France

All holders of a Masters degree (orDiplme d'Ingnieur) are eligible to apply for admission onto a doctoral degree, although each university is free to set its own criteria and make assessments on an individual basis. The national closing date for application in public universities for all candidates (this may be different in theGrandes Ecolesand other private institutions) is January 31st. You do not need to have completed your Masters degree at the point of application but if you do not have your Masters already, you will need to be studying for one at that point. To apply for a Ph.D. you will have to contact a doctoral school (or a supervisor if there is no doctoral school attached to the institution within which you want to do research) and submit a research proposal or explore the research project on offer. If you are applying for a defined project, then simply follow the application procedure. If you are submitting your own research proposal and you are from one of the 31 countries whereCampus Francehas offices, then you can use the centralised application facility. You just need create an account allowing you to submit an application to several institutions without having to start a new application form. If you are applying for your own project and your home country does not have a local Campus France office, then you are advised to contact your university and/or doctoral school of choice. The doctoral school will identify a supervisor and explore funding possibilities for the whole Ph.D. (whether it comes from the French institution or elsewhere). When you get an offer from the doctoral school, the supervisor and the Ph.D. researcher sign a document called the 'Charte des thses' (Thesis Charter) which is a moral contract between the Ph.D. researcher, the supervisor, director of doctoral school and the director of the research facility hosting the Ph.D. researcher. The Charter sets out the subject of the research project, the employment conditions which will support the research and the responsibilities of each party.