The pre-defence thesis
Before defending their thesis, each doctoral student must pre-support their thesis. The pre-submission enables doctoral students to substantially improve the final quality of their thesis. It is organised as follows:
- When the doctoral student has finalised a first complete version of his/her thesis, his/her supervisor can launch the pre-tenure procedure. This consists of choosing two rapporteurs from outside the EDMPS, who will be the same as those asked to defend the thesis, sending them this first version of the thesis and setting a date for the pre-tenure examination to take place in the institution where the doctoral student is registered. This administrative organisation of the pre-tenure examination is carried out by the ED secretariat in collaboration with the research supervisor;
- During the pre-tenure examination, the two rapporteurs, who do not have to provide a report at this time, inform the doctoral student, in the presence of his/her research supervisor, of all their comments on the thesis (strengths, weaknesses, parts to be modified, deleted, added, recommended modifications, etc.). At the end of this discussion, the supervisor writes down all the changes that the doctoral student must make to the final version of the thesis in the pre-submission notebook provided by the ED secretariat. The doctoral student signs the pre-submission booklet, as do the two rapporteurs;
- The doctoral student then writes the final document. A minimum of three months is required between the pre-tenure and the defence of the thesis;
- When the doctoral student has completed the correction work, he or she sends the final version of the thesis to his or her research supervisor and his or her two rapporteurs, together with a document summarising in detail all the changes made, taking into account the comments made during the pre-tenure examination.
You can defend your thesis from 1 September to 31 July, depending on the university calendar. August is considered a "blank month".
Steps of the thesis defence
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Step 1
Request for authorisation to select the jury
and the choice of rapporteursIn agreement with his/her thesis director, the candidate defines his/her jury. The number of jury members is between 4 and 8. At least half of its members must be from outside the Doctoral School and the doctoral student's enrolment institution.
At least half of the jury must be made up of professors or equivalent staff (See article 18 of the official order of 25 May 2016 below online).
The thesis director sends for approval to the Director of the Doctoral School, Mr Jean François Lemoine (copy to the Responsable Administratif), and to the Professor in charge of theses, the composition of the jury in the following form:
► Document à remplir pour la composition du jury (pdf, 72 ko)
IMPORTANT: Thesis defences may now be 100% face-to-face or distance learning or in hybrid form.
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Step 2
Sending the thesis to the rapporteurs
The doctoral student must provide an electronic version of the thesis to the designated rapporteurs and to the other members of the jury. He/she will only provide a paper version if certain members of the jury so wish. It is recommended that the rapporteurs be given at least 5 weeks to examine the thesis.
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Step 3
Sending the finalised thesis in PDF format
No later than 1 month before the date of the defence, the candidate must send the Responsable Administratif his/her finalised thesis in PDF format and in compliance with the formal standards of Paris 1.
- Since January 2013, there is no longer a paper copy to be submitted to the Doctoral School.
- The title of the thesis cannot be changed at a later date.
- If the thesis is not written in French, a summary in French is required (approximately 10% of your thesis). These pages must be included in the PDF version of the thesis manuscript.
For more information about submitting your thesis electronically, visit the dedicated section of the Service Commun de la Documentation.
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Step 4
Submission of the pre-thesis reports
The two pre-thesis reports must be sent to the administrative manager by e-mail no later than 14 days before the defence. The rapporteurs must: add the logo of their laboratory and/or university to the header of their pre-report, specify at the end of the report whether or not they are authorised to defend it, and sign it.
Regulations: Arrêté du 25 mai 2016 fixant le cadre national de la formation et les modalités conduisant à la délivrance du diplôme national de doctorat (articles 17, 18 and 19)
Charte du Doctorat de Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Pdf, 252 Ko)
The Doctoral Oath of Scientific Integrity
In accordance with article L612-7 of the French Education Code, higher education and research establishments must swear an oath of scientific integrity when defending their doctoral students.
This provision is included in article 19bis of the doctoral training decree (a change introduced by the decree of 26 August 2022 amending the decree of 25 May 2016). The existence of the oath also leads to a change in the doctoral charters, which must include it (article 12 of the doctoral training decree) (Source : https://www.hceres.fr)
► Serment doctoral d'intégrité scientifique (Pdf, 25 Ko)
At the end of the defence, the admitted doctoral student takes the oath if he or she so wishes. This stage of the defence is recorded in the minutes.
The oath is highly symbolic. Its practice is anchored in a legal framework and is morally binding on the doctor, who can invoke it to refuse to carry out actions that are in tension with the principles of scientific integrity. For the EDMPS, this oath is a solemn commitment:
"In the presence of my peers. With the completion of my doctorate in [research field], in my quest for knowledge, I have
carried out demanding research, demonstrated intellectual rigour, ethical reflection, and respect for the principles of research
integrity. As I pursue my professional career, whatever my chosen field, I pledge, to the greatest of my ability, to continue to
maintain integrity in my relationship to knowledge, in my methods and in my results."
Publication of thesis / HDR
Submission is mandatory and must be in electronic format (Order of 25 May 2016).
The thesis must be submitted two months before the date set for the defence in order to comply with the legal deadline for submission before the defence.
Find out more about the médiathèque de Paris 1.
Below you will find all the information relating to the deposit and distribution of theses:
HDR
Liste de l'ensemble des modalités concernant la réalisation d'une HDR à Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne.
You will also find all the information you need on the Order of 23 November 1988 on the Habilitation to Supervise Research.
Sorbonne
17, rue de la Sorbonne 75005 ParisL’École Doctorale de Management Panthéon-Sorbonne (EDMPS)
Bureau E620