Prospective PhD students

Starting a PhD at Instituto Superior Técnico, more specifically at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Departamento de Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores, DEEC) in order to work for the Institute for Systems and Robotics, can be a time-consuming endeavour. However, do not despair: many students, both foreign and Portuguese, have successfully gone through the paperwork process before. In this page we will summarize the steps that are necessary to become a PhD student at IST, including obtaining a scholarship.

Getting an individual doctoral grant from FCT

In Técnico, PhD students do not receive a salary from the university itself (as is often the case in other European countries), however external financial support is available from the state Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT). The two things are decoupled, therefore you will have to interact with both FCT (for the doctoral grant) and with IST (for study-related aspects, e.g., to declare what doctoral courses you want to attend) separately.

This is the FCT website that publishes instructions for grant applications: https://concursos.fct.mctes.pt/bolsas/. As of 2009, the grant is € 980 per month, tax free. Even though the PhD programme at Técnico officially lasts 3 years, this grant can be extended to have a duration of up to 4 years.

When to apply

There are two FCT calls per year to obtain individual doctoral grants (Bolsas de Doutoramento Individuais). Deadlines are usually on 1 June and 1 September. Note that you can only apply for one call per year, meaning that, in the event of you losing the June call, you would have to wait another 12 months to apply again.

Think carefully whether you should apply in June or in September. In June there are probably fewer people applying, because many students will still be struggling with their final Master's exams and thesis, so it is a good idea to apply at this time. On the other hand, if you are not very confident about the quality of your application and work plan, then it could be worth taking some extra time to improve your writing together with your supervisor. Remember: you can only apply once per year.

How to apply

For official instructions always refer to the FCT website. In short, you need:

• a supervisor
• a work plan proposal, divided into several sections

After winning the grant

FCT will email you to communicate whether you have won the grant 2-3 months after the call was closed. Winning the doctoral grant is the hardest step in the whole process; the remaining stuff that you have to submit to IST and FCT is relatively easy, but do not underestimate it. It is not a coincidence that they give you a long time —6 months from the day you receive the acceptance email— to prepare all the paperwork that is left to write: start thinking about it right after you win your scholarship (alright, maybe after one night or two of celebration).

Applying for the PhD programme at IST

In order to officially apply for the DEEC PhD programme (PDEEC), go to the Post-Graduate and Vocational Training Unit (Núcleo de Pós-Graduação e Formação Contínua, NPFC): it is located in the main IST building (Pavilhão Central), first floor.

They will give you a sheet called PhD Application Form (Candidatura a Programa de Doutoramento) that you should fill. Additionally, you have to provide the documentation listed below.

If you have problems providing one of the documents, for example the syllabus of your Bachelor and Master exams certified by your university, talk to your PhD supervisor or to the coordinator of the DEEC PhD programme, who as of 2009 is Prof. Mário Figueiredo.

document	notes
copy of national identity card or passport	-
copy of your fiscal identification card (cartão de contribuinte aka Número de Identificação Fiscal, NIF)	it is not strictly necessary to have the actual plastic NIF card: a sheet with your fiscal number provided by the office that originally gave you the número de contribuinte will suffice; this office is normally Finanças or Loja de Cidadão
curriculum vitae	-
evidence of previous qualifications (certificado de habilitações)	certificates and diplomas (original and photocopy – NPFC will only keep the copy) concerning your college graduation, including courses, grades and final average grade obtained, as well as information on the duration of the studies (authenticated by the university officials) and corresponding syllabus copy of programme syllabus of each subject attended by the candidate, duly certified (stamped) by the university; the sheets need to have an original (not photocopied) stamp; after the application phase is over, NPFC will return you these syllabi if you need them
motivation letter	-
reference letters	-
PhD supervisor's acceptance letter, if applicable (yes, for a PhD at DEEC it is applicable)	-
research work plan signed by supervisor, if applicable (yes, for a PhD at DEEC it is applicable)	in this plan you propose a research topic and the goals you intend to achieve during your PhD; go to https://fenix.ist.utl.pt/cursos/deec/curricular-plan for a list of courses aimed at DEEC PhD students
€ 100	you can either pay this as a bank check to Instituto Superior Técnico, or directly at the NPFC with cash or ATM/multibanco

The application form and the above documentation must be delivered to NPFC or sent there by post:

 Núcleo de Pós-Graduação e Formação Contínua
 Instituto Superior Técnico
 Av. Rovisco Pais
 1049-001 Lisboa

Once you have handed over all of your documents to NPFC, you have to wait a couple of weeks for them to exchange the documents with DEEC and with the Scientific Board (Conselho Científico, CC) and get the official approval of your PhD programme. After that you will obtain a matrícula, i.e., you will be registered/enrolled according to the following instructions.

Registering for the PhD programme at IST

Once a consensus has been reached from all the parts involved within IST (NPFC, DEEC and CG) you will get another sheet, called PhD Registration Form (Matrícula em Programa de Doutoramento). Together with your supervisor you should fill in all the fields, for example the PhD classes you are going to take and corresponding ECTS credits.

Alongside the registration form, you will have to hand in the following documents:

• a printout of the email by FCT that stated you have won the scholarship
• 2 passport-sized pictures

Later, you should also bring the following certificates (they are not urgent but they are mandatory):

• antitetanic vaccine; it is possible to have a digital scan emailed by your home, or take the vaccine again in a Portuguese Local Medical Centre (Centro de Saúde);
• a document that contains the names of your parents; examples are your passport (in some cases) or your birth certificate.

Obtaining and signing the PhD contract at FCT

to be completed

See also

• Study at IST guide, compiled by the International Relations Office (Gabinete de Relações Internacionais, GRI). There is useful information on that page, including for example visa and academic calendar, at the bottom.
• Post-Graduate and Vocational Training Unit (Núcleo de Pós-Graduação e Formação Contínua, NPFC) web page, only in Portuguese at the moment