Physics Doctoral School

Having the financial means to live in good conditions is essential to the success of your thesis. Numerous funding schemes exist. For the Physics Doctoral School, the main sources of funding for doctoral students are :

• Doctoral Contracts (formerly Allocations du Ministère de la Recherche)
• CIFRE agreements involving a company
• Funding from research organizations (CNRS, CEA)
• Funding for foreigners
• Funding from lab research contracts (via ANR)
• Other (Region, Europe, etc.)

CIFRE agreements

CIFRE agreements involve three partners in a research project leading to a doctorate: a company, a laboratory and the doctoral student.
The research topic is usually of an applied nature.

The company must be incorporated under French law. In most cases, it is the company that handles the application. During the thesis, the company employs the doctoral student on a 3-year fixed-term contract or a permanent contract. The company receives a grant from the Ministry of Research, managed by the ANRT. In 2025, the minimum salary will be €26,400 gross per annum.

The laboratory may be at a university, school or public research organization.
The CIFRE agreement can be set up at any time during the year.

To find out more about CIFRE: http://www.anrt.asso.fr/

Other sources of funding

For the many other possible sources of funding, the Dotoral School of Physics refers you to the following websites :

• CEA PhD contracts : https://www.theses-postdocs.cea.fr/job/list-of-all-jobs.aspx?LCID=2057
• CNRS PhD contracts : https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Bassins/Alpes/Offres.aspx
• Institut Laue Langevin funding : https://www.ill.eu/careers/all-our-vacancies/phd-recruitment/open-phd-positions
• ESRF funding :
  https://www.esrf.fr/Jobs/Conditions/PhDStudents
• The QuanG2 (Quantum Grenoble) program regularly offers funded doctoral contracts in quantum science and technology : https://phdquantumgrenoble.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/
• The ANDES guide (Association Nationale des Docteurs es Sciences) is the most comprehensive source of information on all types of thesis and post-doctoral grants : http://www.andes.asso.fr.