Becoming a thesis supervisor: authorisation to supervise research/a thesis

Dernière mise à jour : le 23/04/2024

The "Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches" (Accreditation to supervise research, HDR) and the "Autorisation à Diriger une Thèse" (Authorisation to supervise a thesis, ADT) both allow the holder to supervise or co-supervise a thesis. The HDR also allows the holder to apply to become a university professor.

accreditation to supervise research - HDR

The accreditation to supervise research (HDR) is governed by the Decree of 23 November 1988.

Applying for an HDR

Applications may be submitted to only one institution during the same academic year. Applicants who have already applied for this certification with another institution must disclose this fact (art 3 - Decree of 23 November 1988).

At the University of Bordeaux, people applying for an HDR or an ADT must attend a training course on supervising PhD students organised by the Graduate Research School.

Application process

The doctoral school in charge of the academic field will first carry out a pre-assessment.

Applicants must get in touch with the relevant doctoral school to submit their application with the following documents:

A detailed CV;
Copies of their diplomas;
A list of their publications or portfolio;
A summary of their scientific activity (number of pages according to the specificities of the doctoral school).

Applications are assessed by a reviewer chosen by the doctoral school.

The doctoral school committee then issues an opinion before sending the applications to the Graduate Research School.

Compulsory training course

Applicants who received a favourable opinion will be contacted directly to enroll for the training course on supervising PhD students.

Authorisation from the Academic Council

Only applicants who have completed the training will be presented to the Academic Council (restricted formation) for authorisation.

The University Academic Council meets 3 times per academic year (December, March and June).

After each session, the Graduate Research School informs applicants of the Council's decision.

Applicants then have 2 years to defend their HDR. If an applicant does not defend their HDR within this time, they must submit a new authorisation request to their doctoral school.

IMPORTANT: authorisation to register for the HDR shall be deemed to constitute the attribution of the ADT (whose requirements are lesser) - if the latter has not already been awarded to the applicant - and therefore makes it possible for them to begin supervising a PhD student.

Defending your HDR

It is possible to arrange a full or partial HDR defense through video conference under certain conditions.

IMPORTANT: A defense must be declared at least 8 weeks before the defense date. This deadline must take into account the periods when the university is closed:

4 weeks in August
2 weeks in December

1) Declaring your jury: no later than 8 weeks before the defense

You must fill out the defense declaration form with a proposal of the jury composition (in accordance with the rules set out in the Decree of 23 November 1988).
You must choose a speciality offered by the University of Bordeaux and by the doctoral school to which you belong.
This proposal (also signed by the referee if applicable) must be sent to thesehdr@u-bordeaux.fr in order to be assessed by the jury.

2) After the jury has been approved: 6 weeks before the defense

You will receive an e-mail confirming the admissibility of your jury.

The administrative officer in charge of your defense will contact you to arrange your defense and enrollment. They will be responsible for sending the official request for pre-defense reports to the reviewers.

However, it is your responsibility to send your HDR thesis to the reviewers and members of the jury no later than 6 weeks before the defense date.

3) Pre-defense reports: 2 weeks before the defense

The reports must be sent to your defense officer 14 days before the defense date.

They will be sent to you and to each jury member.

At this stage, you must be enrolled in the HDR and you must have provided the latest information concerning the defense.

The defense authorisation will be signed by the President of the University of Bordeaux once favourable reviews have been received.

Your defense officer will send the defense documents to you and your referee (if applicable). The file must be printed for the day of the defense.

4) The HDR diploma: after the defense

Returning the defense documents

The referee (or the president of the jury) must return all of the original defense documents signed by all the members of the jury within a maximum of 15 days to your defense officer.

Once they have been received, a certificate of achievement will be sent to you, pending the issuance of your diploma (issued twice a year).

Collecting your diploma

In person:

WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT ON MONDAYS, TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS, IN THE MORNING ONLY

Before coming, we recommend that you contact the Admissions Office (inscriptiondoctorat@u-bordeaux.fr) to make sure that the office will be open and your diploma will be available.

Admissions Office - Building A33 - Talence campus - Ground floor – Office 65

Your diploma will be given to you on presentation of a valid proof of ID: national identity card, passport or driving licence.

By a third party:

If you are unable to collect your diploma yourself, it can be collected by someone else.

WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT ON MONDAYS, TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS, IN THE MORNING ONLY

Before coming, we recommend that you contact the Admissions Office (inscriptiondoctorat@u-bordeaux.fr) to make sure that the office will be open and your diploma will be available.

Admissions Office - Building A33 - Talence campus - Ground floor – Office 65

Your diploma will be given to them on presentation of:

- a completed and signed proxy form (download a template)

- the third party’s valid proof of identity

- a photocopy of your valid proof of identity

By post:

By sending a request (download the request) to the Admissions Office, to the administrative officer in charge of your thesis defense.

For postage in France or Europe: provide an A4 envelope, cardboard backed if possible (to protect the diploma), together with a coupon for registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt, stamped at the “up to 50 grams” rate, both including your name and address.

For postage OUTSIDE Europe: provide a cardboard-backed A4 envelope, together with a coupon for registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt, stamped at the “up to 50 grams” rate. Both should include the address and contact details of the French Embassy or Consulate closest to your place of residence.

autHorisation to supervise a thesis - ADT

As the status of supervisor is not recognised by the Decree of 25 May 2016, the ADT was introduced to recognise the work of a supervisor or co-supervisor in its own right, in accordance with the procedures established at the University of Bordeaux.

It may be issued to a researcher or a university lecturer-researcher who does not have the HDR so that they can supervise or co-supervise a PhD before obtaining their diploma.

Applications must be sent to the doctoral school in charge of the academic field and they are assessed in the same way as the HDR.

Doctoral School of Economic Sciences, Management & Demographics

Apply for the Authorisation to supervise a thesis (ADT)

Requirements : Applicants must hold a doctoral degree. Within the doctoral school, the Authorization to Supervise a Thesis is granted solely for effective thesis supervision, not for a thesis project. The Authorization to Supervise a Thesis must lead to obtaining the Accreditation to Supervise Research (degree).

Documents to be submitted:

Detailed CV including:
- Personal information
- Academic background (including dates, place of attainment, and thesis title)
- Research topic(s)
- Potential research contracts obtained
- Effective supervision of Master 1 and Master 2 students
- List of publications
Letter of motivation justifying one's expertise in relation to the thesis topic
Letter of agreement from the co-supervisor of the thesis
Doctoral degree certificate

Apply for the Accreditation to supervise research (HDR)
Requirements : Applicants must hold a doctoral degree. The doctoral school has established three criteria for evaluating applications.

Documents to be submitted:

Detailed CV
Doctoral degree certificate
List of publications or portfolio of works
Comprehensive summary of scientific activities, providing arguments based on the three criteria defined by the doctoral school (minimum of 5 pages, including publications, supervision of young researchers, and research leadership)
Signed agreement letter from the research unit's leadership (no specific template required)
For candidates external to the University of Bordeaux, a letter briefly outlining your connections with the research unit at the University of Bordeaux where you intend to pursue your Accreditation to Supervise Research.

Application files must be submitted to the doctoral school via email on the specified dates.

Calendar:
The doctoral school's council reviews Accreditation and Authorisation applications three times during the academic year.

Next session:
Application files must be submitted for consideration no later than 12:00 PM on April 4, 2024.

Doctoral school council meeting : April 30, 2024
training course on supervising PhD students : May 27 to May 30, 2024
Academic Council : June 18, 2024

Doctoral School of Society, Politics and Public Health

ADT application

The application must include :

The scientific activity summary form (Word format to be kept). This form should highlight the candidate's scientific activity and experience in leading research. There are sections for teaching activities and collective and cross-disciplinary activities. All these sections should be detailed in the candidate's CV. :
A detailed Curriculum Vitae (Pdf format) ;
A copy of the diploma giving access to the HDR (doctorate) in Pdf format;
A list of publications (to be referenced in accordance with the recommendations of the candidate's CNU section) in Pdf format; Coding of publications and scientific productions.
A letter of motivation addressed to the President of the University of Bordeaux (Pdf format);
Optional: A cover letter from an internal referee (professor or research director) at the University of Bordeaux, giving a reasoned opinion on the quality of the application, 2 or 3 pages in length, in Pdf format. The referee cannot be the candidate's thesis supervisor.

The 6 documents must be numbered in this order of presentation. Any other document will be rejected.

An electronic version of the application must be sent to edsp2@u-bordeaux.fr.

EDSP2 will appoint an internal or external rapporteur.

The application (and the rapporteur's report) will be presented to the Board of the Doctoral School of Societies, Politics and Public Health for its opinion and, if favourable, will be forwarded to the Graduate Resarch school, which will submit it to the Academic Council of the University of Bordeaux.

HDR application

The application must include :

The scientific activity summary form (Word format to be kept) summarising the candidate's titles, course of study and main publications (at least 10 main publications). This form should highlight the candidate's scientific activity and experience in leading research. There are sections for teaching activities and collective and cross-disciplinary activities. All of these sections should be detailed in the candidate's CV.
A detailed Curriculum Vitae (Pdf format) ;
A copy of the diploma giving access to the HDR (doctorate) in Pdf format;
A list of publications (to be referenced in accordance with the recommendations of the candidate's CNU section) in Pdf format; Codification of publications and scientific output.
A letter of motivation addressed to the President of the University of Bordeaux (Pdf format);
Optional: A covering letter from an internal referee (professor or research director) at the Université de Bordeaux, giving a reasoned opinion on the quality of the application, 2 or 3 pages in length, in Pdf format. The referee cannot be the candidate's thesis supervisor.

The 6 pieces must be numbered in this order of presentation. Any other document will be rejected.

The application must be sent in electronic form (Pdf format) to edsp2@u-bordeaux.fr.

The Doctoral School of Societies, Politics and Public Health will appoint an internal or external rapporteur.

The application (and the rapporteur's report) will be presented to the Board of the doctoral school for its opinion and, if favourable, will be forwarded to the Graduate Research school, which will submit it to the Academic Council of the University of Bordeaux.

Calendar for 2023/2024

Applications must be submitted to the Doctoral School of Societies, Politics and Public Health at least 2 months before the date of the Board meeting.

Process :

    The doctoral school has the ADT and HDR applications assessed. The reports are attached to the candidates' files and the Board of the doctoral school issues an opinion on each application. The doctoral school informs applicants of its opinions by e-mail.
    Applications (files and reports) that have received a favourable opinion from the Doctoral School Board are forwarded to the Graduate Research school.
    The Graduate Research school makes the candidates' files available to the members of the Academic Council at least 2 weeks before they meet. The Graduate Research school informs the candidates of the results.

To find out the schedule of forthcoming sessions of the Board meetings of the Doctoral School of Societies, Politics and Public Health and of the coming meetings of the Academic Council, please contact the administrators: edsp2@u-bordeaux.fr

CONTACTS

Nathalie AUGOYARD

Head of admissions

+33 (0)5 40 00 38 97

thesehdr%40u-bordeaux.fr