Institut des Amériques - Call for doctoral contracts

Doctoral contracts of the Institut des Amériques

You will be offered a paid 3-year PhD contract (36 months) to conduct research on the Americas in the humanities and social sciences. The remuneration is based on the statutory French rate for PhD students and amounts to approximately 1,685 EUR to 2,025 EUR gross per month; and is the same for all contracts under this call for applications. Funding is provided by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research as part of its partnership with the Institut des Amériques (IdA), a network linking French and American universities. The position is unusual. You will be based in a research laboratory in France, but will also spend extended periods abroad (around 8 months per year) at one of the IdA’s international centres. There, in addition to working on your own doctoral thesis, you will coordinate the centre’s academic work and partnership activities. Recent host cities have included Lima (Peru), Montréal (Canada), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Mexico City. The specific centres change with each annual cycle.

Who can apply

• Degree stage: You are not yet enrolled on a PhD programme and would like to start your dissertation at an IdA member institution.
• Master's: You have already completed your Master’s thesis 2 or will complete it before starting your PhD.
• Field: Humanities and social sciences with a research focus on the Americas. Preference will be given to projects that are interdisciplinary in nature or cover more than one part of the Americas.
• Languages: You speak the language of the destination country fluently. A second language of the Americas is a plus.
• Knowledge of the system: You do know how the French higher education system works, don’t you?
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.
• Grades: The quality of your academic work is the most important selection criterion.

How to apply

You must submit a complete application in PDF format via the IdA online platform by the deadline (1 March, 23:00 Paris time), relating to a single geographical location. You will also need a letter of recommendation from your prospective PhD supervisor. If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to an online interview before the final decision is made.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a highly selective scholarship. Only a handful of contracts are awarded each year, each of which is tied to a specific region and location, meaning that the pool of applicants for each individual post is small. Academic excellence is the key criterion; you will also need the right language skills and a project that fits in with the location’s research area. If you are a good fit for a particular centre, have a supervisor who supports you, and can commit to extended stays abroad as well as to coordinating the centre’s activities, your prospects are good. A compelling, targeted application is more important than a broad one.