Joining the COSI Group

As a graduate student

Overview of the French Education System

Applying for the DEA

The Université de Rennes 1 offers a one year ``masters'' degree, DEA (see overview). It is not a terminal degree and is intendend to prepare stuents for a thèse. The minimum prerequisite is a bachelors degree in Computer Science or related field. Admission is awarded by examination of a dossier which should include your CV, transcripts and two letters of recommendation. At Irisa, all DEA students receive a small stipend (about 2000 F per month). Depending on the availability of funds, this could be increased.

Applying for a thèse

The Université de Rennes 1 also offers the thèse or the PhD degree, which is awarded after a successful public defense of a dissertation and a positive report by (at least) two external examiners. At Irisa, all doctoral students are supported (for at least three years) by a fellowship or ``bourse''. Different types of bourses are possible and the application procedure for each differs slightly. In particular, some funding agencies require that an application be made by Irisa on your behalf.

Sujet de thèse: A student starting a thèse is given a short (1 page) description of the research topic. This description may also be submitted to funding agencies when applying for a bourse. Each research group prepares a list of thesis topics each year and this list is circulated among prospective students. The 1998 list for COSI (in French) is available here. It should give you an idea of our current research priorities (even if you don't find a sujet that describes exactly what you are looking for, but you think that there is a possibility of fruitful interaction, go to the following step).

To apply: Please send your detailed CV, transcripts, and a statement of purpose, and arrange to have letters of recommendation sent by three people who are familiar with your work and can comment on your research potential. Your statement of purpose should be as detailed and as specific as possible. Please write it as an essay of a couple of pages. Describe why the problems you identify are important, what, in your opinion, is needed to resolve them, and why you think that you will be able to do so, and why in our group. Remember, that this may not end up being your specific thesis topic which can be negotiated later (a lot depends on the funding for your fellowship). It should enable us to judge your vision of what you consider important, and your aptitudes and abilities. 

As a permanent member

There are four possibilities: be hired as a faculty member at either the University of Rennes 1 (IFSIC), or INSA de Rennes, or as a researcher in CNRS or in Inria. Each has their standard selection process, and the selected candidate eventually becomes a ``fonctionnaire'' (a French civil servant). 

As a visitor or a short term employee

There are often possibilities to visit for short durations either as an intern and/or as a visiting faculty member. This depends on the compatibility of research interests, the availability of the group members and on the funding situation. Our group usually offers summer internships for seniors or beginning graduate students.

In addition, longer term visits such as post-docs and/or graduate student visits (especially for co-supervised theses) may also be possible. Please send us mail if you are interested. A final possibility is as an expert engineer to perform specific tasks in the context of a research grant.

Current Openings

The following is the current list of openings (funding for some of which is pending)