International joint thesis supervision

This arrangement allows doctoral students (French or foreign nationals), enrolled concurrently at a French higher education institution and at a foreign higher education institution, and alternating their research work between the two institutions, to simultaneously obtain a French doctorate and the equivalent foreign qualification after a single thesis defence.

The aim of international joint thesis supervision is:

•    to reinforce the international dimension of the doctoral schools;
•    to encourage the mobility of doctoral students; and
•    to develop scientific cooperation between French and foreign research teams.

Procedure: key steps

Step 1 | Prepare the application file

From the 1st year, in parallel to preparing the joint thesis supervision file, doctoral students must contact both the Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University Doctoral School where they are (or will be) studying and the partner university to find out how to enrol for their doctorate. Enrolment at Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University is a required condition for concluding the joint thesis supervision agreement.
Contact the Research Department general office to obtain full details of the conditions.
 

Step 2 | Read the following documents

(see downloadable documents)
  •  The French Decree of 25 May 2016 relating to international joint thesis supervision
  • The University of Lyon’s 2017 Doctoral Charter
  • List of documents to be submitted

Reminder of the documents required for a joint thesis supervision request:

1.    A presentation of the foreign university in French (2 pages maximum)
2.    The doctoral student’s signed motivation letter
3.    The doctoral student’s CV and photo
4.    The doctoral student’s thesis project
5.    Summary CVs for the two thesis supervisors
6.    An opinion confirming the scientific interest of the jointly supervised thesis signed by the two thesis supervisors, who both support and accept the joint supervision
 


Step 3 | Provide the name of an administrative contact person in charge of joint thesis supervision in the other establishment


Step 4 | Return the file by post or email to the Research Department


Step 5 | Team and the Director of the Doctoral School where the doctoral student is studying examine the file and give their opinion


Step 6 | File approved by Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University's Research Commission


Step 7 | The parties sign the approved agreement

Organisation: key steps

Key 1 | Enrolment

The enrolment must be renewed each year by the doctoral student at both institutions for the full duration of the thesis.
Enrolment fees will be paid in only one institution.
Please note that the fees exemption concerns tuition fees only, the doctoral student must provide proof of social security coverage in France at the time of enrolment.
In theory, the enrolment fees are paid to the university where the thesis defence will take place (unless otherwise agreed with the partner university).
 

Key 2 | Financial assistance

Doctoral students are invited to apply for scholarships from the Research Department (contact: Valérie Dutilleul).
 

Key 3 | Thesis defence

The thesis defence takes place in a single location.
The doctoral student must comply with the regulatory requirements for obtaining the doctoral degree (thesis defence procedure, pre-defence reports, etc.), and in particular the conditions required by the institution that is not hosting the thesis defence.
Once the doctoral student has successfully defended his or her thesis, each institution awards its own doctoral degree (unless the parties have specifically agreed to award a joint degree).