Deadline: 16 April 2025

The new call for FCT-funded PhD Studentships is now open. As in previous editions, two lines are open: i) a general application line, for applications in all scientific areas and with research work to be carried out in scientific and academic institutions; ii) a specific application line for research grants whose work plans take place partly in one or more non-academic organisations. The total number of grants to be awarded is 1,550, of which 550 will be allocated to the specific application line for work plans in non-academic organisations. In addition, doctoral research grants will also be awarded in a non-academic environment within the scope of Non-Academic Chairs (NA) funded under the FCT-Tenure programme, to all eligible candidates covered by this programme whose application is evaluated with a final classification equal to or greater than three.

Types of grants

Regular line of application: The research activities of the grants are mainly carried out in an academic environment, so they can be carried out in any academic organization.

The work plan may take place entirely in a national institution, partially in a foreign institution (mista), or entirely in a foreign institution, in the latter case only if the lack of the necessary expertise in Portuguese host institutions or institutions with representation in Portugal is demonstrated.

Specific application line in a non-academic environment: The research activities are mostly carried out in a non-academic environment, meaning applications whose work plan is developed in close liaison with non-academic organisations, which will have to host the scholarship holders for a considerable part of their work leading to their doctoral degree.

In the various host configurations that this line makes possible, it is essential to include at least one non-academic host institution operating in Portugal and one academic host institution (national or foreign), as well as a scientific supervisor from each of these institutions.

Eligibility

Persons who:

– Have not benefited from a doctoral research grant or a doctoral grant in non-academic environment directly funded by the FCT, regardless of its duration;

– Have never obtained a PhD degree;

– Are permanently and habitually resident in Portugal, if the work plan of the scholarship applied for takes place partly or entirely in foreign institutions, a requirement applicable to both Portuguese and foreign citizens.

Funding

PhD grants are intended to fund the scholarship holder’s research activities leading to a doctoral degree.

Each grant holder is awarded a monthly maintenance allowance, the amount of which varies depending on whether the work is in Portugal abroad (see table).  All grant holders are covered by personal accident insurance for their research activities, paid for by the respective contracting organisation. The grant may also include other components, including Voluntary Social Insurance (more details in article 18 of the Research Fellow Regulation and article 10 of the Research Fellow Statute – both documents are only available in Portuguese).

Duration

The duration of grants is, as a rule, annual, renewable up to the maximum number of months requested in the application, and grants may not be awarded for a period of less than 3 consecutive months or more than 48 months.

Under penalty of non-admission of the application, in the specific line in a non-academic environment, you must ensure a host duration of at least 12 months (consecutive or interpolated) in the same non-academic host institution operating in Portugal.

In the case of a scholarship application mista, the period of the work plan that takes place in a foreign institution cannot exceed 24 months.

How to apply

Applications and their supporting documents must be submitted electronically, using only the form available at https://myfct.fct.pt/, selecting the line of application you wish to apply for.

Applications must be submitted in Portuguese or English. Documents submitted in a different language will not be taken into account for evaluation purposes. Whenever a supporting document was not originally issued in one of the admissible languages, a translation into Portuguese must be submitted.

Supporting material

Additional information can be found here (opening notice only available in Portuguese). CESAM’s Doctoral Student Group will organize an information session exclusively for candidates with CESAM supervisors. More information will be released soon.