FCT awards 1,450 new Studentships for Doctorates

The FCT announced today the provisional results of Call the award of Studentships for Doctorates 2021. The Call award 1,450 Studentships, having received 3,381 applications. The approval rate was 49% of the total applications eligible for funding (with a grade of 3.000 or higher). The total investment for this Call to €109 million.

The evaluation process for Call involved the participation of 403 evaluators, distributed across 36 evaluation panels, who analyzed and classified the applications and ranked them within the panel.

The number of Studentships be awarded in each panel was set by decision of the FCT Governing Board based on the methodology followed in the last three Calls , taking into account the demand recorded for each area as well as the scientific policy guidelines for Portugal in the European context contained in the report Higher Education, Research, and Innovation in Portugal – Perspectives for 2030.

Analysis of the provisional results Call shows that women accounted for 56.9% of applicants who achieved funding priority and men for 43.1%.

Studentships be carried out entirely in Portugal account for 80.7% of the total, 16.8% of Studentships mixed (part in Portugal and part abroad) and 2.5% will be carried out entirely abroad. Of the selected candidates, 78.5% are Portuguese nationals. In total, candidates from 43 countries are proposed for funding, with foreign candidates from Brazil (143 Studentships), Italy (37 Studentships), Iran (24 Studentships), Spain (15 Studentships), and India (9 Studentships) standing out.

FCT Doctoral Studentships are Studentships awarded in all scientific areas and are intended for the development of research work plans to obtain a doctoral degree through doctoral programs at Portuguese or foreign universities. The selection of candidates takes into account the merit of the candidate, the merit of the work plan, and the merit of the host institution and supervisors.

The provisional results of this Call communicated to all applicants, who now have access to the comments justifying the rating assigned to their application by the evaluation panel. If they disagree with the proposed decision, applicants may present their arguments at a preliminary hearing of interested parties, which will be analyzed by the evaluation panel.

The final results of Call announced by FCT during October 2021, ensuring disclosure within a shorter period than that legally required. The process of contracting Studentships on the date the final results are announced.

Studentships will begin on the first day of the month indicated by the candidate in the contract, between September 1, 2021, and August 1, 2022. Where applicable, Studentships will be paid retroactively.

This evaluation process lasted four months (83 working days) between the end of the application period and the announcement of the provisional results. These 1,450 new Studentships are in addition to the 6,788 Studentships currently Studentships and funded by the FCT.

The Call PhD Studentships is held annually and is part of the FCT's major Calls , whose schedule is set until 2022 and published on the website.