The ED programme of action is defined by the decree of 7 August 2006. In this framework, the main responsibilities of the ED are as follows:

• to offer doctoral students training relevant to their research project and career plan, as well as training necessary to the acquisition of extended scientific knowledge. This training must prepare the doctoral student to become a researcher in both the academic and business sectors, but more generally for any profession that requires the skills acquired during doctoral training;
• to implement a policy of recruiting doctoral students of high calibre;
• to guarantee the quality of doctoral students' supervision by laboratories and research groups, and to ensure that the Charte des Thèses de l'Université de Toulouse is followed;
• to make sure the doctoral student is aware of the importance of defining a training plan at the beginning of their thesis that will prepare them for employment;
• to monitor the professional integration of all the doctoral students the school has hosted;
• to provide a European and international dimension to the course, in particular via the promotion of joint international thesis supervision.

More than 40% of the annual influx of new doctoral students onto the Midi-Pyrenees site or of Université de Toulouse doctors (approx 400/year) involves the Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier.

   
All the EDs of the Midi-Pyrenees site are part of the Collège Doctoral Université de Toulouse which in turn is part of the PRES and whose role is to work towards doctoral training being held onsite (contact CDUT: Monique Martinez).
  
The Collège Doctoral Université de Toulouse has therefore contributed to the implementation of:

• a thesis charter for the Université de Toulouse,
• rules of application from the decree of 7 August 2006 pertaining to doctoral training common to the 6 Toulouse establishments issuing the qualification of doctor,
• doctoral application and registration forms as well as thesis viva forms which are unique to each establishment,
• a shared offer for all courses with a professional aim: Doctoriales, Docteur vers son Métier, Foreign Language or French as a Foreign Language modules.