The PhD Track: a support programme for doctoral studies
The PhD Track programme at Université Paris-Saclay provides students with a support programme, mentoring from a researcher or lecturer, funding during the two years of Master’s study and a three-year PhD contract carried out in one of the university’s laboratories. Programme laureates are selected following an application and an interview.
Who can apply?
1st year Master’s students (M1) at Université Paris-Saclay and second year students from the Engineering Schools, who are interested in research-based education, can apply to the PhD Track. The programme is open to all fields of study.
For the 2026 session, the programme will offer 10 scholarships: 4 in Sustainable Development and 6 without a specific topic.
Programme content
The PhD Track programme includes:
- Mentoring by a mentor from one of the university’s research units
- A support programme (PhD Master’s programme)
- A Master’s scholarship
- A PhD contract, subject to the favourable opinion from the relevant doctoral school
- A commitment from the student to be an ambassador for Université Paris-Saclay in their field of study
Please note: it is neither possible to take a gap year during the PhD Track programme, nor to combine scholarships from the programme with other excellence grants.
The programme is closely linked to the university’s Graduate Schools, which together aim to strengthen education via and for research. The PhD Master’s programme is designed to support Master students in developing their thesis project and their admission to doctoral studies.
Read the regulation document for the Phd Track:
Calendar for 2025 -2026
| Applications | From 5 January to March 2026 |
| Eligibilty | 23 March 2026 |
| Interviews | From 6 April to 10 April 2026 |
| Admission | 13 April 2026 |
Before applying: M1 students must contact their Graduate School. Other candidates must contact the Graduate School in charge of the expected M2 programme to which they wish to apply.
How to apply (until 5 March 2026 at 11am)
Before applying, please check that you have the following items:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Application file (maximum 3 pages, in a single PDF) including the following elements:
- your project and motivations
- your perspectives in terms of research themes and host research teams for an internship (M1/M2 level), and potentially for a doctoral project, within Université Paris-Saclay.
- Academic transcripts of L3 level and of the first semester of the current academic year (documents merged into a single PDF)
- Intended M2 programme(s) within Université Paris-Saclay
- Recommendation from your M1 supervisor or equivalent
You will also be asked to provide a short summary of your project.
The application can be completed in either English or French.