The conditions for enrolment in a doctoral thesis in terms of degree are defined by the order of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of 25 May 2016 establishing the national doctoral education framework and the procedures leading to the award of the national doctoral diploma :

To be enrolled in a doctorate, the candidate must hold a national master's degree or another degree conferring the diploma of master, after completion of a training or professional experience course establishing his/her aptitude for research.

If you do not meet the diploma requirement, the head of the institution may, by derogation and on the proposal of the board of the Doctoral School (DS) to which the host unit or research team is affiliated, enrol in doctoral training persons who have completed studies of an equivalent level or who benefit from the validation of prior experience (VAE) as provided for in Article L. 613-5 of the Education Code.

In addition to these prerequisites for the diploma, there are the requirements of the DS of enrolment, which are indicated on its website and in its bylaw, in particular the conditions of scientific, material and financial resources of the doctoral candidate during the duration of the thesis. Any candidate for a thesis enrolment must first have a thesis project, determined by agreement with his/her future thesis director(s). The application file (cf. thesis registration procedures on the DS website of the thesis director), must be submitted to the DS director, which validates the pedagogical registration of the candidate on the basis of his/her acceptance in a host research unit or team affiliated to the DS, to carry out a specific research project there, under the direction of a director/co-director identified as scientific supervisor(s).