Abstract
Our paper presents the major outcomes of a workshop held by INRAE in June 2022 on the practice of interdisciplinary PhDs in France, involving the contribution of supervisors, PhD candidates, post-docs and directors of specific doctoral schools. Preliminary interviews, questionnaires, statements, inputs from epistemology and discussions showed the interest of interdisciplinarity for both the supervisors and the doctoral candidates, as well as the difficulty of the task due, in particular, to the differences in concepts and methods between disciplines. The seminar made possible to clearly identify the conditions facilitating the good progress of interdisciplinary PhDs such as carrying out a thesis in an interdisciplinary community; the profile of candidates already familiar with several disciplines or with a broad scientific background acquired through training or previous experiences; appropriate skills allowing candidates to embrace new concepts and to position themselves at the interface of disciplines; co-construction of the thesis project; support provided all along the thesis, including training and tutoring. Practices regarding the management of interdisciplinary theses vary greatly from one doctoral school to another. Several perspectives were identified, relating to the recruitment process, the training and backing provided for supervisors and doctoral candidates, and the follow-up of the careers of young doctorate holders.