Cessation or termination of doctoral training

Cessation or termination of doctoral training

Caesura

The preparation of the doctorate takes 3 years. Exceptionally, at the supported request of the doctoral candidate, a continuous caesura of a maximum of one year may be taken once. The caesura must be part of the doctoral candidate's professional, study or personal project: 

  • Taking other courses;
  • Acquiring other experience in a professional environment in France or abroad;
  • Engaging in civic service in France or abroad;
  • Creating a business as a doctoral candidate-entrepreneur.

During the caesura, the doctoral candidate totally suspends their research work. It starts at the beginning of the semester and must be taken before the second semester of the third year of the thesis. If the doctoral candidate receives funding dedicated to the preparation of the doctorate, the caesura requires the agreement of the funding organisation and the employer. The non-disclosure provisions of the Sorbonne University's Doctoral Charter continue to apply during the caesura and the doctoral candidate must respect their obligations. This caesura is not counted in the duration of the doctoral course. 

Premature termination of doctoral training

It may be the case that, for various reasons, the doctoral candidate has to stop their doctoral training. There are two possible situations:

  • The termination is not due to a dispute, in which case the doctoral candidate contacts their doctoral school to find out how to proceed,
  • There is a dispute, in which case each stakeholder of the doctoral project is entitled to refer the matter to the Commission for Dispute Prevention and Resolution.