CALL FOR PROPOSALS: MIROIR 2026 DOCTORAL CONTRACTS
6 Mirror Doctoral Projects
A mirrored doctoral project allows two distinct disciplinary theses to be integrated into a single multidisciplinary project.
The goal is to approach the same research project from the perspective of two different disciplines in order to promote a multidisciplinary approach. The methods and references specific to each of the disciplines involved must therefore be drawn upon.
This requires a close collaboration between thesis directors (co-supervisors) in order to draw up, in pairs, a project definition and a coordinated response to the IDIL call for projects.
For the 2026 academic year, the IDIL graduate program is funding six paired doctoral projects, for a total of 12 doctoral contracts over a three-year period.
In summary, a mirrored doctoral project is:
FUNDING
The doctoral contract is a three-year contract that allows a doctoral student to be employed by a public institution in order to complete their dissertation.
IDIL funding covers the gross salary of doctoral students, including payroll taxes, as well as operating expenses of up to 5k€ per year for the host laboratory (for a total cost of 15k€ over three years per doctoral student).
For the 2025 cycle, the IDIL program is offering 12 doctoral fellowship grants for six paired multidisciplinary projects.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The average salary for a doctoral student is about 1,700 euros net per month.
eligibility
An IDIL mirror doctoral project must be jointly developed and written by two HDR-certified thesis advisors affiliated with two separate doctoral schools (at UM or Institut Agro) and two different laboratories (UMR or UR).
It includes a common introduction that outlines the multidisciplinary project, followed by a description of two dissertation topics—in two different disciplines—that clarify the two approaches to be pursued during the two funded doctoral contracts. To ensure that each dissertation is clearly oriented toward multidisciplinarity, the co-advisor for the first doctoral contract will serve as the co-advisor for the second doctoral contract, and vice versa.
IDIL's multidisciplinary mirror doctoral projects must combine two thesis projects in the following disciplines, centered on the three pillars of Care, Protect, and Feed
- Agronomy
- Biology and Health
- Plant Biology
- Chemistry
- Ecology and Evolution
- Economy
- Electronics
- Epidemiology
- Microbiology
- Management
- Mechanics
- Physics
- Earth Sciences
- Water Sciences
- Political Science
- Sports and Movement Sciences
submission guidelines
Students working on an IDIL mirror doctoral project must inform their team leaders and unit directors that they are submitting their project before actually submitting it.
The project must be written in French or English based on the document available for download below, following the instructions provided therein.
Principal investigators are invited to submit their applications to the IDIL graduate program via the dedicated submission portal (the submission module will be available starting December 15, 2025) – Deadline: February 9, 2026, 6:00 p.m. CET
If you have any questions, please contact us by email at idil-team@umontpellier.fr
evaluation
The scientific quality of the overall project will be evaluated by the Research Committee of the University of Montpellier in the presence of the IDIL project leaders and representatives from Institut Agro.
Students will be selected by a doctoral student admissions committee consisting of 7 members for each of the selected projects:
• 1 IDIL representative
• 2 relevant thesis advisors
• 1 representative from each of the relevant doctoral schools (2 DS members)
• 1 representative from each of the relevant laboratory departments (2 UMR members)
Three candidates will be interviewed per topic (for a total of six for a mirrored project)
calendar
- Campaign launch: December 8, 2025
- Submission portal opens: December 15, 2025
- Deadline for submitting thesis proposals on the IDIL website: February 9, 2026
- Release of results from funded IDIL mirror projects: Early April 2026
- Student Auditions: May 2026
- Announcement of results to students: Late May 2026
- Start of the dissertation: October 2026 (3-year program)