However, the DEA must be obtained during the first year of the program. After the DEA, a full year is devoted to developing specialist knowledge in the chosen field of specialization. A thesis proposal is finally submitted at this point to a board made up of specialist HEC professors. The year's work is then assessed by examination, after which students are awarded the HEC Ph.D. Program Certificate of Specialization.
Students then carry out the research and write the thesis over the next two to three years.
The viva can take place once authorization has been given in two written reports from French university professors. The viva is carried out in public and before a board made up of professors from both HEC and other French and foreign universities. Students receive in-depth methodological training and acquire advanced knowledge in one of five specialization fields. The Certificate of Specialization is awarded to students once they have passed the Specialization Exam, on condition that they already hold a French DEA degree, and have obtained satisfactory marks during classes and seminars. The thesis proposal is then presented before a board of professors.