Thesis defense | Ecole Doctorale Sciences de la vie et de la santé

General Terms and Conditions

Have published an article as a first author (or at least submitted).
To have completed 100 hours of training including Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity - REQUIRED training

Dematerialised defence procedure - ADUM

As from 02 January 2023, the requests for thesis defense will be made exclusively in a dematerialized way via the ADUM application.

The manuscript submitted will be the one sent to the referees. It must be finalised.

9 weeks before the defense date you must make your defense request via ADUM with the deposit of your thesis manuscript : Complete your personal space ADUM (I wish to make my request for defence) and make the procedure on line. Please note that after 8 weeks, you will no longer be able to choose your preferred date.

The deposited manuscript will be the one sent to the rapporteurs. It must be finalized.

ATTENTION HOLIDAY summer 2024

- Thesis defense applications with submission of the manuscript = 12 July 2024 last deadline

- No submission will be accepted between 12 July and 26 August.

- Thesis defence = from 6 September 2024

Procedure for doctoral students:

https://www.univ-amu.fr/fr/media/20218

Procedure for supervisors :

https://www.univ-amu.fr/fr/media/20217

For COTUTELLE theses: the procedure and deadlines are the same, whether it is a defence in France or abroad.

For the members of the jury of foreign nationality: (rapporteur and/or examiner), remember to attach a CV in the "documents to be attached" section.

President of the jury: the President must be indicated on the application form and must be of rank A (PR or DR) - It cannot be videoconferenced - It must be indicated on the title page of the manuscript.

Modalities for videoconferencing: see document downloadable here

Confidentiality requirements: All documents can be downloaded from this website at the bottom of this page. The documents concerned must be added to ADUM at the time of the defence application in the "Documents to be attached" section.

Confidentiality of the manuscript: 1 request for confidentiality and/or in camera session + 1 confidentiality undertaking from the doctoral student + confidentiality undertakings from all jury members.
Closed session: 1 request for confidentiality and/or closed session + confidentiality undertakings from all jury members + confidentiality undertakings from all non-jury members.

TEMPLATE for thesis manuscript : The application file for the defense of the thesis must include obligatory the introductory pages of the thesis , namely:

cover page of the thesis (according to the model made available on the electronic deposit window for theses in Word and Latex formats),
affidavit completed (in French or English depending on the language used for the thesis), dated and signed by the doctoral student,
list of publications/patents and conference participations,
abstracts in French and English.
**** Please respect the pagination, typography and order of the pages****

The new decree on doctoral training dated 25 May 2016 was published on 27 May 2016 and came into force on 1 September 2016.

It includes the following points:

Parity: gender equality is one of our government's priorities. We invite you, as far as possible, to respect or, failing that, to strive for this balance. We would like you to pay particular attention to this during the composition of the jury, despite the difficulties that could be encountered depending on the disciplines and/or the subject of the thesis.
Rapporteurs: The rapporteurs, external to the ED and to the doctoral student's institution, must not have any involvement in the doctoral student's work. In the case where the thesis co-director is external to the institution, the referees cannot be members of his or her team. They must be HDR. If not HDR, the choice must be justified by a letter, accompanied by the CV of the rapporteur. Your file will be examined and approved by the Doctoral College Council. The two referees cannot be from the same laboratory.
Composition of the jury: The minimum number of jury members is reduced from 4 to 8 (+ Thesis Director). Any request for defence made as from 01/09/2016 will be subject to the new decree of 25 May 2016. At least half of its members must be A-ranked personalities (PR - DR). At least half of them are also personalities from outside AMU. The Thesis Director is a member of the defence jury. He may take an active part in the discussions and ask questions during the defense but he may not, under any circumstances, participate in the jury's deliberations.
President of the Jury: Obligatory Rank A (PR or DR) - To be specified on the application form
Mentions: In accordance with the by-law, mentions will no longer be awarded for defences. This provision will take effect from January 2017.

Article 17

The authorization to defend a thesis is granted by the head teacher, after consultation with the director of the doctoral school, on the proposal of the thesis director.
The doctoral student's work shall be examined beforehand by at least two rapporteurs appointed by the head of the institution, authorized to direct research or belonging to one of the categories mentioned in 1° and 2° of Article 16 of this decree, on a proposal from the director of the doctoral school, after consultation with the thesis director.
In the case of work involving persons from the socio-economic world who do not belong to the academic world, a third rapporteur, recognised for his competence in the field, may be appointed on a proposal from the director of the doctoral school, after consulting the thesis director.
Unless the disciplinary field or the content of the work does not allow it, the two rapporteurs are external to the doctoral school and the doctoral student's institution. They may be owned by foreign higher education or research institutions or other foreign bodies.
The rapporteurs have no involvement in the doctoral student's work.
The rapporteurs shall, at least fourteen days* before the scheduled date of the oral argument, make known their opinion by means of written reports; on this basis, the headteacher shall authorise the oral argument. These reports are communicated to the jury and the doctoral student before the presentation.

*For Aix-Marseille University, the directive is a return of reports 4 weeks before the date of defense.

Article 18

The thesis jury is appointed by the head of the institution after consultation with the director of the doctoral school and the thesis director. The number of jury members is between four and eight. At least half of its members are French or foreign personalities outside the doctoral school and the doctoral student's institution of registration who are chosen for their scientific or professional competence in the field of research concerned, subject to the provisions relating to the international joint thesis defined in Title III of this decree.
Its composition must allow a balanced representation of women and men. At least half of the jury must be composed of professors or equivalent persons within the meaning of Article 6 of Decree No. 92-70 on the National Council of Universities and Article 5 of Decree No. 87-31 on health disciplines, or of teachers of equivalent rank who do not belong to the Ministry of Higher Education.
The members of the jury shall appoint a chairman and, where appropriate, a defence rapporteur from among their number. The chairperson must be a professor or equivalent or equivalent.
The thesis director participates in the jury, but does not take part in the decision. Where several institutions are accredited to jointly award the doctorate, the jury shall be appointed by the heads of the institutions concerned under the conditions laid down in the agreement referred to in Article 5 of this Order.

Article 19

The defence is public, unless an exception is exceptionally granted by the headteacher if the subject of the thesis is of proven confidentiality.
Before the defence, the summary of the thesis is circulated within the institution (s) receiving joint accreditation.
In the context of its deliberations, the jury assesses the quality of the doctoral student's work, its innovative nature, the doctoral student's ability to situate it in its scientific context and its exhibition qualities. The selection board may request corrections in accordance with Article 24 of this Order. When the work corresponds to a collective research, the personal share of each doctoral student is appreciated by a dissertation that he writes and presents individually to the jury.
Exceptionally, and with the exception of its chairman, the members of the jury may participate in the oral argument by means of videoconferencing or electronic communication enabling them to be identified and to participate effectively in a collegial deliberation and satisfying technical characteristics guaranteeing the continuous and simultaneous transmission of debates.
Admission or adjournment shall be decided after deliberation by the jury.
The chairman signs the defence report, which is countersigned by all the members of the jury present at the hearing.
The defence report is communicated to the doctoral student within one month following the defence.