PhD

The individual thesis committee (comité de suivi individuel, CSI) is a permanent advisory body throughout the duration of the thesis, meant to ensure the smooth running of the doctoral student’s research as well as their well-being (art.17, decree of 25 May 2016). The CSI is mandatory to re-register each year.

Important points:

• Composition: the CSI must be assembled in the 6 months after the start of the thesis, must consist of at least 2 members (excluding the thesis advisor; including at least one member with a HDR, and one exterior to the research team), and is completed on ADUM.
• Preparation: the committee is normally convened between June and September. About 15 days before, you must provide the committee with a report summarising the progress of your work (a help sheet is available from the doctoral school).
• Committee proceedings: presentation of the progress of the thesis and discussion of the results. Interview between the committee members and the doctoral student ( without their thesis advisor) to discuss the student’s well-being and any problems.
• After the committee meeting: The committee members write a report that must be signed by all members as well as the student, then uploaded on ADUM.

If the doctoral student intends to defend their thesis before the end of the calendar year, they do not need to convene their committee for the last year. In the event that the student needs to re-register for a fourth year (or more), their CSI must be organised as in the preceding years.

Although research will be your principal occupation over the next three years, you are required to complete a certain quota of additional training. This quota comprises a minimum of 30 credits, subdivided into three main areas related to your thesis: scientific promotion, thesis support, and post-thesis preparation (as detailed here).

• Scientific promotion (10 credits): highlight the scientific publications of the doctoral student as well as the conferences to which they participated. At least one publication is required of the student before they can defend their thesis.
• Thesis support (10 credits): obtain deeper understanding in areas complementary to or intersecting the thesis. Training on scientific integrity is required, as well as training in English.
• Post-thesis preparation (5 credits): training for employment opportunities after the thesis, notably in industry and higher education.
• “Floating” credits: 5 credits to be chosen by the student from among the three above areas.

You can take on temporary teaching assignments at the Université de Lorraine or the École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie (ENSG) after consulting with your advisors. You can also give a maximum of 64 hours of supervised practical work (Travaux dirigés, TD) per year, which is paid and counts as 1 training credit.

You will also be required to give an internal seminar to the laboratory each year. The first year, the seminar gives the new doctoral students the chance to present themselves and their research area (~15 minutes). The second seminar will be given during the second year; this longer seminar (up to 45 minutes) allows the students to present their progress and results.