Prospective PhD students
Starting a PhD at Instituto Superior Técnico, more specifically at the Institute for Systems and Robotics, can be a time-consuming endeavour. However, don't despair because 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 ISR, including obtaining a scholarship.
Getting an individual doctoral grant from FCT
Financial support is available from the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, or FCT). This is the FCT website that publishes dates for grant applications: https://concursos.fct.mctes.pt/bolsas/
There are two public calls per year to apply for an individual doctoral grant (Bolsas de Doutoramento Individuais 2009). Deadlines are normally 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 in June. On the other hand, if you are not very confident about the quality of your application and work plan, then it could be worth getting some extra time to improve your writing together with your supervisor. Remember: you can only apply once per year.
FCT will email you to communicate whether you have won the grant of not, approximately two months and a half 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— 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).