3rd Cycle (PhD Degrees)
International Student Applications

• 1st period: 1 July - 17 August 2026

• 2nd period: 2 December 2026 - 15 January 2027

Applications for the PhD in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution, in the first phase, are open from 1 July to 1 September 2026.

Vacancies

See the Public Notice.

See the Selection Criteria for the 2026/2027 academic year.

Admission requirements:

The following may apply for the 3rd Cycle of studies:

• Holders of a master's degree or legal equivalent. Degrees recognised under Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of 16 August, as well as degrees that have been recognised or considered equivalent under previous legislation (Decree-Law No. 283/83 of 21 June and Decree-Law No. 341/2007, of 12 October);

• Holders of a bachelor's degree or legal equivalent, with a particularly relevant academic or scientific curriculum, which is recognised as attesting to their ability to complete this cycle of studies by the Scientific Council of SCIENCES. Degrees recognised under Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of 16 August, as well as degrees that have been recognised or considered equivalent under previous legislation (Decree-Law No. 283/83, of 21 June, and Decree-Law No. 341/2007, of 12 October);

• Holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum that is recognised as attesting to the ability to complete this cycle of studies by the Scientific Council of SCIENCES.

You can submit your application for legal recognition at the following link:

https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/reconhecimento?plid=374.

Please note: The validity of the aforementioned degrees must be verified by the competent authority in the country where the qualification was obtained. When issued by institutions in non-EU countries, they must be legalised by a Portuguese consular agent or by the Hague Apostille, with these legalisations being carried out in the country of origin of the documents. Whenever they are not issued in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish, they must be officially translated into one of these languages.

Admission requirements:

To be admitted to a 3rd Cycle programme, international students must demonstrate knowledge of the subjects necessary to pursue studies in the course to which they are applying, as well as prove that they have the language skills required to attend the course to which they are applying.

Instructions

1. Account creation

SCIENCE student applicants with a valid account - must enter their SCIENCE student account details and password at https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/ and then access the application form in the ‘Applicant’ section.

SCIENCE student applicants without a valid account (students who are not currently enrolled in SCIENCE study cycles) - must access https://balcaoc.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/servico/criar-conta-utilizador to reactivate their account. Automatic account reactivation uses your mobile phone number and/or personal email address. If these contact details are not in our systems or are out of date, you will need to request activation directly at the IT Services Department counter (room 1.2.10). You can then access the application form in the ‘Candidate’ section.

Candidates who are not CIÊNCIAS students - you must create an account directly at https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/accountCreation.

You will then receive your credentials (format: User bennuXXX ) and you will be able to access the application form https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/ in the ‘Candidate’ section.

If you do not receive the email or forget your password, you can request it to be resent at https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/passwordResetRequest.

2. Select the course you wish to apply for.

3. Fill in/validate all the fields in the application ‘tabs’.

4. Gather the necessary and mandatory documents, namely:

• Curriculum Vitae;

• Master's and/or Bachelor's Degree Certificate 1;

• Legal equivalent of a Master's and/or Bachelor's Degree (for candidates whose degree was obtained at a foreign institution) 2

• Certificate of Master's and/or Bachelor's Degree Course Units 1;

• Programme of Course Units taken (programmes and course loads stamped and signed by the Higher Education Institution) if requested by the coordinator;

• Statement, under oath, that the candidate does not have Portuguese nationality and is not covered by any of the conditions which, according to EEI, do not grant them the status of International Student (see Article 3 of Decree-Law No. 62/2018, of 6 August) - see Draft;

• Proposed thesis topic with an indication of the general objectives to be achieved (optional);

• Declaration of acceptance of supervision by the supervisor(s);

• Passport or Foreign Identity Card - optional;

• Document authorising residence in Portugal, issued by Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA, I.P.) - deadline for submission at the time of enrolment/registration;

• Letter of motivation;

• Proof of knowledge of English or Portuguese (if applicable).

1 Please note: Certificates/Diplomas must be endorsed by the consular service or presented with the Hague Apostille affixed by the competent authority of the State where the document originates and, whenever they are not issued in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish, they must be translated into one of these languages.

The programme of the Curricular Units taken must be stamped and signed by the Educational Institution.

2 The equivalencies and recognitions of qualifications provided for in Decree-Law No. 283/83 of 21 June and Decree-Law No. 341/2007 of 12 October are considered legal equivalents of bachelor's and master's degrees.

At the time of enrolment/registration, candidates must present the original documents of their diplomas/certificates and identification document for confirmation.

5. Scan and attach all mandatory documents to the application form. Please send scanned documents in Word, PDF or image formats (e.g. jpeg, gif, png, etc.).

Applications that do not include all the mandatory documents will not be accepted/validated.

6. Submit the application.

7. Wait for an email to pay the respective application fee.

Payment of the application fee in the amount of €60.00.

Payment must be made via:

• Bank transfer. Payments must be made solely and exclusively during the application phase (payments made during the first phase to pay for applications submitted in the second phase will not be accepted).

8. You must submit proof of the bank transfer with your application.

Throughout the application process, candidates will receive email notifications and will be able to check the status of their application.

To apply for 3rd cycle courses, click here.