Rita Katoola

Thesis proposal

This thesis examines whether existing support and guidance systems in French higher education meet the specific needs of exiled individuals (refugees, asylum seekers, and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection).
Access to university is recognized as a key driver of social integration, but current policies remain fragmented, conditional, and often ill-suited to the realities of the target population. This research offers a cross-analysis of public integration policies, migration trajectories, and institutional practices, drawing on a theoretical framework that combines the sociology of integration and social inclusion. It also draws on in-depth field research, particularly within the SILLAT association, a community-based support initiative that works to facilitate exiles’ access to higher education, which the doctoral student co-founded and directed at the regional level. The objective is to identify the systemic, institutional, and symbolic barriers to effectively resuming studies, while proposing an integrative inter-institutional model that brings together universities, support structures, local authorities, and community organizations within a framework of shared responsibility. Through a qualitative approach involving interviews, participant observation, and a literature review, this thesis aims to contribute to a critical reflection on French integration policy and to the development of more inclusive public policies in the field of higher education

Edited by Éric Savarese and Catherine Mercier-Suissa