PhD – Admissions

PhD program admission

Admission to the doctoral program at Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE) is done through the ADUM platform by following the instructions described on the doctoral school’s website (be sure to consult the section on the Doctoral School Economic Sciences, Management & Demographics).

The first step when applying for a PhD at BSE is to identify a future PhD supervisor. To do this, we recommend that you contact researchers working on topics that interest you most and that would be relevant to your dissertation project. You can consult the list of BSE researchers on this website.

Next, you must identify a source of funding for your doctoral studies. Only candidates who have secured a source of funding can begin their PhD at BSE. The various sources of funding and the associated procedures are described below (this list is not exhaustive but covers the three main types of initial funding available). A doctoral scholarship consists of a monthly stipend for three years.

Regardless of the source of funding, a PhD at BSE generally offers the opportunity to collaborate with teams on concrete research projects, as well as opportunities for extended visiting research stays in other universities or organizations.

Funding and procedures

This section describes the main mechanisms for obtaining PhD funding. This list is not exhaustive. For additional information, please consult the Doctoral School’s website dedicated page.

MESRI grant

A PhD grant from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research is one of the sources of funding available for doctoral studies in France. Obtaining this grant follows a specific schedule and procedure, with doctoral studies beginning in September.

• During March: submission of a topic to the doctoral school on ADUM by a potential supervisor. The topic may be open to all candidates or “closed” to certain candidates. At this stage, no action is required on the part of the candidates, but they can check that their supervisor has submitted the topic agreed upon together.
• Early June: deadline for candidates to submit their applications on ADUM. At this stage, the required documents are listed on the doctoral school’s website. They typically include a research thesis, a transcript of grades, and a certificate of completion of the Master’s degree. Students enrolled in Master 2 must therefore defend their MA thesis before the submission date.
• During June: announcement of candidates invited to an interview (“eligibility”). Other documents to be provided include a fully written thesis proposal, according to the doctoral school’s Eligible candidates will receive an email in the following days indicating the deadline for submitting the full PhD dissertation proposal as well as the format of the interview (“audition”) and the dissertation proposal (typically the proposal should be 10 to 15 pages long).
• Early July: admission interviews. At the end of this day, candidates are ranked and find out whether they have been awarded a MESRI scholarship.

In addition to the basic monthly salary covered by the MESRI scholarship, doctoral students have the opportunity to teach (particularly tutorials) during their doctorate for 32 or 64 hours per year. To do so, they must submit a request for additional teaching duties (MCE) at the beginning of the year, indicating the desired number of hours. They must contact the Faculty of Economics and/or program directors to determine which courses they will be responsible for teaching.

Project-based scholarship

One possible source of PhD funding is to obtain a doctoral contract for a specific project. Such opportunities are offered by researchers who have obtained research funding, for example from the French National Research Agency (ANR), and who use this research project to cover a PhD grant. These scholarships are similar to MESRI scholarships in terms of working conditions and salary. The person recruited is generally required to work on a specific project for which funding has been obtained by a researcher. However, the subject may be relatively specific or, on the contrary, allow doctoral students a great deal of thematic freedom. Project funding is not centralized, but is sometimes advertised via sites such as LinkedIn or through the researcher network.

CIFRE and COFRA scholarships

Another type of doctoral funding is to obtain a CIFRE scholarship, in partnership with a private company, or a COFRA scholarship, in collaboration with a public institution. These grants require spending half of one’s time at the partner organization and the other half at BSE. They provide the opportunity to conduct applied research and access specific data. However, the requirements remain strictly identical for PhDs funded by a CIFRE or COFRA grant and for other types of funding. More generally, the rigor and content required in the evaluation of a dissertation do not depend on the type of funding.

Fourth and fifth year funding

PhD grants are available for three years. PhDs in economics often exceed this time frame. From the fourth year onwards, various sources of funding are available. Several BSE PhD students obtain a position as a temporary teaching and research assistant (ATER), which involves teaching a certain number of hours per year.

Joint supervision and mobility

It is possible to do a PhD at the University of Bordeaux under joint supervision, or with the co-supervision of a researcher from another university, in France or in another country. This page provides more information on this opportunity.

In addition, it is possible to undertake a research stay at another university, in particular thanks to mobility grants of varying duration. Depending on the PhD project, fieldwork opportunities are also possible. These projects should be discussed with your thesis supervisors before or during your doctoral studies.