2026 Call for PhD Studentships – Specific Line of Application in a Non-academic Environment

To fulfil its aim of promoting a national public policy for advanced training with social relevance and impact, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) opens a Call for granting PhD studentships complying with the provisions of the Regulamento de Bolsas de Investigação da FCT/ FCT Regulation for Studentships and Fellowships (RBI) and the Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação/Research Fellowship Holder Statute (EBI), according to their current versions.

In addition to the regular line of application (for further details, please go to its specific page), this call opens a specific line of application for PhD studentship in which work plans are partially carried out in one or more non-academic entities. FCT will thus continue to reinforce a closer relationship between doctoral research in academic and non-academic environments such as business companies, public, social, health, cultural institutions and organizations.

Candidates who wish to apply in the specific line in a non-academic environment can look for potential hosting opportunities for their research plans in the list of non-academic institutions available here, and interact directly with the contact point of each institution in order to prepare a work plan that can support their application. This list is not exhaustive, is in continuous updating, and the information provided is the sole responsibility of the respective entities. Therefore, the eligibility of each institutional context in the non-academic line of application should be verified. Applications that include other eligible entities that are not listed may also be submitted in this line.

PhD studentships in the specific line of application in a non-academic environment are aimed at applicants that are enrolled or that comply with the requirements to enrol in a PhD program to obtain a doctoral degree. They are suitable for candidates who want to develop PhD research activities mostly in a non-academic environment, ensuring at least 12 months (consecutive or interpolated) of the studentship in the same non-academic host institution with activity in Portugal. In addition to the research in a non-academic environment, it is mandatory that applicants have a national or foreign academic host institution, thus ensuring the desirable connection between the academic and non-academic environments.

In addition, PhD studentships in a non-academic environment will also be awarded within the scope of Non-Academic Chairs funded under the FCT-Tenure program, to all eligible candidates covered by this program, whose application is evaluated with a final grade equal to or higher than three points (3.000), as provided for in point 5.2 of the Call for Applications of the FCT Tenure – 1st Edition.

The Call is open from March 2nd to 5:00 pm (Lisbon time) March 31st, 2026.

Applications, and the supporting documents listed in the RBI and in this Notice of the Call, must be submitted online using exclusively the available application form at https://myfct.fct.pt, selecting the specific line of application in a non-academic environment and clicking on “start application”. Applications or any additional information submitted by any other means will not be accepted.

Portuguese citizens, citizens of EU member states, citizens from third-party states, stateless citizens and citizens beneficiaries of political refugee status are eligible to apply.

To apply for a PhD studentship, it is mandatory:

1. Not to have benefited from any PhD studentship or PhD in Industry studentship directly funded by FCT, regardless of its duration.
2. Not to hold a doctoral degree.
3. To live in Portugal on a permanent and habitual basis, if applying to a both in Portugal and abroad studentship. This requirement applies to both applicants with Portuguese and foreign citizenship.

The remaining admissibility requirements are available in section 4 of the Notice of the Call and particularly in point 4.3 that refers to additional application’s admissibility requirements in this specific line in a non-academic environment, as well as the additional requirements to be met in the case of studentships within the scope of the FCT-Tenure Non-Academic Chairs.

Applications submitted in the specific line in a non-academic environment are evaluated by five evaluation panels, corresponding to the thematic areas of Engineering Sciences and Exact Sciences, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Health and Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, which are composed by experts with recognized experience and scientific merit.

All admissible applications must be graded from zero (0.000, minimum) to five (5.000, maximum) in each of the three evaluation criteria:

Criterion A – Merit of the Applicant

Criterion B – Merit of the Work Plan

Criterion C – Merit of the Hosting Conditions

The relative weights of three criteria are 30%, 40%, 30%, respectively.

The merit of the applicant assessment is based on two sub-criteria: academic career, with a weighting of 50%, and personal CV, also with a weighting of 50%.

The evaluation of the candidate's personal CV is carried out in an integrated way, based on a global view of the merit of their scientific and professional career.

The evaluation of the work plan and hosting conditions is based on the panel's qualitative assessment, duly substantiated. In this line of application, the expected contribution of non-academic institutions to the successful execution of the work plan, as well as the relevance of the plan to the objectives and areas of activity of these institutions, is evaluated in sub-criterion C3 - Framing of the non-academic institution(s) in the context of the work plan, weighting 50% within the scope of criterion C - Merit of the Hosting Conditions.

Applications will be ranked according to the weighted average classification of the three criteria, and in the following order of precedence, for tiebreaker purposes: C (Merit of the Hosting Conditions), criterion B (Merit of the Work Plan), and criterion A (Merit of the Applicant).

Applications evaluated with a final classification lower than three values (3,000) are not eligible for granting a studentship.

The procedures concerning the evaluation process are available in the Evaluation Guide. Other supporting documents for the application, namely the Application Guide, FAQ and Ethics Guide, will be made available by the opening day of the call.

Selected applicants will receive a monthly allowance, as well as other complementary support in accordance with the amounts set out by the RBI, such as tuition fees, support for additional training activities, presentation of work at scientific meetings, personal accident insurance and, when applicable, travel and relocation costs.

The studentships granted in this call will be financed by FCT using funds from the State Budget and, when eligible, funds from the European Social Fund (ESF), under the Program PESSOAS 2030, in accordance with the established regulatory provisions.

The contracting institution indicated by the candidate in the application form is responsible for contracting and managing the PhD studentship to be granted. Contracting institutions have a period of 10 working days to validate, through the myFCT platform, the applications that selected them, which will take place after the period for application submission and before the start of the evaluation. This deadline will be announced on this page, so regular checks are recommended.

Applications that are not validated by the Contracting Institution designated in the application will be excluded from this call; therefore, this step is crucial.

Applications for studentships within the scope of the FCT-Tenure Non-Academic Chairs continue to be contracted and managed by FCT.

On this page you will find the Guide for Contracting Institutions that aims to clarify the procedure for validating studentship applications.

Provisional results will be published up to 90 working days after the applications’ submission deadline and are expected to be available in the first week of August.

After the provisional results have been communicated to the applicants, those who have an unfavourable provisional decision may use their right to dispute it during the preliminary hearing phase, which takes place within 10 working days.

The final decision will be disclosed after the analysis of applicants’ arguments presented in the preliminary hearing. A claim may be filed against the final decision within 15 working days, or, alternatively, an appeal may be filed within 30 working days, both counting from the date of the respective notification.

Information about the call should be requested via e-mail at info.bolsas@fct.pt. The email is available from the date the call opens and up to 72 hours before the end of the application deadline.

For questions related to the creation and management of CVs, please use CIÊNCIAVITAE´s For questions related to the creation and management of CVs, please use CIÊNCIAVITAE´s helpdesk.

The communication channel dedicated exclusively to the interaction between contracting institutions and FCT, in the context of PhD studentship contracts, is the following email address bolsas.instituicoescontratantes@fct.pt.