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RESEARCH PRODUCT

La professionnalisation du doctorat : vers une segmentation de la formation doctorale et des parcours des docteurs ?

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Borrowing from Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical corpus, the thesis analyzes the process of professionalization of the doctorate that took place in France from the mid-2000s. The main objectives of the movement are to improve the professional future of PhDs, to reduce job insecurity at the beginning of their careers and to promote their integration into companies. At a time when the professional integration of higher education graduates and the performance of innovation systems are major challenges for national policies, the future of PhDs is characterized by a high degree of job insecurity in public research jobs and poor integration into companies. As a result, the added value of the PhD on the labor market is constantly questioned. This work establishes that professionalization has led to a segmentation of doctoral curricula and doctoral career paths. In France, there are several doctoral training regimes since doctoral students do not have the same opportunities to access the resources of professionalization. The segmentation of courses is carried out before, during and after the thesis. Between 2004 and 2013, PhDs with already professionalized academic profiles have accessed the doctorate, highlighting a morphological transformation of the field. By considering the transition from thesis to employment as a "testing path", depending on the disciplinary affiliation, several pathways are available to doctors in both public and private research careers. For some, the post-thesis period is seen as a career pursuit, and for those doctors who are furthest from the resources of professionalization, it is more like professional integration. While the greater integration of doctors in companies and the development of certain resources in private employment encourage people to think of professionalization as a success, some doctors seem to be excluded from these processes.