Apply to ED PHYS with a foreign degree

Please note : You are not authorised to sign your doctoral contract with your host research unit until you have been accepted to the Doctoral School and have completed the full registration procedure at the Université Grenoble Alpes.

Calendar of Equivalence Commissions 


Candidates with a foreign degree must apply to the Doctoral College's Equivalence Commission for exemption from the French degree requirement. This Commission meets once a month. The application file must be sent to the manager of the Physics Doctoral School by e-mail only, in the form of a single document in PDF format, no later than ten days before the date of the Equivalence Commission meeting (Calendar above).

To apply for a doctorate with a foreign degree, you need :

  • A thesis subject
  • A thesis supervisor who is Habilitated to Supervise Research (HDR) and attached to the ED PHYS
  • A host research unit
  • Funding (>1200 €/month)
  • Hold a foreign qualification equivalent to a Master's degree (M2 or engineering school)
The internal regulations of the Physics Doctoral School require that the supervising team be limited to a maximum of two people, except for theses with CIFRE funding, for which a third supervisor from the industrial sector is accepted.

The thesis director must have a minimum supervision rate of 50%. Other thesis supervisors, whether co-directors or co-supervisors, must have a minimum rate of 25%.

Please note : the title of co-director is automatically awarded to an HDR researcher, regardless of his or her actual involvement in the supervision of the thesis. A non-HDR researcher will be designated as co-supervisor.

Once these conditions have been met, you must :

  • Create an account on the ADUM website
  • Draw up your training agreement and your thesis charter (sign them and have them signed by your future thesis director and future host research unit director)

Please also attach to your application file :

  • A Curriculum Vitae
  • A presentation of your thesis project
  • Copies of your Bachelor's, Master's 1 and 2 transcripts
  • Your definitive certificates of successful completion of your Bachelor's and Master's 2 degrees (or engineering school diploma) : 
  • Proof of funding (formal letter or copy of acceptance email. No employment contract, as this does not have to be signed prior to registration)
  • The signed anti-plagiarism charter
  •  A copy of your research/work placement/engineering school dissertation (even if confidential)
  •  A copy of previously published articles (optional)

Send it to the generic address of the Physics Doctoral School ( ed-phys@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr ), in the form of a single document, in PDF format. Download this checklist in French/English to ensure that your file is complete.  

Admission phase

Your application will first be examined by the director of the Physics Doctoral School, then forwarded to the Doctoral College's Equivalence Commission.
If your application is approved by the Commission, you will receive an e-mail from the Physics Doctoral School a few days later. Your admission will then be validated on ADUM by the Doctoral School manager. An Autorisation d'Inscription Administrative (AIA) will then be sent directly to the STS Registrar's Office. You will then be contacted by e-mail by the registration centre for your administrative registration at the Université Grenoble Alpes.

If your application is rejected, the Equivalence Commission will contact you to explain its decision.
Published on  September 10, 2024
Updated on January 7, 2026