Cris Beauchemin

Like other research institutes, INED purports to train students in research by having them do research. The Institute does not confer a degree and does not hold regular courses. However, it does host students who want to train in population research, notably PhD students. They come from a wide range of disciplines: demography, economics, geography, history, public health and sociology to name a few. Each is enrolled at university, meaning that INED has developed strong ties with higher education institutions in France and abroad. In 2011-2012, for example, in addition to hosting PhD students enrolled in ten French higher education institutions, we received doctoral students from Belgium (Catholic University of Louvain), the United States (Princeton), Great Britain (Oxford and Sussex), the Czech Republic (Charles University in Prague), Portugal (the University of Lisbon) and Spain (University Autonóma of Barcelona).

INED offers two types of hosting arrangements: stays of a few months, for foreign "guest" PhD students, and "resident" arrangements where students stay at least a year and often the entire time they write their thesis. Those without a grant from their university or other organization are funded by INED. The material conditions for thesis research and writing are excellent: a fully equipped office, funding for research trips and scientific conferences, direct access to all research support services (documentation, IT and statistical methods departments). Resident students join a research unit and are mentored by an INED researcher working on a subject close to their own and who either may or may not be their thesis director. INED is very much in favour of regular, coordinated supervision: every PhD student hosted at the Institute is supervised by both their thesis director and another researcher, so as to have support and feedback on their work from more than one source. The program for student-supervisor consultations is explained in our Charter for PhD Students.

INED makes a widely publicised call for applications-in both French and English-every year in March (see the INED website). Applicants must be sure of being enrolled in a PhD program when they arrive at the start of the following academic year. They may already be working on their thesis or they may have just completed or be completing their Master’s. We are now asking candidates to submit not only their application (by early June) but also their defended final Master’s thesis (by the end of June). All applications must include a solid thesis project and letters of recommendation from both the future thesis director and the INED researcher who will mentor the student if he or she is selected. It is therefore important for students to contact INED researchers who might be interested in their work before submitting an application.

Students are admitted exclusively on an application basis; there are no interviews. In 2012, we received 80 applications and granted 5 students funding for three years and 4 students funding for one year to complete their thesis. We try to ensure that the selection process is as transparent as possible. It is described in detail in the call for applications: selection committee composition, blank evaluation forms, etc. The selection committee comprises 5 INED researchers and 5 outside scientific experts operating within the iPOPs "laboratory of excellence". It meets in early July. A report on the selection process is drafted afterwards and is available upon request. All applicants receive a personalized answer.