Calendar and admission panels
See the deadlines for eligibility and admission, as well as the list of admission panel members.
The competitive entrance examinations are carried out in two phases: the eligibility phase and the admission phase.
Each phase has its own review panels and rules of organisation.
Eligibility
For the regular researcher examinations, during this phase the panels review the applications and preselect the eligible candidates. They then interview the preselected candidates and finalise the list of those declared eligible for each examination.
For the research professor examinations, the panels evaluate the candidates’ scientific qualifications based on the application files. This evaluation can be accompanied by interviews of the candidates. In that case, the panels carry out a preselection of the candidates to be interviewed. After the interviews, the eligibility panels finalise the list of eligible candidates.
Admission
During the admission phase, the admission panels evaluate the applications of the eligible candidates. At the end of this phase, the admission panels finalise the lists of candidates who have been accepted, and if needed additional lists of alternates.
Members of the eligibility panels
An eligibility panel is formed for each examination, drawing members from the appropriate section or interdisciplinary commission of the National Committee. If needed for the scientific evaluation of the candidates’ work, the eligibility panel for each examination can also include one or two members from another section of the National Committee.
For the purpose of conducting interviews, the panels can be divided as needed into “panel sections”, depending on the number of candidates or the multiplicity of their fields of scientific activity.
Members of the admission panels
For the regular researcher examinations, an admission panel is formed, drawing members from one of the institutes whose activities concern the section corresponding to the discipline(s) of the available positions. Each panel comprises:
the institute director or his/her representative, chairman;
five members appointed by the Minister of Research upon nomination by the chairman;
five members appointed by the Minister of Research after consultation with the institute’s Scientific Board, drawn from members of the sections of the National Committee for Scientific Research holding ranks equal to or higher than the available positions.
For these ten members, at least five must be CNRS researchers, including at least two chosen from among members elected to the National Committee for Scientific Research.
For the regular researcher examinations offered in the Interdisciplinary Commissions, a single admission panel is formed. It comprises:
the CNRS Chairman and CEO, chairman;
ten members appointed by the Minister of Research upon nomination by the chairman;
ten members appointed by the Minister of Research after consultation with the institutes’ Scientific Boards, drawn from members of the sections of the National Committee for Scientific Research holding ranks equal to or higher than the available positions. Among them, at least five must be CNRS researchers, including at least two chosen from among members elected to the National Committee for Scientific Research.
For the research professor examinations, there is a single admission panel common to all CNRS institutes. Chaired by the CNRS Chairman and CEO, it includes the institutes’ directors and prominent figures in the scientific community.
After the admission panels are finalised, the lists of their members are posted on this page.
