ADI - International doctoral "Cotutelle" funding programme 2025

The conditions of the project must comply with Université Paris-Saclay Doctoral Charter, the national regulatory framework and the internal regulations of the doctoral college and the doctoral school, as well as the regulations of the partner country and the internal regulations of its institution.

1. The project must be part of an international cotutelle of doctorate on full time
2. The foreign partner institution must be accredited to award the double doctoral degree and have given an explicit agreement in principle to the establishment of the international cotutelle of doctorate
3. The thesis supervisor at the foreign partner institution undertakes to co-supervise the thesis and supports the application and the project
4. The doctoral student’s host research unit in France must be part of Université Paris-Saclay (see the list of units) and the doctoral student must be admissible by one of the doctoral schools of Université Paris-Saclay, subject to obtaining funding from both institutions
5. The partner institution/country certifies its commitment to finance the doctorate under cotutelle, for a minimum duration of 12 months and in all cases, for the complementary duration to the number of months requested in the framework of this programme.
6. The duration of the stay at Université Paris-Saclay and the partner institution is a minimum of 12 months.

Step 1: Collection of subjects

The submission of thesis subjects on the ADUM platform will take place between 15 January 2025 and 23 February 2025 at the latest, by choosing the type of funding "Doctoral programme for international doctoral cotutelles", for the academic year 2025-2026.

• The subjects will be validated by the supervisors of the host research units and the doctoral schools before they are published on 28 February 2025.

Step 2: Publication of subjects

Only subjects that have been validated by the doctoral school and the research unit will be published.

Step 3: Submission of applications

The applications are submitted in two stages:

1. Students can apply from 28 February 2025 to 31 March 2025 via the ADUM platform for the subject of their choice.

2. The thesis directors will select one candidate per subject and submit an application for an international cotutelle via the cotutelle interface by 4th of April 2025 at the latest, enclosing :

•  A doctoral project, a CV and a letter of motivation from the candidate for the cotutelle project

•  A letter of financial commitment from the foreign institution for a minimum of 12 months (specify duration, net amount and type of funding), if the partner instituion is not University of Exeter

•  A letter of commitment from the foreign institution to set up the international doctoral cotutelle agreement, if the partner instituion is not University of Exeter

A compulsory information meeting will be held on 31st of March 2025, attended by thesis directors who have proposed a candidate under this programme.

 Step 4: Doctoral school eligibility

The doctoral schools will examine the candidates' applications and issue their opinions by 15 May 2025 at the latest.

• Only complete applications and eligible candidates will be considered by the programme's selection committee.

Step 5: Evaluation of projects by the Commission

Complete applications will be assessed by the committee on the 3rd week of June 2025, taking into account :

1.     The excellence of the application and doctoral project

2.     The conditions conducive to the success of the international cotutelle doctoral project

3.     The institutional interest of this international partnership

Step 6: Results of the committee meeting

The results are published one week after the committee meeting.
The international PhD Axis of Maison du doctorat communicates the results to the doctoral schools, the thesis directors and the laureates

Laureates' certificates will only be issued if the thesis suprvisor sends a certificate of definitive financial commitment from the foreign institution no later than one week after the results are published.

Step 1: Submission of applications

• Students start applying from 28 February 2025 until 31 March 2025 via the ADUM platform for the subject of their choice.

Students must create their candidate space and submit the documents required for their application to be examined by the thesis supervisor.

And,

• The thesis supervisors select one candidate per subject and submit an application for an international doctoral cotutelle via the cotutelle interface no later than 4th of April 2025, enclosing the following documents:

1.  A doctoral project, a CV and a letter of motivation from the candidate for the cotutelle project

2.  A letter of financial commitment from the foreign institution for a minimum of 12 months (specify duration, net amount and type of funding), if the partner instituion is not University of Exeter

3.  A letter of commitment from the foreign institution to set up the international doctoral cotutelle agreement, if the partner instituion is not University of Exeter

Step 2: Eligibility for doctoral studies by the doctoral schools

The doctoral schools examine the candidates' applications and give their opinions by 15 May 2025 at the latest.
 

Step: Evaluation of projects by the Commission

Completed applications will be assessed by the committee on 3rd week of June 2025, taking into account :

1.    The excellence of the application and doctoral project
2.    The  conditions conducive to the success of the international cotutelle doctoral project
3.    The institutional interest of this international partnership

 
Step 4: Results of the committee

The results are published one week after the committee meeting.
The international PhD Axis of Maison du doctorat communicates the results to the doctoral schools, the thesis supervisors and the laureates

Laureates' certificates will only be issued if the thesis supervisor sends a certificate of definitive financial commitment from the foreign institution no later than one week after the results are published.

The International Doctoral Actions (ADI) provided by IDEX Paris-Saclay are mainly intended to finance doctoral students.

IDEX Paris-Saclay

IDEX Paris-Saclay provides financial support for laureates who will be:

• Employees

Employees recruited on fixed-term contracts by Université Paris-Saclay. The duration of the contract will be equal to the number of  months of support granted, according to the periods of the research stay in France within the framework of this call for projects.

• Scholarship holders

Via the research stay agreement, Scholarship holders will receive a grant to supplement foreign funding which already covers the entire duration of the thesis in order to reach the minimum threshold required. This grant will be awarded as a supplement to other funding provided by another organisation and for which the amount initially planned is below the required threshold. The grant is awarded for the duration of the doctoral student's research stay in France. The cost of taking out work-related accident insurance during their stay in France will also be covered as part of the grant supplement.

Substantial co-financing is essential for a minimum period of 12 months from the foreign partner institution, a foreign government or a foreign company, organisation or institution, in particular to contribute to the doctoral student's funding.

PLEASE NOTE: The funding granted under this call for proposals does not provide for the possibility of obtaining an extension of the funding beyond the number of months granted.

Special cases

We would like to draw your attention to the possibility of submitting, in a coordinated manner, a couple of international doctoral cotutelle projects under this call for applications. In this case, one of the co-tutored doctoral students will receive 100% funding from IDEX Paris-Saclay and the other 100% from the foreign partner institution, provided that the partner's funding threshold complies with the regulations in force in France.

The calendar of 2025

• Subject submission portal opens: 15 January 2025
• Closing of the subject submission portal: 23 February 2025
• Applications open: 28 February 2025
• Closing date for applications: 31 March 2025
• Deadline for thesis supervisors to submit cotutelle applications: 4 April 2025
• Meeting with thesis supervisors: 31 March 2025
• Deadline for receipt of opinions from the doctoral schools: 15 May 2025
• Programme selection committee meeting: 3rd week of June 2025

International Welcoming

Université Paris-Saclay is committed to assisting the laureates in their efforts to:

• obtaining student accommodation on the university campus, or a room or flat off campus during their first year of the thesis
• informing them about the formalities for applying for a visa/residence permit and about the procedures for opening a bank account in France

Contacts

• For any question related to the Programme: adi.upsaclay@universite-paris-saclay.fr
• For any question related to the international reception (visa, accomodation...): international.welcomedesk@universite-paris-saclay.fr