Please refer to the Candidate’s Guide for administrative criteria– Recruitment Competitions for Researchers (M/F) – CNRS Careers.

Guidelines

These guidelines are open, non-exclusive, and not strictly cumulative. CNRS is committed to an approach that integrates open science, gender equality, sustainable development, and consideration of disability. Applications may be written in French or English and will be evaluated equally.

• Quality of the research project (the committee will assess originality, risk-taking, curiosity-driven research, innovation, the international visibility of the topic, and/or interdisciplinarity).
• Quality of academic training and scientific output (original publications in international peer-reviewed journals or preprints signed as first/co-first author or corresponding/co-corresponding author, conference presentations, review articles, thematic and/or geographical mobility).
• Eligibility for national or international early-career funding schemes.
• Feasibility of the proposed project: planned funding, implementation within a CNRS unit.
• Research ethics (appropriate consideration of the published literature, data availability, publication of preprints, preference for non-profit or community-based journals rather than predatory ones).
• Clear alignment with the themes of Section 24.
• Other responsibilities (student supervision, teaching experience, collaborations).

Participation in science communication, collective duties, and the economic, biotechnological, or biomedical valorisation of research will also be taken into consideration.

Practical advice for preparing CRCN application file

Previous work

The report on previous work highlights the candidate’s career by emphasising past scientific activities. It is not a detailed CV, but a specific text allowing the jury to accurately assess the candidate’s research experience. It should not repeat information already available elsewhere in the application, but rather provide additional insight into the candidate’s contributions that other documents do not easily reveal.

The text must not exceed 15,000 characters (including spaces, excluding references). The use of diagrams and figures is recommended.

Candidates should select 5 publications or achievements and briefly describe their importance and the candidate’s specific contribution. It is recommended to distinguish research articles from review articles in the list of scientific outputs, clearly highlighting the candidate’s name and, where applicable, whether they are the corresponding author. It is appreciated if scientific outputs are presented according to career stages (PhD, postdoctoral period).

Research program

The research program is an essential part of the application file and requires the greatest attention from candidates. It must enable the jury to clearly understand and assess the objectives, challenges, and scientific approach that the candidate intends to pursue if recruited by CNRS. The report should describe the state of the art, specify methodological aspects, and highlight the impact of the proposed research. Particular attention will be paid to the originality and innovative nature of the project.

For the implementation of the program, the candidate must explain how it will be funded and in which research environment it will be carried out. The candidate must also justify why Section 24 is the most appropriate section for the project.

The section recommends not exceeding 20,000 characters (including spaces, excluding references). The use of diagrams and figures is recommended.

2026 Schedule

The examination board responsible for selecting candidates to be invited for interviews will meet at the end of February 2026. Candidates will be notified of the results by mail by the CNRS. To facilitate preparation for the interviews, we will, however, publish the list of shortlisted candidates on this website on March 2nd, 2026.

The interviews for the CRCN 24/02 competition will take place in Paris from March 24th to March 26th, 2026.