Industry R&D Internships for PhD Students: How to Apply
Learn how PhD students find research internships inside company R&D labs, what these programs offer, and what to check before you sign a contract.
Many PhD students spend part of their doctorate inside a company research lab instead of only in an academic lab. This guide explains the main types of industry research and development (R&D) internships, how to find them, and what to check before you sign a contract.
What an industry R&D internship is
An industry R&D internship places a PhD student inside a company's research team for a fixed period. The work connects to the student's thesis, or it opens a new research question defined with the company.
Three common models exist in Europe:
- A short research placement. The PhD student works in a company lab for weeks or a few months, often during the thesis, then returns to the university.
- A co-funded industrial doctorate. The company and a public funder jointly pay for the PhD, and the student splits time between the company and a university research unit.
- A full industrial employment contract. The company employs the PhD student directly for the whole doctorate, under a contract tied to a research project.
Industrial doctorates funded through Horizon Europe
The European Commission funds industrial doctorates through its Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks. Under this action, PhD candidates are jointly supervised by an academic partner and a non-academic partner, often a company.
Key rules for this action, as stated on the MSCA page:
- Industrial Doctorates are open to candidates "of any nationality."
- A candidate must not already hold a doctoral degree when recruited.
- For Industrial Doctorates, the candidate should spend "at least 50% of their time outside academia."
- The fellowship lasts between 3 and 36 months, inside a Doctoral Network project that can run up to 4 years.
- Candidates must meet a mobility rule: in general, they must not have lived or worked in the country of the recruiting organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years before recruitment.
- Funding covers a living allowance, a mobility allowance, and, where it applies, family and long-term leave allowances.
You do not apply to the European Commission directly. You apply to an open position inside a funded Doctoral Network project, usually advertised on EURAXESS, the EU's official researcher portal.
The CIFRE contract in France
France runs its own long-standing scheme for industry-funded doctorates, called a CIFRE contract (Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche). The scheme is run by the Association Nationale pour la Recherche Technologique (ANRT).
Under a CIFRE contract, as described by Université Paris Cité's doctoral office:
- A company employs and pays the PhD student directly.
- The company receives financial aid from ANRT for this employment.
- A public research unit, attached to a university, co-supervises the research together with the company.
- The student must register with a doctoral school for the full length of the CIFRE contract.
- The student and the thesis supervisor submit the CIFRE application file to ANRT. The student can register at the university only after ANRT approves the file.
Funding amounts and the exact approval timeline change. Check the current rules on the ANRT website, or ask your target doctoral school, before you plan your budget.
How to find these internships and contracts
| Source | What to check |
|---|---|
| EURAXESS | Open positions inside funded Doctoral Networks, including Industrial Doctorates |
| Company research pages | Large R&D employers (in electronics, pharma, energy, software, and automotive) often list PhD-level research internships on their own careers sites |
| Your doctoral school or supervisor | Many industry placements start from an existing link between a research group and a company |
| National schemes | Check whether your host country runs a scheme similar to CIFRE; ask your university's doctoral or industrial-relations office |
Tip: Read the exact job title carefully. "Research intern," "industrial PhD," and "co-funded doctoral candidate" describe different contracts, with different pay, length, and degree outcomes.
Before you apply: questions to ask
- Who employs you: the company, the university, or both jointly?
- Does the position lead to a single doctoral degree, and from which university?
- How much of your time will you spend at the company compared with the university lab?
- Can the company publish, delay, or restrict publication of your results? Ask for this in writing.
- What happens to your contract if the company's project is cancelled or changes direction?
Contracts, pay, and visas
Industry research contracts vary by country and by scheme, so do not assume the rules of one country apply to another.
- Read your contract fully before signing. Check the exact monthly pay, the contract length, and who holds any intellectual property you create.
- If you are not a citizen or resident of the host country, check the national immigration authority's page for researchers and highly qualified workers before you accept an offer. The European Commission's EU Immigration Portal explains routes for highly qualified non-EU workers in the EU, but national rules decide your specific case.
- Ask the company's human resources team, not only the research team, to confirm your contract type, your visa sponsorship, and your tax status.
Common mistakes
- Assuming an "industrial PhD" always means the same contract and pay across companies and countries.
- Signing a contract before you know who supervises the thesis and which university grants the degree.
- Not asking about publication rules until after you start, when some results may already be restricted.
- Skipping the national visa check because the employer is a large, well-known company.
PhD Atlas lists PhD positions by country, including many funded PhD positions. Sign up so PhD Atlas can match industry and academic openings to your CV.