Hauts-de-France regionale Forschungsfoerderprogramme (u.a. STaRS, SAVAN)

SAVAN doctoral funding (Hauts-de-France region)

SAVAN funds a three-year PhD contract in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France, worth up to 60,000 EUR. The money pays your salary. You get a real employment contract (a French "contrat doctoral") through the research lab that hosts you, so you can focus on your thesis while being paid. The Hauts-de-France regional council runs this once a year to strengthen its research labs and keep talented students in the area.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You are starting a PhD (doctoral thesis).
• Where you research: You do your thesis in an accredited academic research lab in the Hauts-de-France region.
• Field of study: All subjects are allowed. Topics linked to the region's "REV3" priorities are favoured: maritime economy, biorefineries, artificial intelligence, circular economy, decarbonisation, precision medicine and social change.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply. What counts is where you research, not where you are from.
• Lab backing: The lab submits your thesis project, not you. You need a lab and a thesis supervisor in the region who support your project.

How to apply

You do not apply yourself. Contact the doctoral school (Ecole Doctorale) or research office of the university where you want to do your PhD. The lab then submits the project through the region's online platform. For the 2026 round, labs can submit between 4 June 2026 (noon) and 6 July 2026 (noon).

How realistic are your chances?

This is cut narrowly. You need a research lab in Hauts-de-France ready to propose your thesis, and each university first ranks its own projects before passing them to the region. If you already have a supervisor and lab behind you, especially on a favoured REV3 topic, your prospects are solid. Without a lab you cannot enter at all, so securing a host is the real hurdle.