The Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) has announced the opening of the 2026 Call for PhD Research Scholarships in All Scientific Domains, with a total budget of €145 million, representing €12 million more than in the previous edition.
This edition will award 1,600 scholarships—50 more than in 2025. Of these, 1,000 scholarships will be allocated through the General Application Line (€90.6 million), while 600 scholarships will be funded through the Non-Academic Environment Application Line (€54.4 million), which supports doctoral projects developed in collaboration with organisations such as companies, hospitals, museums, and NGOs.
Applications are open from 2 to 31 March 2026. As in the previous edition, the contracting and management of funded scholarships will be carried out by institutions of the National System of Science and Technology (SNCT) through programme contracts with FCT, strengthening institutional autonomy and aligning with practices adopted by European research systems.
Currently, around 6,700 PhD scholarships are funded by FCT, including about 2,000 carried out in non-academic environments.
To learn more about the FCT 2026 Doctoral Scholarships, please consult the call pages, including the General Application Procedure (Linha de Candidatura Geral).
