Studying for a Ph.D: Requirements & Useful informations

A successor to the Central Database for Theses in the Humanities and Social Sciences, STEP (Reporting of Theses in Preparation) is the professional interface devoted to the management of prepared theses in institutions.

This centralization allows the whole research community to have the most accurate knowledge possible on the state of research in a specific discipline, research field or subject area. 

Visit the STEP website

Every thesis must mandatorily be registered and tracked in STEP: a first time during the first year of enrolment, and then as often as necessary depending on changes that may be made over the course of the PhD; in the event that the thesis topic, thesis supervisor or university changes, you will need to fill out this form (.rtf format). 
There is no need to fill in this form if you are less than 4 months away from your defence date.

Once completed, the form must be submitted to the administrator of your doctoral program according to the terms specified in the document (two submissions are required: one electronically, and the other by mail).

All you need to know about the Defence.

After the defence, on the recommendation of the Chair of the jury, the thesis may be reproduced in various formats.

Theses that may be distributed without corrections

The Central Secretariat of the School of Research sends the printed copy and the electronic file to the FNSP Library. No corrections may be made unless the jury requests them on the defence form.

The printed version of your thesis is:

• listed in the catalogue of the FNSP Library
• referenced in the collective catalogue of higher education and research (SUDOC)
• available for internal consultation

Thesis may be distributed after corrections requested during the defence

You have three months to submit the new printed copy of your corrected thesis and the new electronic file to the Central Secretariat of the Research School.

After this period, if no corrections have been made, the thesis cannot be distributed. The Central Secretariat of the School of Research will send the printed copy and the electronic file to the FNSP library, attaching a note stating that it is not for distribution. Your thesis may be consulted internally at the library.

Contact: École doctorale

Confidential thesis

The request for confidential classification of a thesis is a decision with serious consequences.
It constitutes an obstacle to the principle of free dissemination of research results and can have negative effects on the professional careers of young doctors. All alternatives must have been explored in advance (writing an anonymised version of the thesis, compiling confidential data in an appendix, etc.).
The request must be made at least three months in advance by the doctoral student and their thesis supervisor to the doctoral school secretariat. The Research School's Executive Committee gives its approval after consulting the scientific integrity advisor, who acts in an advisory capacity.
The request must be motivated and justified. Confidentiality must be limited in time: a classification period is determined according to the secrets to be protected.

The submission of the unredacted version, the notification (title, keywords, abstract, members of the jury) and the archiving of the thesis remain mandatory, even if the full text cannot be disseminated (either in open access or restricted access) during the period of confidentiality.

CLOSED-DOOR DEFENCE

In accordance with Article 19 of the Decree of 25 May 2016 establishing the national framework for training and the procedures leading to the award of the national doctoral degree, if this request for classification is accompanied by a request for a closed-door defence, authorisation must be granted by the head of the institution, after consultation with the COMEX of the School of Research and the scientific integrity officer.
The public admitted to the defence must have been invited in advance and must sign a confidentiality agreement before being allowed to enter the defence room. The chair of the jury must ensure that a list of those present has been drawn up. A closed-door defence cannot be held remotely.

Thesis under embargo

Please note: The dissemination of a thesis is not mandatory; the doctoral candidate may decide, without having to justify their decision, to place it under embargo for a period ranging from 6 months to a maximum of 5 years. During this period, the thesis manuscript remains available for consultation, but only with restricted access and only by the scientific community. This option constitutes an obstacle to the free dissemination of research results and presents risks of invisibility.

For more details, see the All you need to know about publishing your thesis on the internet

• Defence announcement
• Supported Thesis

In the event of difficulties or conflicts, the parties involved shall endeavour to seek an amicable solution. The conflict resolution mechanism is supported by the Science Po Research School, which offers its services to help resolve conflicts that arise in the context of doctoral studies. The mediator's role is to hear the parties in conflict, bring them together to allow them to exchange their points of view, and help them reach a solution. The mediator has no authority other than that which results from the trust placed in them by the parties. Calling on a mediator is strongly recommended.

Contact your administrative manager if necessary.

In the event of a suspected breach of scientific integrity [breaches of research ethics (failure to respect the rights of respondents); breaches of professional ethics (conflicts of interest, supervision, collaboration); poor management of research data (proportionality of collection, IT security, loss or theft of data); intellectual property infringements (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, failure to comply with signature rules, invisibility); fraud (fabrication or falsification of data or research results). You can refer the matter to Sciences Po's scientific integrity officer. The latter is authorised to propose mediation or to open an investigation into allegations of breaches of scientific integrity requirements, in accordance with the principles of confidentiality, adversarial proceedings and the presumption of innocence.