General informations ------------------------------------------------------------------------
France has signed in 1999 the Bologna process declaration on the organization of the High Education studies in Europe. with all the other European countries (The Bologna Declaration on the European space for higher education: an explanation, 1999). The High Education studies are based on the three levels: bachelor, master, doctorate, with a respective associate duration 3-5-8 years. Of course, the College of doctoral studies is concerned by the third level, the highest.
The target of the European Union Ministries is to reach an average duration of a PhD of three years.
In this way, France has successiveley published decrees in 2002 and in 2006 about the docotoral studies. The most important, published in 2006 ( Decree of 07th august 2006 by Education Ministry, published at Official Journal of French Republic on 24th August, 2006). It has organized the preparation of a doctorate in specific elaborated structure, called doctoral schools corresponding to the post-graduation studies in the classical anglo-saxon scheme. These doctoral schools or post-graduate studies are federated in a college.
This college is composed of the doctoral schools of Rennes and represents in practice the post-graduate study service of Rennes. It is a superstructure common to the academic insitutions linked to the both universities, Rennes 1 and Rennes 2 ones. This college gathers the six corresponding doctoral schools.
