Foreign doctoral student
As an international doctoral student, you have the opportunity to come to the UFR LLSHS as part of a joint thesis supervision program, a research stay, or on an individual basis.
Joint supervision of a thesis
International joint supervision of theses offers doctoral students the opportunity to conduct their research under the supervision of two thesis advisors, one at the UFR and the other at a partner university abroad.
This program promotes international mobility and the development of lasting scientific collaborations between institutions.
Terms and conditions
Beforehand
For joint supervision, you must identify two thesis supervisors who are authorized to supervise research:
► one at the UFR (faculty);
► one at a foreign university.
For assistance with your research and to find out about admission requirements, please contact the Erasme doctoral school.
Duration
The usual duration of a jointly supervised thesis is three years.
However, an exemption may be granted, upon reasoned request by the doctoral student, by the head of the institution, after consultation with the thesis supervisor and the doctoral school.
The location
The doctoral student conducts his or her research alternately at the UFR and at the partner university.
The length of stays at each institution depends on scientific requirements and the conditions for preparing the thesis, but cannot be less than one semester.
Language and defense
The language in which the thesis is written and defended is determined by the joint supervision agreement. When this language is not French, the thesis must include a substantial summary in French.
The thesis is subject to a single defense, recognized by both universities. At the end of this defense, the doctoral student obtains a doctoral degree from Sorbonne Paris Nord University as well as from the partner university.
Admission / Application
After submitting your doctoral application to both USPN and a foreign partner university, a joint supervision agreement must be signed between the two institutions.
The procedure is initiated by the thesis supervisors, who propose the joint supervision arrangement and agree on the title and subject of the thesis, the monitoring procedures, and the conditions for the thesis defense and awarding of degrees.
The aim is to organize the preparation and defense of the thesis, as well as the awarding of degrees, based on the principle of reciprocity between the institutions.
Administrative registration
Registration fees
The doctoral student is enrolled simultaneously at USPN and at the partner university.
However, he or she is exempt from paying tuition fees from the second year onwards at one of the two institutions, in accordance with the terms of the joint supervision agreement.
Doctoral programs
Doctoral students must comply with the regulations of their doctoral school, particularly with regard to training requirements.
Regardless of their status, doctoral students under joint supervision must validate 40 ECTS credits of “personalized training outside the doctoral school” (referred to as external training on the SIRIUS platform), in proportion to their time spent in France.
They are exempt from the training courses offered in the doctoral school catalog, with the exception of the “Scientific Integrity” and “Research Ethics” modules, which are mandatory for all.
It is recommended that thesis supervisors inform their doctoral students of these requirements and assist them in choosing training courses appropriate to their research topic.
For non-French-speaking international doctoral students, French language training is mandatory. This is offered by the university’s Language Center in order to facilitate their academic and linguistic integration.
Mobility grants
Eiffel Scholarship
This program of excellence, offered by Campus France (under the supervision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs), provides scholarships to the best international students wishing to pursue a master’s or doctoral degree at a French institution in priority fields of study.
For the humanities and social sciences, it covers history, language, French civilization, economics, and management (applied foreign languages).
The call for applications begins in October. The deadline for submitting applications to our university is early December.
Other scholarships
The UFR LLSHS does not offer scholarships for individual mobility programs.
However, please consult the calls for applications on the websites of French embassies abroad, French institutes, and French alliances, as well as the scholarship program directory available on the Campus France website.
Research stay
It is possible to undertake a research stay at the UFR LLSHS as a doctoral student enrolled at a foreign university.
Define your project
The first step is to present your research project to a faculty member at the UFR who is authorized to supervise research (HDR) in order to discuss scientific supervision for your stay.
If a professor agrees to host you for a research stay, he or she will provide you with an official letter of invitation, which is necessary for your administrative procedures (visa, accommodation, etc.).
Application
You are enrolled at a partner university
If your home institution and Sorbonne Paris Nord University have signed a student exchange agreement for your discipline and level of study, you can study at the university.
You must first be pre-selected by your home institution. Once this step has been completed, you will be assisted by the International Relations Department in following the procedure in force for your visit.
Before your departure, you will need to draw up a draft study contract, specifying all the courses open to exchange students and/or the activities offered by the Erasme doctoral school that you wish to follow during your mobility.
You are not enrolled at a partner university.
► If your home university participates in the Erasmus+ program, you can set up an Erasmus+ internship agreement. This may allow you to receive an Erasmus+ internship grant from your home university.
For more information, contact the International Relations Office.
For more information, please contact the International Relations Department.
► If your institution is not part of the Erasmus+ program, you will need to sign a hosting agreement specifying the conditions of your stay at USPN: duration, supervision arrangements, and research activities. This agreement must be signed by your host research unit at the UFR, your home university, and yourself.
If your application is accepted, you will be able to enroll at the university as an auditor. This status will allow you to obtain a student card and access university libraries.
For more information, please contact the LLSHS Research Unit.
Mobility grants
The UFR LLSHS does not offer scholarships for individual mobility programs.
However, please consult the calls for applications on the websites of French embassies abroad, French institutes, and French alliances, as well as the scholarship program directory available on the Campus France website.
Individual application
It is possible to pursue a doctoral degree at USPN as an international doctoral student.
Finding a thesis topic
Before submitting your thesis proposal, make sure that the topic you are considering has not already been defended or is not currently in preparation.
These checks can be carried out on the following two platforms:
► The University Documentation System catalog
► The French thesis search engine
Admission / Application
Submit your research project to one of the UFR faculty members authorized to supervise research.
Once you have obtained the agreement of a faculty member to supervise your thesis, you must follow the application procedure on the doctoral student platform.
Administrative registration
Registration fees
The university applies the same tuition fees for all doctoral students, whether they are French or foreign, from within or outside Europe.
Doctoral programs
Doctoral students must comply with the regulations of their doctoral school, particularly with regard to training requirements.
Regardless of their status, doctoral students under joint supervision must validate 40 ECTS credits of “personalized training outside the doctoral school” (referred to as external training on the SIRIUS platform), in proportion to their time spent in France.
They are exempt from the training courses offered in the doctoral school catalog, with the exception of the “Scientific Integrity” and “Research Ethics” modules, which are mandatory for all.
It is recommended that thesis supervisors inform their doctoral students of these requirements and assist them in choosing training courses appropriate to their research topic.
For non-French-speaking international doctoral students, French language training is mandatory. This is offered by the university’s Language Center in order to facilitate their academic and linguistic integration.
Mobility grants
Bourse Eiffel
This program of excellence, offered by Campus France (under the supervision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs), provides scholarships to the best international students wishing to pursue a master’s or doctoral degree at a French institution in priority fields of study.
For the humanities and social sciences, it covers history, language, French civilization, economics, and management (applied foreign languages).
The call for applications begins in October. The deadline for submitting applications to our university is early December.
Other scholarships
The UFR LLSHS does not offer scholarships for individual mobility programs.
However, please consult the calls for applications on the websites of French embassies abroad, French institutes, and French alliances, as well as the scholarship program directory available on the Campus France website.
LLSHS Research Units
ISMÉE (UR 3971)
Strongly organized around an original theme within educational sciences, ISMÉE focuses on learning and education outside of school, emphasizing less formal situations, whether for children or adult
LEEC (UR 4443)
The studies conducted at LEEC focus on animal behavior. As a branch of biological science, the ethology research carried out at LEEC uses quantitative methods to understand behavior.
Various investigative techniques are used, such as automated animal behavior recording systems, chemical and genetic analyses, hormone assays, infrared thermography, and statistical modeling.
PLÉIADE (UR 7338)
Pléiade brings together around 80 teacher-researchers, including geographers, linguists, historians, art and film historians, literary scholars, and civilizations scholars, working on the Greco-Latin, French, Francophone, Anglophone, Hispanophone, and Lusophone areas.
It conducts original and often pioneering research in many fields, including autobiography, children’s literature, cultural transfers, health, conflicts, the history of books, and urban margins.
UTRPP (UR 4403)
The UTRPP brings together 30 teacher-researchers, including 13 HDRs, 2 post-doctoral researchers, and around 50 doctoral students (including 7 contract students and 1 “dual culture” contract (COMUE USPC)) who make up the Transversal Unit of Psychogenesis and Psychopathology (UTRPP – UR 4403). Training and research are intrinsically linked, with a research Master’s degree backed by the unit. In addition, around 1,000 students from Bachelor’s Degree 1 to Master’s Degree 1 attend courses taught by our members.
Contact us!
Villetaneuse Campus
Literature and Communication Building
99, av. Jean-Baptiste Clément
93430 Villetaneuse
- Fatima FEKKAK
- +33 (0)1 49 40 61 17
- Office C200 (1st floor)
- Send a message
@univ_SPN
Useful links
Opening hours
| Monday | 10:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 16:00 |
| Tuesday | 10:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 16:00 |
| Wednesday | remote work |
| Thursday | 10:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 16:00 |
| Friday | morning : remote work afternoon : closed |
| Saturday | closed |
| Sunday | closed |