Contrat doctoral Région Grand Est

Contrat doctoral Région Grand Est

You get a salaried job contract of at least about 2,200 EUR gross per month to write your PhD, running for up to 3 years. The pay follows the national minimum for doctoral contracts, which rises to about 2,300 EUR gross per month from January 2026. You are hired as an employee, not a student, so you get full social-security and pension rights. The money comes from the Grand Est region of France, which funds research on regional topics. Usually the region pays half and a partner (a university, company or research body) pays the other half. In some cases, especially in the humanities and social sciences, the region covers 100 percent.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a Master's degree or an equivalent qualification.
• What you do: You write a PhD thesis at a research unit, university or research body based in the Grand Est region.
• Topic: Your research must matter for the region and fit its innovation strategy. Priority goes to the green economy (chemistry, environment, energy, mobility, housing) and to health and well-being (medical technology, agri-food, biodiversity). Other fields can also be accepted.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply. You just carry out the research at an institution in the Grand Est region.
• Co-financing: Having a partner co-fund the contract is a plus, for example a company, research organisation or technology-transfer body.

How to apply

The call opens each year around December. You do not apply on your own: research labs submit their thesis topics to the doctoral school (Ecole doctorale), which ranks them. Labs whose projects are selected can then propose a candidate around June, and the application reaches the region through the university's doctoral college. PhD topics on artificial intelligence go through the separate "IA Grand Est ENACT" cluster instead of this general call.

How realistic are your chances?

This contract is tied to one region and to topics that fit its innovation priorities, so the pool of matching projects is narrower than for open PhD funding. Your prospects depend heavily on landing a spot with a lab whose project is selected, since the lab takes the lead. If your topic clearly serves a regional priority and a partner helps co-fund it, you stand out.