Evaluation of doctoral schools

Fabrice Martin

The Higher Education and Research Ministry has put its grade report of doctoral schools on line. A particularly interesting document for those who are about to undertake a research master’s or a PhD.

The Scientific, Technical and Pedagogical Mission (MSTP) of the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research evaluates the doctoral schools every four years. For the first time, it has published its grade report of doctoral schools as of April 2007.

The scale is simple:
- A+ (red)= excellent
- A (green)= very good
- B (yellow)= good but can be improved,
- C (white)= mediocre

And guess what? Not all of them got an A...

The assessment criteria, which are also online, take into account not only the doctoral school’s research policy but also its training research and career planning policies as well.

If you’re considering undertaking a research mater’s or a doctorate, a glance at this document is well worth your while.