950 Studentships awarded in the 2018 Call

The Foundation for Science and Technology today announced the results of Call the Award of Studentships 2018, under which 950 Studentships will be awarded Studentships all scientific areas, from among 2,540 individual applications evaluated.

The Studentships awarded are intended for the development of research and development work plans associated with obtaining a doctoral degree, starting on September 1, 2018, through Doctoral Programs at Portuguese or foreign universities.

Applications were reviewed by 36 disciplinary scientific panels, taking into account three criteria, namely: i) the absolute merit of the candidate; ii) the merit of the work plan; and iii) the merit of the hosting conditions. The cut-off scores for each panel were defined by an international scientific coordination team, as set out in Notice of the Call see details in the respective minutes, which include the number of Studentships per panel). The overall approval rate was around 37% (i.e., similar to the approval rate in 2017).

Starting today, candidates have access to the comments justifying the rating assigned to their application and have up to 10 business days to present any arguments to the evaluation panel at a preliminary hearing of interested parties. 

Analysis of the results now released shows that:

• 78% of Studentships relate to work plans carried out entirely in Portugal;
• 18% refer to Studentships , with work plans to be carried out partially abroad; and
• 4% refer to work plans carried out entirely abroad.

Women accounted for 56% of the selected candidates and men for 44%. Of the selected candidates, 91% are Portuguese nationals, with 28 Studentships awarded Studentships Brazilian nationals, 20 Studentships Italian Studentships , and 10 Studentships Spanish Studentships . In total, Studentships were awarded Studentships candidates from 22 countries, including Portugal.

In addition to Studentships in this Call individual applications, in 2018 the FCT is also supporting more than 550 Studentships under Doctoral Programs and international partnerships. In total, more than 1,520 Studentships will be awarded this year, representing an increase of more than 14% compared to the total number of Studentships in 2017, as summarized in the table below.

The next Call Studentships will be announced at the end of 2018. As with the last two Calls, the application period will run during the first quarter of 2019, so that the results will be available by summer 2019.

See the attachment for more information.