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Application to the IGDR PhD program

Objectives

The IGDR PhD program aims at attracting talented PhD students to the IGDR to start innovative research projects. In 2022, about 5 to 7 positions will be available.

Overview

PhD students will conduct their research within one of the 15 teams of the IGDR. Cutting-edge training will be offered on topics encompassing the two main research axes of the IGDR: “Genetics, Genomics and Cancer” and “Cell Biology, Development and Biophysics”.These topics cover a broad range of disciplines, including Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Structural Biology, Advanced Microscopic Imaging, Epigenetics, Biological Chemistry, Cancer Biology, Biophysics

The list of topics and the teams welcoming a PhD student in 2022 are available here.

At the IGDR, PhD students will benefit from a dynamic and interactive research environment, and from the IGDR seminar program which attracts national and international speakers. Within the PhD program, the PhD students will also develop soft skills such as oral presentations, journal clubs, and thematic workshops. In addition, they will have access to core facilities with state-of-the-art equipment. They will also deepen their scientific interests and knowledge by attending additional training at the University of Rennes 1, including Ethics in Science.

For international candidates, assistance with administrative issues (Obtention of a working Visa, health insurance, taxes, etc..) and for housing will be provided.

The duration of the PhD is generally three years. At the end of their studies, PhD students defend their PhD according to the French national guidelines.

Application

The current call opens on April 1st and ends on May 1st, 2022.

Selected candidates will be enrolled into the PhD program in October 2022.

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Eligibility

• Candidates must hold a national master's degree or another degree conferring the grade of master, following a course of training or professional experience establishing their aptitude for research. If this condition is not met, an exception will only be possible after approval from the doctoral school and the university.
• There are no age-related restrictions.
• International applications are welcome.
• Candidates already enrolled in another PhD training program elsewhere are not eligible.
• No prior knowledge of French is required (although a basic knowledge could be useful for daily life outside of the IGDR). Fluency in English is highly recommended.

Application procedure

The procedure consists of the following steps:

• Online written applicationThe candidates can upload their written application on the dedicated page between April 1st and May 1st, 2022. The application consists of a standardized template requesting general and education information. In addition, two essays should be provided. In the first one, the candidate should elaborate on one of the Research topics proposed in the Call. In the second one, the candidate is expected to elaborate on his/her favorite scientific publication. Last but not least, the candidate should arrange for one or two reference letters to be sent together with an associated form directly to our office (igdr.phd.program@univ-rennes1.fr) by the person recommending the candidate and before the application deadline.More detailed information are provided at the application link.The evaluation criteria for this step are the academic records and the scientific performance on the essays. The applications will be evaluated in May 2022 by an Admission committee composed of IGDR scientists.The selected candidates will be invited for an interview at the IGDR. The results of this first selection step should be expected by May 21st, 2022.
  Note that candidates who did not get selected for interviews can apply to other projects within the Biologie-Santé Doctoral School, with the rule of one application to one project per candidate. Due to this latter rule of the Doctoral School, while candidates selected for interviews are now eligible to the 5-7 positions offered at the IGDR, they are not eligible anymore to apply to other projects within the Biologie-Santé Doctoral School.

• On-site interviewsSelected candidates are invited to the IGDR for two days, June 15th and 16th, 2022. For particular situations preventing her/him from joining the IGDR for interviews, the candidate is expected to reach out to the IGDR PhD Program as soon as possible to find an acceptable solution, including remote interviews or subsidization of travel expenses.During the visit, candidates:
   
  • Will visit the IGDR and meet a representative of the Biologie-Santé Doctoral School;
  • Will be interviewed by an ad-hoc Admission Committee composed of IGDR scientists (Day 1);
  • Will participate to a “speed-dating” session to meet all the potential PhD supervisors of the projects he/she is interested in. We highly recommend the candidates to meet at least half of the PhD supervisors proposing a PhD project (Day 2);
  • Will benefit from a dedicated time slot to meet the potential host laboratory and its members (End of Day 2);
  • Will meet all together during a social event, organized by PhD students and post-doctoral fellows currently at the IGDR (Evening of Day 1).
  The selection criteria of the Admission Committee are: the general scientific knowledge, technical knowledge, the understanding of the project previously described in the essays, the capacity to think after an open question, and the motivation of the student to join the IGDR.The Admission Committee will then choose candidates to be offered admission, and those to be put on a waiting list. Candidates are informed of the final decision of the Admission Committee shortly after the Interview days, and successful candidates are given 7 days to tell us whether they accept admission. About 5 to 7 places are available every year.