Provisional results of the annual Call for PhD Research Studentships

Yesterday, August 1st, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) released the provisional results of the Call for PhD Research Studentships 2024. After 3,750 applications were received and analyzed, 1,500 Studentships have now been proposed for funding, which corresponds to an overall approval rate of 40%. Of these, 450 Studentships were proposed in a non-academic environment. It was in this area that there was the biggest increase in applications - 603 received - revealing the growing commitment to carrying out research in a context of close interconnection between academia and other sectors of life in society.

The total investment planned for this Call is around 124 million euros. The Studentships are funded from the State Budget with EU PT2030 co-funding.

The selection of candidates took into account the merit of the candidate, the merit of the work plan and the merit of the hosting conditions. The evaluation process for this edition of the Call involved the participation of 479 evaluators, distributed among 36 evaluation panels, who analyzed, classified and sorted the applications in each panel.

Of the total number of panels, 33 corresponded to the various scientific areas and sub-areas covered by the Call's general application line, aimed at applications with research activities carried out in an academic environment, and three covered the scientific areas covered by applications in a non-academic environment. In this case, the respective work plans will take place in close coordination with Companies, Collaborative Laboratories, Technology and Innovation Centers, Interface Centers, Public Administration entities, State Laboratories, Hospitals, Museums, Libraries or other third sector entities.

The distribution of the number of Studentships per panel was set taking into account the number of applications submitted in each panel, in any of the application lines.

Studentships with research carried out entirely in Portuguese institutions account for 82% of the total. 17% of the Studentships will be mixed (part in Portuguese institutions and part in foreign institutions) and only 1% will be carried out entirely in foreign institutions. Of the selected candidates, 80% are Portuguese nationals. In total, candidates from 48 countries are proposed for funding, including Brazilian, Italian, Iranian, Spanish and German nationals.

Of the applicants who received priority funding, women accounted for 56% and men 44%, as in the previous edition of this Call.

In the general application line, 23% of Studentships are in the Social Sciences, 21% in Engineering Sciences and Technology and 19% in the Humanities, with the remaining scientific areas represented with percentages of less than 13%. In the specific application line in a non-academic environment, 45% of Studentships are in the areas of Engineering and Exact Sciences, 36% in Natural and Life Sciences and around 18% in Social Sciences and Humanities.

The provisional results of this Call have been communicated to all applicants, who now have access to the comments justifying the classification given to their application. If they disagree with the proposed decision, they can present their opinion at the prior hearing of interested parties, until August 16, 2024, which will be analyzed by the respective evaluation panel. The final results of the Call will be published by FCT by the beginning of November 2024.

The contracting process for Studentships begins on the date the final results are announced. Approved Studentships will begin on the first day of the month indicated by the candidate in the contractualization process, between September 1, 2024 and August 1, 2025. Whenever the contractualization takes place after the start of the research work financed by the Studentship, the Studentships will be paid retroactively.

This evaluation process has so far lasted 71 working days between the end of the applications and the communication of the provisional results, below the time limit set for this phase, which is 90 working days.

The Call for doctoral research Studentships is held annually and is part of the FCT's major structuring Calls . For more information on other funding opportunities for doctoral research Studentships , within the scope of FCT collaboration protocols and partnerships with R&D units and other entities, we suggest that you consult the FCT website and the Euraxess portal regularly.