Courses at the Doctoral School

The training of doctoral students is a complementary training to research work, it aims to prepare future doctors for research jobs in the public, private and service sectors.

With a minimum of 120 fixed hours spread over the entire duration of the thesis (there is no maximum), it is compulsory and is composed as follows: Like all doctoral students, EDMSTII doctoral students must complete hours of training during the three years of their doctorate to be authorized to defend their thesis. This training must be part of a global reflection throughout the thesis, according to the needs of each, and must be articulated around a professional project. The aim is to help doctoral students prepare for post-thesis and succeed in their professional integration, whether in the field of public or private research or in the industrial sector.
At the end of your thesis you must be able to justify at least 120 hours balanced between the 3 types of training:

disciplinary training (Scientific) : 40 hours
professional integration (Insertion Professionnelle) : 40 hours
cross-disciplinary training : 40 hours

It is also imperative to take training in research ethics or scientific integrity (ERIS), from the first year of the thesis (counted as cross-disciplinary training).

Typical examples :

disciplinary training : the specific mini-courses proposed by the doctoral school (advice : one every year), a participation to a summer or winter school in your speciality, possibly a course in Master-2.
professional integration : if you teach during your thesis, you can count this as part of the training provided you follow a training to teaching, if you are in CIFRE, it counts as professional training, international visit of significative length, participation to 'doctoriales', Forum emploi math, or. courses proposed by the College
cross-disciplinary program : the specific courses from other Doctoral School, sometimes some from our doctoral school provided they are sufficiently away from your own speciality, any course on research ethics in the catalogue, French as a foreign language, the many courses in the catalogue of the College

Most of the courses (in particular all the mini courses of the doctoral school) are free. For the participation in summer or winter schools, you may need funding to cover registration or registration. Please address your requests of financial support to your laboratory, which will transmit a global situation to the Doctoral School for its support.

Definition of training module

Training modules may be conventional classes (master's courses, language courses); summer school; tutorial at a conference; training seminar; participation in the "Doctoriales" conference; etc.

Training courses can be selected from the teachings of another graduate school, another university, a company, in France and abroad.

You can see in the following table most followed courses, their type and hours generally granted (table in French so far - ask your supervisor if you need help for translation) :
Training table (non-exhaustive list)

For counting training hours , The final say on validating credits is up to the Doctoral School, leaving a certain flexibility. Les formations ne sont validées que sur présentation d'un justificatif.
Hours will only be validated if proof of attendance is provided.
The Doctoral School has the last word on the award of hours and may take cases on their individual merits. Some courses may be counted as transversal or IP credits depending on the student's profile and/or his/her professional goals.

For IP credits, with exception to students being salaried, you must validate at leat 15h corresponding to courses useful to professional integration (as examples: doctoriales, marketing industriel, stage "Technique de Recherche d'Emplois" of DFI).
For students funded by a CIFRE contract, it is recommended to attend such courses but, if you had the opportunity to develop such an experience in the company (via training, workshops, etc.), this experience may be validated too (please send a synthesis of you experience before the end of the second year of your PhD).

Helpful hints

Taking training modules supplements your scientific training, opens your mind to other subjects and prepares your career. Think about it and make the most of training, rather than regarding it as a constraint.
Master's-type classes are generally more useful during the first year of a PhD course; summer schools offer specialized training and are consequently relevant throughout your course or subsequent career.
Don't wait till the second year before starting general and professional-integration (G and IP) training. You should pick up all the hours you need by the end of the second year, leaving the last year of the PhD free to focus on research and writing your thesis.
You are fully entitled to do more training than required by the school.

Scientific Courses

Validation of training

Published on January 4, 2021
Updated on April 9, 2025

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