Doctoral Studies
The École Nationale des Chartes - PSL delivers a doctorate, awarded by PSL University, in its disciplines of excellence: history, art history, ancient and Romance languages and literature. Recruitment is open to graduates (diploma in palaeographic archiving, master's degree) as well as to students from other institutions, particularly international students. The École des Chartes—PSL offers a special doctoral programme for French heritage and library curators and their foreign colleagues.étrangers.
Contact
Write to the School office: etudes @ chartes.psl.eu
Curriculum and Admission
The École Nationale des Chartes is involved in doctoral training as part of the EPHE's Doctoral School 472 and the Sorbonne Université's Doctoral School of Modern and Contemporary History. Doctoral candidates at the École des Chartes are attached to the doctoral school of their future supervisor. The École des Chartes doctorate is designed for students who wish to research medieval, modern, and contemporary history, diplomacy, book history, media history, text publishing, legal history, art history and archaeology, heritage history, philology, and linguistics.
Doctoral students are attached to the School's research laboratory, the Centre Jean-Mabillon.
The EPHE Doctoral School 472 is an affiliate of the Translitteræ graduate programme.
Regulatory Texts
Registration fees
The registration fee for 2024-2025 is €391 (€260 at reduced rates).
Students must also pay a student and campus life contribution (CVEC) of €103 covering their health insurance.
In some cases, students (particularly those on grants) may be exempt from registration fees and the CVEC.
The CVEC is payable on the dedicated website.
Renewed registration
Administrative registration is compulsory and annual.
You must download your certificate of payment (or exemption) of the CVEC from the CVEC website. When you renew your registration online, you will need to provide the CVEC certificate number that has been issued to you.
In September, doctoral students will receive a message inviting them to log on to ADUM to update their personal details and pay their registration fees.
Submission of the thesis monitoring committee form will be an essential prerequisite for re-registration from the third to the sixth year.
University Transfers
Students must request a transfer from their home university. In all cases, they must have the favourable opinion of their former research supervisor.
Documents to enclose:
- Transfer request from home university
- Photocopies of all diplomas from the baccalauréat onwards
- Photocopy of the certificate of registration in the French Fichier Central des Thèses
- A favourable opinion from the former research supervisor is mandatory
Extension of a doctoral thesis (beyond 3 years)
A doctoral degree recognises the ability to carry out high-level scientific research. This diploma is awarded upon completion of a research project that usually lasts three years. Extensions may be granted, by way of exception, at the doctoral student's reasoned request and with the agreement of their supervisor and the research team. The Order of 25 May 2016 on doctoral studies stipulates that doctorates must now be completed within a maximum of 6 years.
Gap year request
Doctoral students must complete a gap year application form, pay the CVEC, and pay the reduced registration fee (€260 for a doctoral gap year). Doctoral students must re-register using the ADUM application.
Dropping out of a doctoral thesis
Students who wish to discontinue a doctoral thesis must confirm this with their thesis supervisor and notify the Director of Studies.
Gap year request
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Joint supervision and co-supervision
A doctoral thesis may be supervised jointly by two supervisors. However, it is important not to confuse joint supervision with co-supervision.
For joint supervision, both thesis supervisors are attached to one or two French research establishments.
In the case of co-supervision, each supervisor belongs to an institution in a different country.
Joint supervision or co-supervision? Different objectives
The main aim of co-supervision is to enable the thesis to benefit from dual scientific expertise, particularly by combining two separate fields of research. Doctoral students are placed under the supervision and responsibility of a thesis supervisor. The scientific supervision of the doctoral project may be carried out jointly with a supervisor from another French institution.
A thesis co-supervision aims to initiate and develop scientific cooperation between French and foreign research teams. It is also meant to promote the cross-border mobility of doctoral students.
Admission requirements
To apply for joint thesis supervision or co-supervision at the École Nationale des Chartes—PSL, a master's degree is required at minimum.
Joint supervision registration procedure
In the case of joint supervision, the student registers for a doctorate under the authority of a professor from the École Nationale des Chartes, indicating the name and university of the proposed joint supervisor. The Ecole Nationale des Chartes draws up a joint supervision agreement with the secondary institution, respecting the practical arrangements for dual direction per the principles of the primary doctoral school (while ensuring agreement with the secondary doctoral school where relevant). This simple agreement is binding only on the primary establishment and not on the joint supervisor's establishment unless the joint supervisor is attached to the same establishment.
Joint supervision must be set up during the first year of the doctorate.
The usual duration of a jointly supervised thesis is three years. The student must justify any additional re-enrolment, which will be subject to the agreement of the doctoral school's thesis monitoring committee. It shall be covered by an amendment to this agreement.
Co-supervision application procedures
The terms and conditions for international co-supervision of a thesis are defined by the Doctoral Decree of 25 May 2016.
Each co-supervised thesis is managed under a specific agreement drafted by the École Nationale des Chartes' international relations department. This agreement lays out, among other things, the language in which the thesis will be written (preferably French), the timetable and location of doctoral registration, the division of registration fees between the institutions involved, and the location of the defence.
Administrative registration under a co-supervision arrangement is carried out jointly at the École des Chartes and at another higher education establishment abroad. Tuition fees are waived at one of the two establishments, but the student must pay registration fees at least once in each institution.
To draft the agreement between the two institutions, it is advisable to prepare your project by notifying the Director of Studies at the École Nationale des Chartes in the spring or summer before registering for the doctorate in the autumn. This is because the two co-contracting institutions must have approved the agreement at the time of administrative registration.
Applications for co-supervision are submitted at the same time as applications for the first year of the doctorate. Students wishing to switch from a simple doctorate to a co-supervised doctorate may only do so during the first year of their doctorate.
The usual duration of a co-supervised thesis is three years. Any request to extend the duration of the thesis preparation work must be approved jointly by the competent authorities of the two institutions. It shall be covered by an amendment to this agreement.
The Thesis Defence
In the case of a co-supervision, the thesis is defended only once. The location of the defence must be specified in the co-supervision agreement.
Under co-supervision, the thesis is defended during a single examination recognised by the two co-supervising institutions. The location must be specified in the co-supervision agreement. An oral summary in French is required if the thesis is written in a foreign language. A mixed jury will consist of at least four members.
Diplomas Awarded
In the case of joint supervision, only one doctoral diploma is awarded.
In the case of co-supervision, the defence leads to the award of two diplomas reflecting the completion of doctoral studies in each of the two countries: the degree of doctor for the École Nationale des Chartes -PSL and an equivalent for the foreign university.
Call for applications for doctoral contracts at the École Nationale des Chartes - PSL
The École Nationale des Chartes - PSL invites applications for three three-year doctoral contracts starting in autumn 2024.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Choose a thesis supervisor from the École des Chartes attached to ED 472 of the École Pratique des Hautes Études or ED 188 of Sorbonne University
- Hold a master's 2 or equivalent degree, or be enrolled in a Master's 2 programme during the 2023-2024 academic year (obtaining a doctoral contract is then conditional on obtaining the master's degree)
Procedure:
- The student must approach the director of studies at the École des Chartes whom he or she chooses as thesis supervisor
Schedule:
- Applications are to be submitted to the Director of Studies by 27 May 2024(by e-mail)
- Notification of candidates selected for the audition:17 June 2024
- Audition and selection of candidates:8 July 2024
- Validation of results before 14 July 2024
Call for applications for doctoral contracts in 2024
TéléchargerInformation sheet - 2024 doctoral contracts
Télécharger
Contact
Write to the School office: etudes @ chartes.psl.eu
Doctorate based on work experience for curators
The École des Chartes awards doctorates to curators through two doctoral schools: ED 472 of the EPHE and ED 188 of Sorbonne University.
Presentation
The doctorate based on work experience for curators aims to enable scientific staff to formalise and deepen the research carried out as part of their duties. It is meant to facilitate their international mobility to countries that recruit curators at the doctoral level. It strengthens contacts between the academic world and conservation circles.
In France, the scheme applies to heritage and library curators(State or local civil service).
The doctorate is open to foreign curators. Admission requirements are the same as for French candidates, subject to the production of documents attesting to the heritage curator status specific to the system in force in the country concerned. Like French candidates, foreign candidates must have solid experience in the field of conservation.
The doctorate lasts one year. Extension for a further year is not possible, save for special cases, at the motivated and justified request of the doctoral student, following the opinion and agreement of the thesis supervisor, the director of the doctoral school and the director of the École Nationale des Chartes - PSL.
Admission requirements
Curators, whether of French or foreign nationality, apply for enrolment in the doctoral programme by submitting a dossier (in duplicate) consisting of a detailed CV, a summary of their previous research career, a letter explaining why they are applying for the doctoral degree and a copy of their most outstanding work, whether published or not. The scope of the work must be significant and include at least:
- A book and/or a research dissertation of a higher level than a master's 2 dissertation, such as, for example, an École des Chartes thesis or a research dissertation from the Enssib
- Exhibition catalogues or collection inventories
- Articles
The application must also include a letter of commitment from the professor who will be supervising the thesis.
The following professors may direct a doctorate based on work experience at the École des Chartes: Mr. Patrick Arabeyre, Ms. Christine Bénévent, Mr. Frédéric Duval, Mr. Christophe Gauthier, Mr. Olivier Guyotjeannin, Mr. François Ploton-Nicollet, Mr. Olivier Poncet, Mr. Nathan Schlanger, Mr. Marc Smith, Mr. Edouard Vasseur, Ms. Katia Weidenfeld.
Joint supervision is allowed. If co-supervision is envisaged, the doctoral student must check early enough before registering that the envisaged foreign partner institution has approved the co-supervision in principle.
This application is submitted to two rapporteurs who hold an HDR and are not members of the École des Chartes. These rapporteurs are appointed by the Director of the École des Chartes, on the recommendation of the Director of the doctoral school, from a list of four names put forward by the thesis supervisor.
Admission to doctoral studies is decided by the Director of the École des Chartes, on the recommendation of the Director of the doctoral school. The École des Chartes handles the administrative registration and registration of the thesis subject.
The registration fees are the same as those set out in the regulations for initial doctoral studies.
The application deadline for 2024-2025 is 28 June 2024.
Application form - Doctoral thesis based on work experience for curators
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Tuition
Candidates submit their doctoral thesis, presenting a portfolio of work(books, articles, post-graduate dissertations, etc.) and a research summary.
The dissertation (30 to 100 pages) will be written during the year of registration in close collaboration with the thesis supervisor. It must coherently summarize all the research work carried out and provide a scientific overview.
Re-enrolment for a second year is not possible, except in cases of force majeure at the discretion of the doctoral school board.
The rules governing the procedure for defending and distributing the thesis are set out in the current regulations on doctoral studies, i.e., the Order of 25 May 2016.