Scholarships & Funding

Ph.D. Programs

The Nova SBE PhD's programs provide an intensive and rigorous training in Economics, Finance, and Management. The programs are designed to be an immersive learning experience that equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become innovative, independent researchers and leaders in their field. We aim to attract and cultivate a diverse community of scholars who are passionate about advancing knowledge, pushing the boundaries of their discipline, and making a positive impact on society.

The school offers a variety of funding resources to fund your Ph.D. so that you can complete it without having to face possible financial constraints. Nova SBE invests in its student’s development and trains them into the next generation of researchers and professors. With such support, we expect students to focus on their research training and advancement.

Application intake 2025/26

Applications for the 2025/26 intake are open from 1 November until 31 January.

Applicants may be asked for a subsequent interview, which may be conducted by phone if necessary.

Applicants will be notified regarding final decisions by email by the end of April.

Admission

What are the available options?

Fellowships

Top applicants get access to the fellowships offered by the school and our partners.

Awards

Nova SBE wants to be a partner in the education of staff from public and private companies to ensure that its employees obtain quality education, contributing to their sustainability and impact.

Joining the Nova SBE Teaching or Research Team

Students can decided to take a teaching assistant position or research assistant position.

Fellowships

The top applicants to the programs are automatically offered a four-year fellowship which consist of an annual tax-free stipend of € 16.800 (€ 1.400 monthly). The school renews the funding yearly, upon student's satisfactory progress. The student may apply for an additional year of funding to extend support into a fifth year. This extension is based on academic merit and intended for students aspiring to pursue a career in academic research.

The fellowship also includes an annual 90% waiver of tuition fees (€ 2.700 equivalent) and a research allowance from the second year of € 1.000 to present your research at conferences.

Awards

The awards are given to the best two theses defended during the academic year.

The awards are given to the two best first-year students.

The FLAD opens a call usually twice a year to financially support students from Portuguese institutions, to develop research internship programs in academic and scientific institutions in the USA in all fields of science.

  • Application: Fall & Spring Semester
  • Funding: Up to EUR 1,500/month for one (4 months) and/or two semesters (8-9 months).
  • The school informs students of the opening of the call.

More information here.

Other funding options

Haddad Foundation wishes to promote research by supporting excellent students in their first year of study.

  • Application: August-September
  • Funding: about € 1200, a tuition fee waiver of € 2700
  • Duration: one year
  • The school informs students of the opening of the call.

The Foundation for Science and Technology [Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia] (FCT) is the government body which funds research activities in Portugal.

FCT have a yearly studentship call to support researchers in all areas of knowledge who wish to develop research activities leading to a PhD degree.

Nova SBE support its PhD students in applying to these studentships and has a high application success rate.

  • Application period: March-April
  • Funding: about € 1250, a tuition fee waiver of € 2750, financial support for visiting period abroad
  • Duration: Four years
  • Link: www.fct.pt

NOVA University Lisbon is part of the EUTOPIA Alliance which includes ten universities in Europe. As part of this network, our students can compete for funding within the Ph.D. Co-tutelle Programme which supports high-quality Ph.D. projects co-supervised by academics of the EUTOPIA member universities. It offers Ph.D. fellowships for three to four years, depending on the length of doctoral studies in the partner universities. Applications need to be coordinated with the supervisor upon acceptance to the Ph.D. program.

  • Application period: March
  • Funding: about € 1250, a tuition fee waiver of € 2750, financial support for visiting period abroad
  • Duration: Two to four years
  • More information here.

The doctoral fellowship program INPhINIT ”la Caixa” is devoted to attracting talented Early-Stage Researchers—of any nationality—who wish to pursue doctoral studies in Spanish or Portuguese territory. Sponsored by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, it aims to support the best scientific talent and foster innovative and high-quality research in Spain and Portugal by recruiting outstanding international students and offering them an attractive and competitive environment for conducting research of excellence.

  • Application Period: February
  • Duration: Three years
     

More information here.

The Fundação Oriente awards scholarships for doctorate degrees, as well as research work on subjects connecting Far Eastern countries to Portugal both in the social and human sciences area and on subjects related to the Museu do Oriente [Orient Museum] collections.

  • Application period: January
  •  Duration: 12 months (renewable)
     

More information here.

The main goal of this collaboration program between top-tier Universities and the Jerónimo Martins Group is the development of new and important insights for the food retail sector through the development of Master’s or Doctoral academic projects.

  • Application Period: Any time during the Academic Year, by e-mail
     

More information here.

The Gulbenkian Foundation offers fellowships every year. Please check their website for more information.

More information here.

This scholarship program is for students who are nationals (residents) of countries with which Portugal has bilateral relations of cooperation and that wish to access and enter Portuguese higher education institutions.

  • Application period: December
  • Duration: 12 months (renewable)
     

More information here.

Working opportunity

Teaching Assistant

Students admitted to the program can decide to work as teaching assistants. Students with an FCT scholarship can have teaching assistant duties for up to 25 % of a full-time contract (circa € 375 per month).

Research Projects fellowships

Nova SBE hosts several research projects that often open positions for research fellowships. All positions are published on the EURAXESS website, and each call has specific criteria. Students are informed about positions as they become available.

Doubts, questions, comments?

Contact Us

The Ph.D. Office will be happy to answer all your questions.

PhD Office email: phd@novasbe.pt