“Mode concours” or competition mode

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Application process

Thesis projects are available on the UBL  website. Any candidate wishing to apply for one of these subjects can do so on the same platform: « Thèse en Bretagne Loire ».

Following the submission of applications on the platform, the ED EGAAL examines the administrative admissibility of the applications and assesses their eligibility on the basis of the eligibility score, that is calculated on the basis of the Master’s degree results or equivalence (M1 and M2), the candidate's motivations (letter) and his suitability for the thesis project. Below a minimum score, the application is not eligible (ED EGAAL will reject this application to the thesis project). Then, the list of candidates eligible for a thesis project is sent to the thesis department that selects only two candidates admitted for further auditions.

To calculate the eligibility score of an application for an ED EGAAL thesis offer, they use the Excel file, formatted and easy to use. You can download it here.

In the ED EGAAL competition, an individual may apply for several thesis projects submitted for a Doctoral Establishment Contract.

 

Organization of the audition test

The admission audition, conducted in French or English depending on the candidate, lasts 30 minutes and consists of two parts: the first part is a presentation of the candidate’s curriculum, his Master 2 internship, the research project chosen from the thesis offers proposed by ED EGAAL and his professional project; the second part is dedicated to the jury's questions. For students abroad, the audition can be conducted by videoconference (in French or English). The jury ranks the candidates according to their suitability for the thesis project, their research experience, the quality of the scientific approach they propose, the quality of their answers to the questions, their professional project and its coherence with the doctoral project.

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Admission

A candidate's final score is established according to a scale taking into account the eligibility score of the candidate's file (40% of the final score) and the candidate's relative ranking in the competition (60% of the final score). A ranking of candidates is established by ED EGAAL. The ranking of candidates for a thesis project is based on the scale of thesis funding: if the funding is targeted on a site, institution, unit or subject, the ranking of candidates is based on the scale of the site, institution, unit or subject respectively. On this basis, the ED EGAAL board validates the list of candidates selected for the award of the thesis subject(s) for which they have applied.

The candidate completes the admission procedure by administrative registration at his or her accredited institution of assignment. In the event of withdrawal before the registration procedure, the next candidate in the ranking established at the end of the competition will be called upon. If a thesis subject is not provided for, the funder will decide whether or not to redeploy the unallocated funding for all or part of it.

 

UBL website: recruit a doctoral student in ED EGAAL, the interview mode

 

“Mode entretien” or interview mode

 

Thesis projects concerned by this method of recruitment offer public or private funding obtained without a candidate through a call for proposals, contract or any other procedure.

For a thesis project concerned by this method of recruitment, eligible candidates are interviewed by a selection committee organized within the future doctoral student's host research unit. If the thesis project holder does not wish to organize the interviews by a selection committee, he/she can entrust the recruitment of the future PhD candidate to ED EGAAL by switching his/her thesis project to the annual ED competition (Competition Mode). To allow this payment of the thesis project into the competition, the thesis director must ensure that it is included in the annual competition calendar (May- end of June).

 

Application process

As for the "competition mode", thesis projects are available on the « Thèse en Bretagne Loire » platform.

Candidates for the thesis project directly contact the thesis department and submit an application file using a template that can be downloaded here.

Following the submission of applications on the platform, the thesis department examines the administrative admissibility of the applications and assesses their eligibility on the basis of the eligibility score (more information here) which is calculated on the basis of the results of the Master's degree or equivalent (M1 and M2), the candidate's motivations (letter) and his suitability for the thesis project. Below a minimum score, the application is not eligible (ED EGAAL will reject this application to the thesis project). The list of candidates eligible for a thesis project is sent to the thesis department, which selects only two candidates admitted for the audition.

To calculate the eligibility score of an application for an ED EGAAL thesis offer, use the Excel file, formatted and easy to use, downloadable here.

The thesis director distinguishes between eligible candidates who are selected for the interview (between 1 and 5 pre-selected candidates) and non-eligible candidates, giving reasons for the non-admissibility of the latter. On the proposal of the thesis department, the pre-selected candidates send their application file to ED EGAAL:

The ED EGAAL thus receives the file of the pre-selected eligible candidates and validates the list of candidates to be invited to the interview (the convocation of the candidates is the responsibility of the thesis holder).

 

Selection, interview, and admission

The candidates are interviewed by a selection committee. This committee includes at least the thesis direction, a representative of the ED EGAAL outside the unit, a scientist outside the team (in the sense of a team evaluated by HCERES) and a professional partner as soon as he is involved in the thesis funding.

The admission audition, conducted in French or English depending on the candidate, lasts 30 minutes and consists of two parts: the first part consists of a presentation by the candidate of his curriculum, his Master 2 internship, the research project chosen from the thesis offers proposed by ED EGAAL and his professional project. The second part is for the jury's questions. In the event of distance or inability to travel, the audition may be conducted by videoconference (in French or English). The selection committee ranks the candidates according to their adequacy to the thesis project, their research experience, the quality of the scientific approach they propose, the quality of their answers to the questions, their professional project and its coherence with the doctoral project.

The ranking of the candidates is transmitted by the thesis department to the ED EGAAL, accompanied by a report from the ED EGAAL representative. The successful candidate completes the admission procedure by administrative registration at his or her accredited institution of assignment. In the event of withdrawal before the registration procedure, the next candidate on the list is called upon.

 

“Thèse CIFRE” or a doctoral research in a business thinking

 

CIFRE stands for Industrial Agreement of Training through Research.

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CIFRE Convention

The CIFRE convention brings together three partners: a company, a doctoral student and a research laboratory that supervises the thesis.

The company recruits a 3-year permanent or fixed-term contract for a master's degree graduate, with a minimum annual salary of €23,484 (€1,957 per month), and entrusts him with the research work covered by his thesis. It receives an annual grant of €14,000 for three years from the National Association for Research and Technology (ANRT), which manages the CIFRE agreements on behalf of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

The company signs a collaboration contract with the laboratory specifying the conditions under which the research will be carried out and the ownership clauses for the results obtained by the doctoral student.

 

Terms and conditions of allocation

- The company must be established in France, regardless of size or sector of activity. Associations and local authorities are also eligible.

- The candidate must hold a master's degree and be enrolled in doctoral training, regardless of nationality or age.

- The research laboratory, where the doctoral work is carried out on an academic level, is attached to a doctoral school. It can be a foreign laboratory, within the framework of a cotutelle with a French institution.

 

Submission and file selection

Applications are submitted to the ANRT throughout the year. The investigation period is two months.

The files are selected by an evaluation and supervision committee based on the conclusions of two experts' reports:

- a technical and financial expertise assigned to the regional research and technology delegate of the company's region. This expertise takes into account the financial soundness of the company, its involvement in the research project, its ability to provide the candidate with professional training.

- a scientific expertise carried out by a specialist in the field who assesses the scientific quality and relevance of the proposed project and its adequacy with the doctoral training and the candidate's supervision.

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CIFRE and the research tax credit

Expenses generated by a CIFRE are eligible for the research tax credit (CIR), after deduction of the grant obtained. In the event of recruitment into a permanent contract in the company at the end of his thesis, the doctoral candidate may grant his employer the special status of a young doctor in the calculation of the CIR.

 

From the EGAAL Doctoral School

Unlike the competition and interview modes, there is very little involvement of the doctoral school in the recruitment process.

In the case of a request for financing of a CIFRE thesis from the ANRT (Agence Nationale de la Recherche et Technologie), the candidates are selected beforehand and in the ED EGAAL, this selection is the responsibility of the thesis project holder. However, if the candidate's selection is the responsibility of the thesis project holder, the ED EGAAL requires compliance with the following two rules:

- Putting candidates for the thesis offer in competition with each other- Compliance with the eligibility threshold of the ED EGAAL

This request ensures equal assessment and treatment of all ED EGAAL candidates.

In its letter attached to the CIFRE funding application file, the ED EGAAL will specify whether or not these instructions have been cautiously respected.

To obtain an engagement letter from ED EGAAL CIFRE scholarship, you can find the procedure if you click here.

 

More information on the CIFRE: on the ANRT website and/or on the Higher Education and Research website, and in the attached documents.

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PhD Labelling

 

Different Labels can be combine with the PhD diploma such as:

• Doctoral European Label, for more information see here

• International school of Research Agreenium (EIR-A) Label, for more information see here

 

Defended PhDs record

For students currently involved in a doctoral school and having access to it, you can have the record of all defended PhD in AMETHIS website.

 

For more information about PhD studies visit this website: https://ed-egaal.u-bretagneloire.fr/

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