Physics Doctoral School

It is possible to prepare a thesis at the Université Grenoble Alpes under joint supervision with a foreign university. To do this, a cotutelle agreement must be drawn up and signed between the two partner institutions.

In the case of a co-supervised thesis, the research work alternates between the two institutions. During the thesis and up until the defence :

•  the PhD student is registered at both institutions.
•  the PhD student pays tuition fees at only one institution.
•  the PhD student spends research periods alternately at the two institutions.
•  the PhD student is under the scientific supervision of a PhD supervisor at each institution.

   
Registering a cotutelle student takes longer than a conventional registration. It is therefore important to start this procedure early enough. The duration of the thesis must be specified in the cotutelle agreement. In some foreign universities (Canadian, German, Swedish, etc.), the thesis may be considerably longer than three years. This should be specified at the outset to avoid administrative (and funding) problems at the end of the thesis.

Once the thesis has been defended (once only), the PhD student obtains the PhD diploma from the Université Grenoble Alpes and from the co-tutoring partner institution.

Procedure :

• You will need to compile the application file for the Physics Doctoral School (see sections Applying with a French degree or Applying with a foreign degree).
• Draw up the cotutelle agreement by contacting the International Relations Department (cotutelle-international@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr).

These two formalities should be carried out in parallel. Ideally, the cotutelle agreement should be signed shortly before you register for your thesis.