Apply to ED PHYS with a French 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.

The application file must be sent to the manager of the Physics Doctoral School by e-mail only (to the address ed-phys@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr), in the form of a single document in PDF format.

To apply for a PhD with a French degree, you must :

  • A thesis subject
  • A thesis supervisor who is Habilitated to Supervise Research (HDR) and attached to ED PHYS
  • A host research unit
  • Funding (>1200 €/month)
  • Hold a French degree conferring the grade of Master and preparing for research work

Once these conditions have been met, you must :

  • Create an account on the ADUM website
  • Complete your profile and print out your training agreement and doctoral charter (sign them and have them signed by your future thesis director and future host research unit director)
The internal rules of the Doctoral School of Physics require that the supervisory 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%. For the sake of simplicity, the distribution of supervision rates should be indicated as such on the ADUM site by the PhD students:

- Thesis director alone: 100%.
- Thesis director and co-director: 50% / 50%.
- Thesis director and co-supervisor: 75% / 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.


Please also enclose with your application :

  • A Curriculum Vitae
  • A presentation of your thesis project
  • Copies of all Master 1 and 2 transcripts
  • Your certificate of definitive successful completion of your most recent degree (Master 2 or engineering degree). A provisional certificate of successful completion, issued by your Master's supervisor for example, is not sufficient (the Master's or engineering school jury must already have met)
  • Proof of funding (formal letter or copy of acceptance email. No employment contract, which does not have to be signed prior to registration)
  • The anti-plagiarism charter signed by you

Send it to the generic address of the Doctoral School of Physics ( ed-phys@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr ), as a single document in PDF format.

Admission phase

If your application receives a favourable opinion after examination by the director of the Physics Doctoral School, your admission will 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 Physics Doctoral School will send you an e-mail to explain its decision.

Published on  September 10, 2024
Updated on December 9, 2025