Section 31 – External Competition

Recommendations

Section 31 recommends following the detailed format below in order to simplify the evaluation process:

CR Competition Recommendations

It should be noted that applications may be written in either French or English and will be evaluated equally, regardless of the language used.

A CR 31/02 competition, with positions allocated in laboratories under CNRS supervision (without targeting a specific institute), is open every year. For this competition, the section advises you to identify at least one lab with CNRS Ecology and Environment as the main supervisory body (see recommendation file).

Depending on the year, the section may also evaluate other additional competitions (CR 31/03, etc.). These other competitions have additional constraints (e.g., positions in specific laboratories or projects on a specific topic).

These competitions are independent. If several competitions are open and your project can meet the additional constraints, the section therefore advises you to apply for both (CR 31/02 & CR 31/03).

Calendar 2026

The admission panels for the CR competitions (CR 31/02 & CR 31/03) will be held at the end of February 2026. Candidates will be informed of the results by postal mail from the CNRS. However, to facilitate preparation for the interviews, we will publish the list of shortlisted candidates on this website on March 2, 2026.

The interviews for the CRCN 31/02 competition will take place in Paris, from March 30 to April 1, 2026.

The interviews for the CRCN 31/03 competition will take place in Paris, on April 16, 2026.