The PhD degree has been delivered by Telecom ParisTech since 1984. Being the highest academic degree in France, its support and promotion has been since then a major role of a top level engineering institute such as Telecom ParisTech. PhD students are deeply involved in - and are strong contributors to - the scientific production of Telecom ParisTech research laboratories.
All PhD students are enrolled in a « doctoral school ». From 2015 and beyond, Telecom ParisTech participates in 3 main doctoral school areas of the newly established world level University Paris-Saclay , of which Telecom ParisTech is a founding member:
The main role of doctoral schools is to ensure the quality of the delivered PhD degree. This is achieved through the selection/admission of the applicants, through the offering of scientific courses and professional training and through a policy of encouragement and supervision of the doctoral work progress over the nominal duration of 3 years of the French doctorate.
Some PhD thesis are jointly supervised with another international institutions (“co-tutelle”), bringing the double degree diploma. This requires a contractual agreement between all parties and need be arranged well before the PhD start.
The PhD research is conducted under the supervision of a professor/researcher being officially granted this responsibility for the whole duration of the thesis, under strict requirements according to the rules of the doctoral school. This ensures that the PhD student is properly advised and has the capacity to progress quickly by gathering part of the mentor and other close researchers’ experience. A large fraction of the PhD works takes place within collaborative projects involving not only local scientists but also partners from other academic laboratories or from SMEs/industry.
The education & research departments hosting PhD students are the following:
They are organized in 17 research groups, covering a broad spectrum of science and technology within the LTCI laboratory and the i3/SES laboratory.
In perspective of the favorable environment and working/supervision conditions offered by Telecom ParisTech, it is expected that PhD students will be capable to reach a high standard for the scientific quality level when defending. This generally means:
The PhD admission process involves 3 steps:
Depending on the time period, the funding scheme and other specificities, the whole process can be effected between 3 weeks and 3 months. For foreign students, especially for non Europeans, visa formalities or authorization of a contractual recruitment may take several weeks and should best be treated early enough after granting of PhD admission by the doctoral school.
The main portal for the publication of PhD thesis subjects (2015-2016 and 2016-2017 ) is through Paris-Saclay...
Some examples of recent PhD oral defenses can be found here.
More details on the PhD pages in French
All PhD students must be financially supported in a way or another, allowing them to live in suitable comfort conditions. Most PhD students are proposed a doctoral contract for 3 years, although some of them receive a grant from their home government or from other sources. About a quarter of the PhD students are part or most time in an industry laboratory under the academic supervision of a researcher from Telecom ParisTech, in which case the contract is delivered by the company.
Telecom ParisTech is located in the very heart of Paris and brings students all the immense cultural richness of the city. Facilities can be provided for lodging to part of the PhD students, according to availabilities.
French is the usual language everywhere in Telecom ParisTech and foreign PhD students are warmly encouraged to learn it, in order to better grasp the local culture and bring some of it back home. Still, many students have a limited mastering of French, even at the defense time. English can be used throughout the thesis duration, subject to supervisor agreement, even for the manuscript writing and the oral defense.
See also the international studies page.
