Thesis defense

Requests for thesis defense are made exclusively via the ADUM application.

9 weeks before the defense date, you must submit your defense request via ADUM, along with your thesis manuscript: Complete your ADUM personal space (I would like to submit my defense request) and follow the online procedure.

Please note that after 8 weeks, you will no longer be able to choose the desired date.

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

Be sure to validate ALL the steps in order to finalize the procedure. Otherwise, the Doctoral School will not be able to validate your application.

The rapporteurs' report is expected 3 weeks before the defense date

ATTENTION VACATIONS

• For thesis defense in January and February, please allow 10 weeks for submission of the request for defense with thesis manuscript.
• For January defenses , the rapporteurs' reports are due by December 15 at the latest.
• SUMMER = No defense can take place during the last week of July up to and including the first week of September (Holidays 2025 = between July 26 and September 7 inclusive) - Instructions for doctoral students

Instructions for doctoral students

Instructions for supervisors

For Cotutelle theses

The procedure and deadlines are identical, whether the thesis is defended in France or abroad.

Jury composition

• The jury must be made up of between 4 and 8 people, including the HDR thesis director.
• The 2 rapporteurs must be external to AMU, external to the research work and HDR. If not HDR > submit a request for a rapporteur without HDR to the ED as soon as possible, emailing the person's CV + list of publications + a letter from the thesis director justifying the choice of this rapporteur without HDR. The request must be approved by the ED director and validated by the Doctoral College Council.
• Your jury must include more (+) or equal numbers of people from outside AMU, more (+) or equal numbers of people with rank A (PR or DR), more (+) or equal numbers of people with HDR, and at least 1 woman and 1 man.
• The president of the jury must be of rank A (PR or DR). An emeritus member may no longer chair a jury.
• For foreign jury members (rapporteur and/or examiner), please attach a CV in the "Documents to enclose" section. You can use the table below to check the balance of your jury.

Videoconference arrangements

Modalities here and on request in ADUM at the time of the defense request

Conditions for confidentiality

All documents can be downloaded from this website at the bottom of this page. The documents concerned are to be added to ADUM at the time of the defense request in the "Documents to enclose" section

• Manuscript confidentiality: 1 request for confidentiality and/or in camera + 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 manuscript

The thesis manuscript MUST contain the following introductory pages:

• thesis cover page (according to the template provided on the electronic thesis submission service in Word and Latex formats),
• completed affidavit (in French or English, depending on the language chosen for the thesis), dated and signed by the doctoral student,
• list of publications/patents and conference appearances,
• abstracts in French and English.
• *please respect pagination, typography and page order****

According to the decree on doctoral training dated May 25, 2016

it concerns the following points in particular:

• 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 therefore ask you to pay particular attention to this when composing your jury, despite the difficulties that may be encountered depending on the discipline and/or subject of the thesis. In all cases, your jury should comprise between 4 and 8 people, including at least one man and one woman.
• Rapporteurs: Rapporteurs must be external to the ED and the doctoral student's institution, and must not be involved in the doctoral student's work. For this reason, they must not have been members of the ISC. If the thesis co-supervisor is from outside the institution, rapporteurs may not be members of the co-supervisor's team. They must be HDR. If the co-director is not an HDR, the choice must be justified by a letter, accompanied by the CV of the rapporteur. Your application will be examined and approved by the Doctoral College Council. The two rapporteurs must not belong to the same laboratory.
• Jury composition: The jury must comprise between 4 (including the thesis director) and 8 people. At least half of the members must be of rank A (Professor - Research Director). At least half must also be from outside AMU. The thesis director is a member of the defense jury and is counted. He/she may take an active part in discussions and ask questions during the defense, but may under no circumstances take part in the jury's deliberations.
• President of the Jury : Must be Rank A (PR or DR - Non emeritus ) - Cannot be videoconferenced - Must be indicated on the cover page of the manuscript.
• Honors: In accordance with the decree, honors will no longer be awarded for defenses. This provision will take effect from January 2017.

Article 16

The doctoral student is placed under the control and responsibility of a thesis director. The scientific direction of the doctoral project may be carried out jointly with a co-director. When the co-director is a person from the socio-economic world who does not belong to the academic world, the number of co-directors may be increased to two.

The duties of thesis director or co-director may be carried out :

1° Professors and assimilated staff 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 for health disciplines, or by teachers of equivalent rank who do not come under the Ministry of Higher Education, or by staff of higher education establishments, public research organizations and research foundations, who hold a habilitation to direct research;

2° Other personalities holding a doctorate, chosen for their scientific competence by the head of the establishment, on the recommendation of the doctoral school director and after consultation with the research commission of the academic council or equivalent body in the establishment where the student is registered.

The thesis may also be co-directed by an agreement between one or two thesis directors meeting the conditions set out above and a person from the socio-economic world recognized for his or her skills in the field. Proposals for co-directorships are submitted to the head of the accredited institution, on the recommendation of the doctoral school director. In this case, doctoral students are placed under the joint responsibility of the thesis co-directors.

The doctoral school board sets the maximum number of doctoral students supervised by a thesis director, taking into account the constraints of each discipline, in particular rare disciplines.

Article 17

Authorization to defend a thesis is granted by the head of the institution, after consultation with the director of the doctoral school, on the recommendation of the thesis director.
The doctoral student's work is examined beforehand by at least two rapporteurs appointed by the head of the establishment, who are qualified to supervise research or belong to one of the categories mentioned in 1° and 2° of article 16 of the present decree, on the proposal of the director of the doctoral school, after consulting the thesis director.
In the case of work involving people from the socio-economic world who do not belong to academia, a third rapporteur, recognized for his or her competence in the field, may be appointed on the recommendation of the doctoral school director, after consulting the thesis director.
Unless the disciplinary field or the content of the work does not allow it, the two rapporteurs must be from outside the doctoral school and the doctoral student's institution. They may belong to foreign higher education or research establishments, or to other foreign organizations.
Rapporteurs have no involvement in the doctoral student's work.
At least fourteen days* before the date set for the defense, the rapporteurs make their opinion known in written reports; on this basis, the head of the establishment authorizes the defense. These reports are communicated to the jury and to the doctoral student before the defense.

*For Aix-Marseille Université, the guideline is to return the reports 4 weeks before the defense date.

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 are French or foreign personalities from outside the doctoral school and the doctoral student's enrolment establishment, chosen for their scientific or professional competence in the field of research concerned, subject to the provisions relating to international co-supervision of theses as defined in Title III of the present decree.
The composition of the jury must ensure a balanced representation of men and women. At least half of the jury must be made up of professors or equivalent staff within the meaning ofarticle 6 of decree no. 92-70 on the National Council of Universities andarticle 5 of decree no. 87-31 for health disciplines, or teachers of equivalent rank who do not come under the Ministry of Higher Education.
The members of the jury designate a chairman from among their number and, where appropriate, a rapporteur. The chairman must be a professor or equivalent or a teacher of equivalent rank.
The thesis director participates in the jury, but does not take part in the decision. When several establishments are accredited to award the doctorate jointly, the jury is appointed by the heads of the establishments concerned in accordance with the conditions laid down in the agreement referred to in article 5 of the present decree.

Article 19

The defense is open to the public, except in the case of exceptional dispensation granted by the head of the establishment if the subject of the thesis is of a clearly confidential nature.
Before the defense, a summary of the thesis is circulated within the institution or institutions benefiting from joint accreditation.
In its deliberations, the jury assesses the quality of the doctoral student's work, its innovative character, the doctoral student's ability to place it in its scientific context, and his or her presentation skills. The jury may request corrections in accordance with article 24 of the present decree. When the work corresponds to collective research, the personal contribution of each doctoral student is assessed by a dissertation that he or she writes and presents individually to the jury.
By way of exception, and with the exception of the jury chairman, jury members may take part in the defense by videoconference or electronic means of 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 postponement is decided after deliberation by the jury.
The chairman signs the examination report, which is countersigned by all jury members present at the examination.
The defense report is sent to the doctoral student within one month of the defense.

Versions for Word and LaTeX are available for download:

• Word
• Latex

For information only.

The Doctoral School does not provide printing services for thesis manuscripts

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