Job Information
- Organisation/Company: CESPU - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário CRL
Offer Description
1. Duration of the fellowship, source of funding, regime of activity, place of work. A call is open for the attribution of 2 (two) PhD Scholarships funded by Cooperative of Polytechnic and University Higher Education (CESPU).
The fellowship has an annual duration, scheduled to start in November 2026, eventually renewable up to a maximum of 4 years, on an exclusive basis.
The activities will be developed in the research units of the University CESPU (U.CESPU), within the scope of its PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences (DCB), in accordance with CESPU's Research Grants Regulation approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P (see CESPU Scholarship Regulations at HERE).
More information about the study cycle can be obtained at Information about DCB.
2. Scientific area: The work to be carried out will be in the area of Biological, Biomedical and Health Sciences.
3. Work plan, objectives to be achieved and scientific orientation. The scholarship holder must successfully complete the first curricular year, ensuring approval in all curricular units, including the curricular unit of Thesis Project. The Thesis Project will be defended before a jury at the end of the curricular year. Once approved, this project will serve as a work plan for the thesis to be developed in the following three years, under the guidance of professor(s)/researcher(s) to be designated, in accordance with the Regulation of the Third Study Cycles of U.CESPU (MIUCS.99).
4. Admission requirements.
a) CESPU PhD scholarships are intended for candidates who are accepted in the 11rd edition of DCB, starting in 2026/2027 (see Notice at PhD Applications);
b) Holders of a Master's degree in the area of Biological, Biomedical and Health Sciences with a final average > 15 points in the set of Bachelor's + Master's or in the final classification of Integrated Master's Degree can apply for this call. The required academic degrees must be completed by the last day of the application phase.
c) Candidates with academic degrees obtained abroad will have to present, at the time of submission of the application, the aforementioned academic qualifications recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16 and Ordinance No. 33/2019, of January 25. More information on the recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas can be found at: (https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/reconhecimento?plid=374);
d) Have never been awarded a doctoral degree;
e) The lack of documents required in this call and/or incomplete information determine the ineligibility of the scholarship application.
5. Eligibility: Eligible candidates are those who meet the requirements set out in paragraph a) of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Statute of the Research Fellow, as amended by Decree-Law No. 65/2024, of October 1, and also paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the CESPU Research Grants Regulation.
6. Evaluation Criteria and Selection Methods. The selection methods for the interviews focus on the:
Curriculum evaluation (50%):
- Academic qualification: 20%,
- Experience in previous projects (excluding the end of the 1st or 2nd cycle projects): 7.5%,
- Scientific productivity (publications, presentations at congresses and/or participation in the drafting of patents): 12.5%,
- Motivation letter: 5%,
- Letters of reference: 5%;
Interview (50%):
Only the candidates (up to 8) who obtain the best result in the curriculum evaluation will be called for an interview.
The jury reserves the right not to award the scholarship in case none of the candidates corresponds to the desired profile, suitable for the research activities under development at U.CESPU.
7. Composition of the selection panel. The Jury will be composed of Professors Ricardo Dinis (President of the jury), Hassan Bousbaa and Bruno Sarmento. Professors from the PhD Program and/or researchers from U.CESPU may join the jury. The jury has deliberative capacity with a minimum of two of the elements identified above. The jury's decision is ratified by the Rector of U.CESPU.
8. Amount of monthly maintenance allowance and method of payment: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to 1359,64€, according to the table of values of monthly maintenance allowances, set out in Annex III of the CESPU Research Grants Regulation, payment to be made monthly by bank transfer. This amount is subject to updates, under the terms of paragraph 2, of article 18, of Regulation no. 950/2019, of 29 November, published in Diário da República, no. 241, 2nd Series, of 16 December (Regulation of Research Grants of FCT, I.P.). The scholarship holder may also benefit from personal accident insurance and voluntary social insurance, in case of joining this scheme.
9. Contracting entity: CESPU, Cooperative of Polytechnic and University Higher Education, Avenida Central de Gandra, 1317, 4585-116 Gandra – Paredes, Portugal.
10. Applicable legislation and regulations. Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow, as amended by Decree-Law No. 65/2024, of October 1; CESPU Research Grants Regulation approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology on January 31, 2025; the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. in force, applies subsidiarily.
11. Application period: takes place before the start of classes, between November, 9 and 10, 2026.
12. Method of application submission: Submission of the CESPU PhD Scholarship Application Form (form IE.382C) to be delivered to the Admissions Office.
13. Interviews: November 11, 2026.
14. Publication/notification of results:
a. Publication of provisional results, through a ranked list based on the final score, posted on the CESPU website: November 12, 2026.
b. Prior hearing of interested applicants whose application is subject to an unfavorable draft decision regarding the granting of the scholarship 2: 10 working days from the publication of the notice referred to in the previous point (procedure to be carried out via the platform inforestudante.cespu.pt => academic desk => requests => ING.02).
c. Final results: the final list of results approved by the Rector will be published and notified by email to all applicants by the Admissions Office, after the decision on any submitted statements.
d. Appeal: the Rector’s final decision may be appealed to the CESPU Board of Directors within 10 working days after the notification referred to in the previous point (via the platform inforestudante.cespu.pt => academic desk => requests => ING.02).
15. Documentation to be provided for the contract formalization: The selected candidates must express in writing (by email sent to ingresso@cespu.pt) their intention to accept the scholarship within 5 business days following the notification of the scholarship award. In case of non-acceptance or lack of response, the jury may assign the scholarship to the candidate in the order of the final ranking. In addition to the documents previously mentioned, the selected candidate(s) will be contacted by the CESPU Human Resources Department to complete the submission of the necessary documents for the formalization of the scholarship contract.
The scholarship contract template and the final report to be prepared by the fellow, as well as the final report to be prepared by the supervisor, are part of the CESPU Research Grants Regulation (accessible HERE).
Gandra, October 20, 2026
Signed digitally by the Rector, Professor José Alberto Duarte
Where to apply
E-mail: ingresso@cespu.pt
Additional Information
Website for additional job details: https://www.cespu.pt/ensino/candidaturas/candidaturas/doutoramentos/
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available: 2
- Company/Institute: CESPU - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário CRL
- Country: Portugal
Contact
- State/Province: Porto
- City: Gandra - Paredes
- Website: https://www.cespu.pt/
- Street: Rua Central de Gandra, 1317
- Postal Code: 4585-116
