Call Studentships 2024 with 3,750 applications

On April 18, applications closed for Call 2024 Call Studentships for Doctorates from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). A total of 3,750 applications were submitted, an increase of 6.4% compared to the previous year. Of these, 3,147 were submitted under the general application line and 603 under the specific application line in a non-academic environment. The latter line, which has been a focus of the FCT in the three most recent editions of Call, saw a 36.7% increase in the number of applications submitted compared to the previous edition, demonstrating the growing interest of candidates in this line of funding. The 2024 edition of this Call to award 1,500 Studentships, 450 of which will be in a non-academic environment.

Of the total number of applications submitted, 55% were from women and 45% from men, with the average age of applicants being 31, which is in line with the trend observed in recent years in Studentships . Of the types of Studentships , 3,133 are Studentships programs will be carried out in Portugal; 535 are Studentships , to be carried out in Portugal and abroad; and 82 will be carried out only abroad.

Within the general application category, the scientific area of Social Sciences received the most applications (23%), followed by Engineering and Technology (22%), Humanities (19%), Medical and Health Sciences (13%), Natural Sciences (11%), Exact Sciences (8%), and Agricultural Sciences (4%). In the specific application line in a non-academic environment, the field of Engineering and Technology also attracted the most applicants (39%), followed by Medicine and Health (19%), Social Sciences (10%), Natural Sciences (9%), Humanities (9%), Agricultural Sciences (8%), and Exact Sciences (6%).

In the specific application line in a non-academic environment, companies represent about half of the host entities identified, with the other half consisting of other public and private entities, mainly public administration entities, State Laboratories, collaborative laboratories, health-related entities, museums, associations, Technology and Innovation Centers, etc.

FCT Doctoral Studentships are competitively awarded grants to support research work plans in all areas of knowledge, enabling candidates to conduct research leading to a doctoral degree, financed by the State Budget and the European Social Fund. These Studentships doctoral students to devote themselves exclusively to their research, thereby contributing to the scientific and technological development of the country. Currently, the FCT has around 7,000 Studentships in progress, with 2,105 new Studentships starting in 2023.

The provisional results of this Call expected to Call available in early August 2024, with the final results expected to be released during November.

With the Studentships open for Call, FCT support will correspond to an estimated annual investment of around €25 million, plus the payment of tuition fees to institutions awarding doctoral degrees, personal accident insurance for scholarship holders, and the assumption of the costs resulting from contributions to the first bracket for all scholarship holders who join the voluntary social security scheme. Overall, it is estimated that the FCT's annual investment in granting these new Studentships €31 million.

All information about the 2024 edition of Call Studentships Call is constantly updated on the respective Call pages: General application line and Specific application line in a non-academic environment.