Thèses AID classiques (Untertyp: Thèses hors partenariat établi)

AID doctoral thesis grant (thèses AID classiques)

You get funding for a three-year (36-month) PhD in France on a research topic that matters to defence. In the most common setup, the grant covers about half of your doctoral salary, up to about 65,000 EUR over three years, and a co-financing partner covers the rest. For a small number of high-priority topics without a co-financing partner, the grant can reach up to about 130,000 EUR for the full three years. It also covers your travel, conference and training costs. The money comes from the Agence de l'innovation de défense (AID), the innovation agency of the French defence ministry, which funds around 100 of these theses each year. This sub-type ("hors partenariat établi") applies when your employer has no standing partnership with the AID, so the AID and your employer sign an individual contract.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a master's degree, an equivalent qualification, or an engineering diploma that carries master's status.
• Where you study: Your research lab must be based in France.
• Nationality: You are a citizen of an EU country, the United Kingdom or Switzerland. No exceptions.
• Field of study: Your topic fits one of the AID's priority areas, such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, quantum technologies, materials, energy, health and CBRN defence, or humanities and social sciences.
• Timing: Your thesis has not started yet when you apply. The earliest start is 1 October.
• Employment: You do not already have a work contract. PhD students at the CEA (the French atomic energy commission) cannot apply.

How to apply

Before you apply, your thesis supervisor first emails the AID's innovation officer with a short description of the topic. You then submit a full application through the online platform "Démarche Numérique". A selection commission judges the scientific quality, the lab and supervision, your profile, and the relevance to defence. Results come out in June.

How realistic are your chances?

This is tightly targeted: your topic must match one of the AID's defence priorities, your lab must be in France, and you need a supervisor willing to sponsor the topic before you even apply. That narrows the field. But with roughly 100 places a year, well-matched candidates with a strong topic and lab backing have real prospects. Finding a co-financing partner early strengthens your case, since over 85% of funded theses are co-financed.