PhD Scholarships for International Students in Portugal and the USA 2019-2020

The FCT and the Information and Communication Technologies Institute (ICTI), in the framework of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program is calling applications for 6 PhD Scholarships, taking place in Portugal and at the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). These scholarships are open for the academic year 2019-2020 in the following fields:

• Computer Science
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Engineering and Public Policy
• Language Technologies
• Robotics
• Software Engineering

Amount of Scholarship

1. In accordance with the collaboration agreement signed between FCT and Carnegie Mellon University, the scholarship has the duration of one year, renewable up to a maximum of 5 years, of which 3 years, at most, will be funded directly by FCT, while the studies are being conducted in Portugal, and the remaining by Carnegie Mellon University, with a planned start in September 2019.
2. The monthly stipend will be 993,43 € while in Portugal. The stipend and any expenses related to voluntary social security contributions (1st step) will be paid through bank transfer on a monthly basis. The information on the stipend values for the FCT Ph.D. Scholarships (Bolsa de Doutoramento – BD) is available here.

Eligibility for the Scholarship

[1] Eligible Countries: These scholarships are available for Portuguese citizens, citizens of other European Union member states, and third-country nationals.

[2] Entrance Requirements: Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Pursuant to Article 5 in conjunction with article 14 of the Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of FCT, Portuguese citizens, citizens of other European Union member states, and third-country nationals holding the academic degree required to enroll in a Ph. D. program, in accordance with the procedures adopted by Carnegie Mellon University, may apply to this call, taking into account the research areas specified by the CMU Portugal Program available in the CMU Portugal website. 
2. Citizens who already have previously received an identical type of FCT-funded fellowship, for the same purpose, are not eligible for this call. 
3. The Ph.D. candidate’s application should satisfy the requirements established in Article 16 of the Regulations for Studentships and Fellowships of FCT, in accordance with the procedures adopted by Carnegie Mellon University.
4. Research areas available for Ph. D. Scholarships, as well as the supervisors at both CMU and Portugal, are defined by the CMU Portugal Program. Hence, candidates do not need to present a work program or an adviser’s support letter and CV at the time of application. However, candidates are required to present a CV, recommendation letters, and a motivation letter where they should justify the reasons for applying to one of these programs and their research topics selection.
5. The candidates should also present a certificate with an official transcript for each higher education degree. 
6. The Scholarship will only be granted if the candidates are accepted by CMU and by one of the Portuguese Universities within one of the Ph. D. programs.

[3] English Language Requirements: Evaluation is essentially based on the merit and motivation of the applicant. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate good fluency and writing skills in English.