Region of Île-de-France - Doctoral scholarships for fields of special interest

Paris Region PhD scholarship

Your PhD is receiving regional funding of 100,000 EUR via 36 months (3 years). This will cover your salary whilst you are studying for your PhD. The funding comes from the Île-de-France region in France. It is paid to your employer – the university or research laboratory – not directly to you. You will be employed on a PhD contract and will therefore work as an employee. Your PhD must be carried out jointly by an academic laboratory and a commercial partner (a company or an association), both of which must be based in the Paris region. This partner must also make a contribution, which, in the case of a company, must amount to at least 20,000 EUR over a period of 3 years.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a Master’s degree 2 or an equivalent qualification and have not yet obtained a doctorate.
• Where you study: You are enrolled at a doctoral school (école doctorale) in the Île-de-France region and will be starting your first year of doctoral study between 2026 and 2027.
• Timing: Your PhD programme must begin by January 2027 at the latest.
• Field of study: Any subject area is permitted, but your project must have a digital focus and relate to one of the region’s specified themes. Examples: the impact of climate change on buildings; healthcare, including mental health; digital tools in the classroom; economic models for the energy and environmental transition; or the impact of new transport routes in Paris.
• Nationality, age, gender: No restrictions. Accessible to everyone.
• Partnership: A research laboratory based in the Paris region and a company or association based in the Paris region will jointly supervise your dissertation.

How to apply

You do not submit the application yourself. Your supervisor (directeur de thèse) submits the application via the region’s online platform. The annual application deadline is at the end of March (23 March for 2026), and a new call for applications is expected each year. Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered.

How realistic are your chances?

This is not an open, individual scholarship. Your project must relate to one of a small number of narrowly defined topics, have a digital focus, and be based on a genuine partnership between a research laboratory and a company in the Paris region. This significantly narrows the field to well-prepared projects with strong connections. If you already have both partners on board and a topic that is a clear fit, your chances are good. The difficult part is getting this partnership off the ground before the deadline in March.