Migration Studies

Migration is a phenomenon of increasing relevance in the current world scenario with demographic, economic, social and political implications. The study of this phenomenon thus opens up a wide range of possibilities for action in the most varied domains of the social sciences. Migration is a field of research characterized by multidisciplinary approaches, being a clear advantage for researchers working in this area to diversify training, in a framework that proposes, at the same time, specialization and multidisciplinary sharing.

The doctoral programme in Migration Studies grants a doctoral degree in the following fields of knowledge: Anthropology, Political Science, Education, Geography, History, Psychology and Sociology. It is, therefore, a scientific and pedagogical project organized jointly by four organic units:

Instituto de Ciências Sociais
Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território
Instituto de Educação
Faculdade de Psicologia

The organic units offer students ideal and unique conditions in Portugal, where they can have advanced postgraduate training in the field of migration.

Lessons take place on Wednesday from 2 pm to 6 pm, and Thursday from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm.

Objectives

This doctoral programme aims to provide postgraduate training, at an advanced level, in theoretical and methodological issues associated with the theme of migration and the social processes of human mobility, crossing different and multiple perspectives from different domains that make up the universe of social sciences.

Branches of knowledge and specialties

The Doctoral Programme in Migration Studies confers the degree in the following branches of knowledge and specialties:

Branch of Geography: specialty in Human Geography
Branch of Sociology, with the following specialties: Sociology of Inequalities, Minorities and Social Movements; Sociology of Family, Youth and Gender Relations; Sociology of Social Policies
Branch of Education: specialty in Sociology of Education
Branch of Psychology: specialty in Social Psychology
Branch of Political Science: specialty in Comparative Politics
Branch of Anthropology: specialty in Anthropology of Ethnicity and Politics

Scholarships

For students who are interested in applying for a grant within the scope of the FCT Individual Grants competition as possible students of the FCT Doctoral Program in Migration (DEMIG) may do so, and for this purpose, contact the potential advisor to project discussion and due association with the candidacy. If you want to apply with the ICS as the host institution, you should contact the Doctoral Coordinator at ICS (Professor Marta Rosales). This application for FCT individual grants is independent of the competition for grants offered under the FCT Doctoral Programme. The dates for this contest will be announced later.

Scientific Committee

Director

Marta Vilar Rosales
ICS-ULisboa

Members

Susana Salgado
ICS-ULisboa

Jennifer McGarrigle
IGOT-ULisboa

Ana Sofia Santos
FP-ULisboa

Benedita Portugal e Melo
IE-ULisboa

Ana Nunes de Almeida

Emeritus Researcher

Andrés Malamud

Senior Research Fellow

Francesco Vacchiano

Investigador Associado Atual

José Manuel Sobral

Retired Researcher

Marta Vilar Rosales

Research Fellow

Nuno Domingos

Senior Research Fellow

Rui Costa Lopes

Senior Research Fellow

Management of the PhD programme alternates between the four organic units involved, and the organic host unit is defined on an yearly basis by the Scientific Committee in articulation with the unit Heads.

A PhD degree is awarded to those who obtain 180 credits, through approval in the PhD programme (60 credits), corresponding to the curricular component, and the preparation, discussion and approval of a thesis - or equivalent work (120 credits).

1^st YEAR - 1^st SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Thematic Seminar in Migrations I	5 ECTS
Research Seminar I	5 ECTS
Advanced Theoretical Training Modules in Migration	10 ECTS
Research Project I	10 ECTS

1^st YEAR - 2^nd SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Thematic Seminar in Migrations II	5 ECTS
Research Seminar II	5 ECTS
Research Methodologies Applied to Migrations	10 ECTS
Research Project II	10 ECTS

2^nd YEAR - 1^st SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Monitoring Seminar I	5 ECTS
Thesis Elaboration	25 ECTS

2^nd YEAR - 2^nd SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Monitoring Seminar II	5 ECTS
Thesis Elaboration	25 ECTS

3^rd YEAR - 1^st SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Monitoring Seminar III	5 ECTS
Thesis Elaboration	25 ECTS

3^rd YEAR - 2^nd SEMESTER

Curricular Units	ECTS
Monitoring Seminar IV	5 ECTS
Thesis Elaboration	25 ECTS

For more informaiton, please click on this link.

A3ES Accreditation

Accreditation of New Study Programme (2011)
Accreditation of Study Programme in Operation (2019)

Applications

Applications 2026/2027

Notice

1^st Call

Applications: 26 January to 25 February 2026
Interviews: 17 March 2026
Results: 19 March 2026
Preliminary hearing: up to 10 work days after publication
Registration period: 10 days after homologation of the application

2^nd Call

The 2^nd call of applications will only take place when the number of places is not completed by the registration of applicants admitted in the 1^st call, and only for the places that have not yet been filled.

Applications: 6 May to 17 June 2026
Interviews: 25 June 2026
Results: 29 June 2026
Preliminary hearing: up to 10 work days after publication
Registration period: 10 days after homologation of the application

Applications through the ICS FenixEdu platform: https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt/accountCreation
In case you already have a registration, you can recover the access at https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt/passwordResetRequest
In case you already have a student number at ICS, you should use your Campus/Edu account credentials by selecting the “Login ULisboa” option at https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt
You may recover your access to Campus/Edu account at https://utilizador.ulisboa.pt

The application fee is €50.00.

Requirements

The following are eligible to apply for this programme:

Holders of a master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences or related fields, with a minimum grade of Good;
Holders of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, with a particularly relevant academic or scientific curriculum in Social Sciences or related fields that is recognised by the Scientific Committee of the PhD as demonstrating the capacity to undertake this PhD programme;
Holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum in Social Sciences or related fields that is recognised by the Scientific Committee of the PhD as demonstrating the capacity to undertake this PhD programme.

Applications must be submitted with the following documents:

Documents proving that the candidate meets the conditions above;
Updated curriculum vitae, including published or duly documented works;
Indication of the field of knowledge and specialty in which the candidate intends to pursue a doctorate;
A research project, indicating the object of study, the methodology and the objectives of the research, duly problematized based on reference bibliography in the field of study to which the candidate is applying (mandatory document for candidates who intend to apply for a doctoral scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology);
Letter of intent, explaining the reasons for choosing the study program and presenting the domain to be researched and the well-founded objectives of the work that the candidate proposes to develop during the PhD programme;
Other elements considered relevant by the candidates for the purposes of evaluating the application.

Admission

Places: The number of available places for this PhD programme is 15.

Applications will be ranked according to the final classifications assigned by the Selection Jury and expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 points, taking into the following criteria:

Candidates holding a master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences or related fields, with a minimum grade of Good, or holding a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, with a particularly relevant academic or scientific curriculum in Social Sciences or related fields that is recognised by the Scientific Committee of the PhD as demonstrating the capacity to undertake this PhD programme;
1. Grade of the academic degrees held (20%);
2. Academic, scientific and professional curriculum (20%);
3. Personal statement (10%);
4. Research project (30%);
5. Interview (20%).
Candidates holding an academic, scientific or professional curriculum in Social Sciences or related fields that is recognised by the Scientific Committee of the PhD as demonstrating the capacity to undertake this PhD programme.
1. Academic, scientific and professional curriculum (50%);
2. Personal statement (20%);
3. Research project (10%);
4. Interview (20%).

The interviews will be conducted by a minimum of two members of the Selection Jury via videoconference.
After evaluating the applications according to the criteria and weightings defined, the Selection Jury will proceed to rank the applications in descending order of their final classifications.
Applications with a final grade lower than 14 will not be admitted to the Doctoral Programme.
Candidates whose final application grade is equal to or higher than 14 and, cumulatively, whose order number in the final ranking is less than or equal to the number of places available, in the first application call, or the remaining places from the previously completed calls, in the 2^nd application call, will be admitted to the Doctoral Programme.
Candidates whose final application grade is equal to or higher than 14 and, cumulatively, whose order number in the final ranking is higher than the number of places defined will be placed on the reserve list.
Candidates placed on the reserve list will be admitted to the Doctoral Programme for any vacancies that may arise after the registration deadline, in ascending order of their ranking number in the final list.