Population Sciences
Population Sciences
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The 4th call for applications is open until 17 July 2026.
More information available on the Notice.
Four schools of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa) came together to offer a unique doctoral program in Population Sciences: Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas (ISCSP), Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS), Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território (IGOT) and Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG).
A key feature of this programme is its interdisciplinary character, using mainly quantitative methods to study population issues. The programme acknowledges that studying population and the causes and consequences of demographic events calls upon and contributes to various scientific areas.
In the first three years of operation, the PhD in Population Sciences is taught at ISCSP, which will also assume leadership of the Scientific Committee. This is rotated among the four institutions, in three-year cycles.
Objectives
The main objective of this course is to fill the void in Portugal in 3rd cycle training in Population Sciences and thus promote the development of skills and knowledge necessary for positions, whether public or private, that require advanced training in this area. Being a 3rd cycle of studies, it fundamentally aims to promote highly specialized training and research in this area.
The PhD in Population Sciences is a four-year programme in which students must obtain a total of 240 ECTS (credits):
- Curricular Units (60 ECTS);
- Preparation, submission and viva (180 ECTS).
Courses are taught in the first year of the programme over 2 semester.
1st YEAR - 1st SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Population Sciences: concepts, models, and thought | 6 ECTS |
| Demography: population measures and dynamics | 9 ECTS |
| Data and research methods in Population Sciences | 6 ECTS |
| Seminar I | 3 ECTS |
| Elective | 6 ECTS |
1st YEAR - 2nd SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thematic Seminar: Key topics in Population Sciences in the 21st Century | 3 ECTS |
| Quantitative methods applied to Population Sciences | 9 ECTS |
| Qualitative methods applied to Population Sciences | 6 ECTS |
| Seminar II | 6 ECTS |
| Elective | 6 ECTS |
2nd YEAR - 1st SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thesis | 30 ECTS |
2nd YEAR - 2nd SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thesis | 24 ECTS |
| Seminar III | 6 ECTS |
3rd YEAR - 1st SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thesis | 30 ECTS |
3rd YEAR - 2nd SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thesis | 24 ECTS |
| Seminar IV | 6 ECTS |
4th YEAR - 1st SEMESTER
| Curricular Units | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Thesis | 30 ECTS |
4th YEAR - 2nd SEMESTER
Applications
2026/2027 Applications
1st Call
- Application submission: 19 January to 13 February 2026.
- Interviews: 16 to 24 February 2026.
- Publication of results: 27 February 2026.
- Preliminary Hearing: up to 10 working days after publication.
- Registration period: 10 days after application approval.
2nd Call
The 2nd call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 1st call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.
- Application submission: 16 February to 10 April 2026.
- Interviews: 13 to 22 April 2026.
- Publication of results: 24 April 2026.
- Preliminary Hearing: up to 10 working days after publication.
- Registration period: 10 days after application approval.
3rd Call
The 3rd call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 2nd call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.
- Application submission: 13 April to 5 May 2026.
- Interviews: 11 to 15 May 2026.
- Publication of results: 19 May 2026.
- Preliminary Hearing: up to 10 working days after publication.
- Registration period: 10 days after application approval.
4th Call
The 4th call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 3rd call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.
- Application submission: 6 May to 17 July 2026.
- Interviews: 20 to 29 July 2026.
- Publication of results: 31 July 2026.
- Preliminary Hearing: up to 10 working days after publication.
- Registration period: 10 days after application approval.
5th Call
The 5th call of applications will only take place when the number of vacancies is not completed by the enrolment of applicants admitted in the 4th call, and only for the vacancies that are have not yet been filled.
- Application submission: 20 July to 28 August 2026.
- Interviews: 1 to 11 September 2026.
- Publication of results: 14 September 2026.
- Preliminary Hearing: up to 10 working days after publication.
- Registration period: 10 days after application approval.
Applications will be submitted through the ICS FenixEdu platform: https://fenix.ics.ulisboa.pt
To create a registration, please access 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;
- Holders of a bachelor’s degree, with a particularly relevant academic or scientific curriculum 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 that is recognised by the Scientific Committee of the PhD as demonstrating the capacity to undertake this PhD programme.
The applications must be submitted with the following documents:
- Master’s certificate or certificate of a legally equivalent degree, or bachelor’s certificate;
- Academic, scientific and/or professional curriculum vitae (maximum of 5 pages). If the candidate has scientific works that they consider relevant to present, they may do so up to a maximum of three;
- Personal statement, in English, specifying the objectives that motivate the application to this study cycle;
- Two names, respective affiliations and email addresses to whom you will request the two letters of recommendation.
The documents may be submitted in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, or French. If another language is used, a translation into Portuguese or English must also be submitted, which must be an official translation in the case of certificates.
Admission
Places: The number of available places for this PhD programme is 15.
Criteria for ranking and admission
Candidates will be ranked according to the final classifications assigned to the applications by the Selection Jury, based on individual merit, and expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 points, taking into account the following criteria:
- Personal Curriculum (50%);
- Evaluation of the personal statement (10%);
- Evaluation of the two recommendation letters (10%);
- Performance evaluation in an individual interview (30%).
The interviews will be conducted in English by 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.
Candidates whose final application score is equal to or greater than 12 points and whose ranking number in the final ranking is less than or equal to the number of places in the first application call, or the remaining places from the previously completed phases in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th application calls, will be admitted to the Doctoral Programme.
Candidates whose final application grade is equal to or higher than 12 points and, cumulatively, whose order number in the final ranking is higher than the number of places 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.
