CRNS-Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences - InSHS-CRNS Doctoral Fellowships

What you get

You will be offered a paid post as 3-year doctoral employment contract at the CNRS Sciences humaines & sociales in France, starting on 1 October. You will not receive a scholarship. Instead, the CNRS will employ you as a staff member on the standard French PhD student salary – this is a fixed-term post in the public research service. Part of the contract involves a compulsory research placement abroad at one of the CNRS’s international units. From the 2026 round onwards, this will be supported by additional research funding: 6,000 EUR per year for your host institution in France and a one-off sum of 1,500 EUR for your host institution abroad. These funds will be used to finance workshops, conferences and joint publications in the years 1 and 2. The CNRS SHS awards 5 of these contracts for 2026, compared with 4 in the year 2025.

Who can apply

• Who submits: You do not apply yourself. A supervisor must submit for you. That supervisor must be a permanent member of a CNRS-linked research unit in France and be allowed to direct PhDs at a French doctoral school (école doctorale).
• Your study stage: You must commence your PhD at the start of the academic year and enrol for the first time. You cannot apply if you are already enrolled on a PhD programme.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects in the humanities and social sciences, such as history, sociology, anthropology, economics, law, political science, linguistics, geography and psychology.
• Where you go: You are undertaking your PhD in France and will complete a compulsory research placement at one of the listed CNRS institutions abroad. The destinations change every year and include regions such as North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the USA.
• Nationality: All nationalities can apply.
• Host approval: The head of the host institution abroad must sign the application. Without this signature, the application will be rejected.

How to apply

Your supervisor submits the application via the CNRS-NOA platform. For round 2026, the deadline is 15 May 2026 at 14:00 (Paris time). The CNRS InSHS will then select the topics and announce the results in June. The supervisor will recruit the PhD student thereafter.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a strictly limited selection process: only 5 contracts will be awarded; the application must come from an eligible supervisor affiliated with the CNRS and relate to a specific foreign institution. This significantly narrows the pool of applicants. However, it also means that the project and the support provided by the supervisor are decisive factors – not the size of the applicant pool. If you already have a committed supervisor and a compelling research topic linked to one of the listed international institutions, you have a genuine chance of success. Without this support, you cannot take part at all.