Doctoral program in Sociology at CRIS

WELCOMING DOCTORAL CANDIDATES

Responsible faculty member for the doctoral program at CRIS: Zachary Van Winkle
Coordinator of doctoral activities : Allison Rovny
PhD candidate representative on the Laboratory Council: Maximilien Serreau. Alternate: Tom Azoulay.

To learn more about PhD studies at CRIS: Download the welcome guide for PhD candidates 2024-2025 (pdf, 1,8 Mo)

The Centre for Research on social InequalitieS (CRIS) is one of the host laboratories of Sciences Po's Doctoral Program in Sociology.
It is distinguished by its commitment to high-quality research training and has pursued as a main objective since its creation in 1988: to train high-level sociologists capable of analyzing the transformations of contemporary societies.

DOCTORAL LIFE AT CRIS

The doctoral training offered at CRIS is distinguished by its focus on international and interdisciplinary research.

The working language of the center is English.

Doctoral candidates participate in the Doctoral workshop, which provides general skills for research such as reviewing literature, drafting research articles, presenting at scientific conferences. Moreover, CRIS can provide financial support for specific methodological training tailored to the specific thesis dissertation of each PhD candidates. 

CRIS devotes part of its budget to funding specifically reserved for doctoral students. These funds are supplementary to those of the School of Research and may be used for participation in conferences, visitorships, fieldwork, etc. 

Participation in the CRIS weekly scientific seminar is compulsory for early-year doctoral candidates and strongly encouraged in subsequent years.

All doctoral candidates participate actively in the life of the center: attending CRIS events, contributing to the general research environment, and presenting their research as part of CRIS activities (in a seminar or doctoral workshop).

PHD ADMISSIONS AT CRIS

Candidates need funding for at least three years to be admitted to the School of Research of Sciences Po. They can either apply for a Sciences Po doctoral grant or look for external funding opportunities, such as CIFRE or COFRA grants. 

Applications for admission to doctoral studies at Sciences Po's School of Research will open each year on October. The complete application must be submitted no later than a specific date in January of each year (admission results mid-March) for the first session or May (admission results mid-July) for the second session. 
Please note that the January application deadline applies only to candidates with external funding. If you are applying for a Sciences Po doctoral fellowship, you must submit your application in the May session.   

The timetable and admission procedures are available on the School of Research website.

Candidates applying for a place at CRIS must enclose with their application:

• A letter signed by the member of CRIS authorized to supervise doctoral research, stating that he/she agrees to supervise the thesis
• A CV and a draft of your thesis proposal 

Documentation must be sent to Allison Rovny, scientific coordinator at CRIS, by the date announced here on this website. 

We strongly recommend that doctoral applicants contact their potential thesis supervisors well in advance. They may enclose a short page presenting their research topic and research design. Please note that the selection process for Sciences Po’s PhD doctoral grants is highly competitive. 

CRIS MEMBERS AVAILABLE TO BE PHD THESIS DIRECTORS

Martin Aranguren, Carlo Barone, Lucas Chancel, Marta Dominguez-Folgueras, Emanuele Ferragina, Olivier Godechot, Angela Greulich, Sukriti Issar, Laurent Lesnard, Mirna Safi, Marco Oberti, Lidia Panico,  Ettore Recchi, Anne Revillard, Jen Schradie, Zachary Van Winkle

SEMINARS

PhD students must attend at least 90 hours of seminars during the first three years of their thesis. Participation in the first three of the following seminars is compulsory for doctoral students in the sociology program at CRIS.


CRIS weekly scientific seminar schedule

Other seminars: with the agreement of their thesis supervisor and the doctoral program advisor at CRIS, Zachary Van Winkle, doctoral candidates can take courses and seminars offered by other institutions and have them validated as part of the program.