and improve professional integration for graduates

Training Requirements

• Each doctoral candidate must acquire 20 training credits during the PhD (1 credit corresponds to 1 day of training)
• Credits must be distributed across four categories (see document below)

• Four Mandatory Trainings (Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity, Prevention of Gender-Based and Sexual Violence, Open Science, and Sustainable Development)

EDSP-Provided Training

Every year, the EDSP offers a selection of training courses that complement those provided by the host universities and additional courses identified by the doctoral candidates themselves.

List of training courses offered

Doctoral Supervision at the EDSP

Overview

Doctoral supervision is coordinated by the EDSP through its Pedagogical Committee, and includes several key milestones throughout the PhD:

• Welcome Meeting for New Doctoral Candidates (December)
• Individual Meeting between the candidate and the internal CSI mentor (from external CSI members and the thesis supervisor; January–March)
• Review of Re-enrolment Requests after CSI meetings (February–May) for the end of the 1st and 2nd years, and beyond if the thesis is extended
• Second-Year Doctoral Follow-Up Meeting (March–May)

Individual Follow-Up Committee (CSI)

Composition:

One internal member assigned by the EDSP leadership (internal mentor), and two external members from outside the EDSP and the host university, specialists in the discipline, with no link to the thesis supervisor, at least one of whom must hold the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) or equivalent

CSI Booklet Includes:

Review of research progress, Overview of doctoral training completed, Planned timeline for remaining thesis work, and Funding overview.

Meetings:

End of 1st year and 2nd year of the thesis before each new re-enrolment request.

Note: Completion of the CSI evaluation is required for authorization of re-enrolment.

The thesis defence process begins approximately six months before the scheduled defence date. The first step is to complete and submit the Defence Authorization Request to the EDSP leadership.

All stages of the defence process are described in the EDSP Defence Guide, available in both French and English:

Upcoming defences

https://adum.fr/as/ed/calendrier.pl?site=psedsp

Life After the PhD

There is strong demand for highly skilled specialists across all fields covered by the EDSP. Career opportunities are available in hospital services, national health agencies (e.g., InVS, Anses), and local authorities. Employment prospects for young PhD graduates from the EDSP are excellent: 86% of graduates are employed one year after completing their thesis, and 100% within three years.

edsp.medecine@universite-paris-saclay.fr

+33.(0)1.49.59.53.40

EDSP, hôpital du Kremlin Bicêtre, 82 rue du Général Leclerc – Secteur bleu Pierre Lasjaunias – Porte 89 94276 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre Cedex

Getting to the Doctoral School

Hôpital Kremlin Bicêtre, 82 rue du Général Leclerc – Secteur bleu Pierre Lasjaunias – Porte 89, 2ème étage, Bureau 205