EC2U - 2 (two) research grant - Humanities and Social Sciences

16 Feb 2026
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Universidade de Coimbra

Research Field

Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions

PhD Positions

Application Deadline

9 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)

Country

Portugal

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

16 Feb 2026

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Call for Applications for PhD Research Grants

 

The University of Coimbra hereby opens a call for applications for the award of 2 (two) research grant, hereinafter referred to as Doctoral Research Grants, in the field of Humanities and Social Sciences, under the FCT Research Grants Regulations (RBI) and the Research Grant Holder Statute (EBI).

 

The grants will be funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the Collaboration Protocol for Funding within the scope of the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) for Doctoral Students, concluded between FCT and the University of Coimbra.

 

1. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The Call for Applications is open from 16 February 2025 until 9 March 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon).

Applications and all the supporting documents described in this Call must be submitted by email to maria.keating@fl.uc.pt  with subject “2025 Research Grant - EC2U - VIQE”.     

 

Each applicant can only submit one application, under penalty of cancellation of all the applications submitted.

Please note that false declarations or acts of plagiarism from the applicants will lead to the exclusion of the application notwithstanding the need to take other corrective or punitive disciplinary measures.

 

2. TYPE AND DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS

The PhD scholarships are intended to finance research activities carried out by the doctoral candidate that will lead to the attainment of the academic degree of doctor by University of Coimbra.

The research activities leading to the awarding of the doctoral degree will take place at the University of Coimbra, without prejudice to the possibility of work being carried out in collaboration with another partner University.

 

The work programme may partially carried out on a national institution (blended scholarships) and the period of the work plan carried out at the foreign institution cannot exceed 24 months.

 

The research activities leading to the award of a doctoral degree to the selected fellows must be in line with the activity plan and strategy of the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) and must be carried out within the following doctoral areas:

 

• Humanities and Social Sciences, within the framework of Doctoral Programmes at the University of Coimbra (Modern Languages, Feminist Studies, Portuguese Linguistics, Education Sciences, Communication Sciences, among other programmes in the areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, International Relations and/or related areas such as Social and Cultural Anthropology, among others);

 

The duration of the scholarships is, as a rule, annual, renewable up to a maximum of four years (48 months), and scholarships cannot be awarded for a period of less than 3 consecutive months.

 

3. RECIPIENTS OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS

Doctoral Research Grants are intended for applicants who are enrolled or who meet the conditions necessary to enroll in a Doctoral Programme listed in point 2 of this Notice and who intend to carry out research activities leading to the award of a doctoral degree at the indicated host institutions.

 

4. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Admission requirements for applicants

The following candidates may apply to this Call:

• National (Portuguese) citizens or citizens from other member states of the European Union;
• Third-country nationals;
• Stateless individuals;

• Citizens with political refugee status.

   

To apply for a Doctoral Research Grant, applicants must:

• Not have benefited from a doctoral or industrial doctoral scholarship directly funded by FCT, regardless of its duration.

• Reside permanently and habitually in Portugal on the date of commencement of the work plan abroad, if the work plan proposed for the scholarship includes a period at foreign institutions (mixed scholarships), a requirement applicable to both nationals and foreign citizens.

• Be permanently and habitually resident in Portugal on the date of commencement of the work plan abroad, if the work plan proposed for the scholarship includes a period in foreign institutions (mixed scholarships), a requirement applicable to both nationals and foreign citizens.

• Not hold a doctoral degree;

 

Application requirements

The following documents are mandatory, under penalty of exclusion from the Call:

• Identification card / citizen card / passport details;
• Curriculum vitae of the applicant;
• Certificates of academic degrees held, clearly indicating the final grade and, if possible, the grades obtained in all completed courses, or alternatively, a sworn statement declaring completion of the bachelor’s or master’s degree by the end of the application deadline;
• Proof of recognition of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions and conversion of the respective final grade to the Portuguese grading scale, or alternatively, a sworn statement declaring that recognition of the foreign degree equivalent to a bachelor’s or master’s degree will be obtained by the end of the application deadline;
• Motivation letter which explains, justifies and argues with due scientific rigor the preference for one of the disciplinary guidelines for the scholarships (see item 5 of the call for applications);
• • Letters of recommendation (maximum of two);
• • Other elements considered relevant.
• Write the application and all associated documents, including letters of motivation and recommendation, in Portuguese or English. 

 

Regarding the aforementioned admission requirements, the following should be noted:

In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and to guarantee the principle of equal treatment among applicants with national and foreign academic degrees, the applicant must submit proof of recognition of such degrees and the conversion of the respective final average grade to the Portuguese grading scale.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas and the conversion of the respective final average grade to the Portuguese grading scale, can be issued by a Portuguese public higher education institution, or by the Directorate-General for Higher Education (Direção Geral do Ensino Superior, DGES: only in the case of automatic recognition). Candidates should consult the DGES portal for more information at https://www.dges.gov.pt/en .

All requests for automatic or level recognition made to the University of Coimbra (UC) are exempt from the payment of fees in the case of candidates for competitive procedures (at the UC) for the recruitment of Researchers and, as well, for the awarding of Research Grants, who are selected and hired and need to obtain recognition of academic degrees or higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, as a requirement for hiring.

If the applicant is a national of one of the Member States of the European Union, they are entitled to a 50% reduction in the fees provided for Level Recognition or Specific Recognition of a Doctorate.

Only applicants who have completed the cycle of studies leading to a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree until the application deadline will be admitted. Applicants who have not yet received their degree certificate/diploma must submit a declaration of honour stating that they will conclude the Bachelor’s or Master's degree by the end of the application period. Granting the scholarship will depend on the presentation of proof of the academic qualifications required at the contracting stage.

 

 

5. WORK PLAN AND SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS

The work plan is part of the development activities of the EC2U Alliance's Virtual Institute for Quality Education (VIQE) on multilingualism, interculturality and citizenship, shaped by European materialities and discourses, and involves the consortium institutions. The research to be carried out is based on a comparative perspective and focuses on issues that directly affect linguistic and cultural diversity in the face of discourses on internationalisation, citizenship and/or (in)security, from a theoretically and methodologically critical and interdisciplinary perspective. Based on an empirical focus on the relocation experienced by students recognised as international or mobile, for reasons of migration or refuge, the project investigates the construction and mechanisms of transnational circulation of discourses of citizenship, security and/or internationalisation, and their impact on the dynamics of recognition, belonging, civic participation and linguistic mediation in the institutional spaces of higher education allied to the consortium. We compare

 

1.    the discursive dimension, i.e., the textual mechanisms for constructing and circulating narratives, images, and metaphors about “citizenship”, “(in)security”, “internationalisation” (among others) – in cultural and institutional texts associated with the implementation of security and internationalisation measures and policies in the consortium’s universities, which are linked to policies for the reception and linguistic integration of international, mobility or refugee students at multiple levels – European, national and local;

2.    the impact of these discourses on the lived experience of linguistic mediation and participation practices by the speakers involved in university and city life. We start from their linguistic and literate resources and repertoires (material and immaterial), their historical bodies and their internalised dispositions, identifying how semiotic resources provide unique and situated “sociocultural capacities for action” (Ahearn, 2001:12) and survival in the new environment.

 

The project combines critical analysis of discourses on security, citizenship and internationalisation and their impact on cultural policies (line 1) with a critical sociolinguistic analysis of the dynamics of belonging and linguistic citizenship across multiple dimensions – institutional, experiential and/or agency (line 2). Data collection and analysis combine archiving and analysis of texts emanating from public and official policies (using digital humanities methodologies, line 1) with linguistic ethnography in higher education institutions, including interviews and/or focus groups, analysis of linguistic landscapes, creation of creative methodologies for co-constructing knowledge (such as biographical or creative writing workshops), participant observation in academic and non-academic socialisation spaces (line 2). Research grants are awarded to proposals that best respond to each of the lines of comparison.

 

The remaining points of the work plan include:

•    Support and active collaboration in the implementation of VIQE activities on Linguistic, Cultural and Social Diversity in Europe, in its multiple aspects of training, research and extension;

•    Organisation of workshops within the scope of VIQE related to linguistic, cultural and social diversity, its theories and methodologies of analysis;

•    Organisation and maintenance of networks and databases created within the scope of VIQE related to linguistic, cultural and social diversity;

•    Preparation of applications for national and international projects within the scope of VIQE related to linguistic, cultural and social diversity;

• Participation as a researcher in national and international projects within the scope of VIQE related to linguistic, cultural and social diversity

• Preparation and publication of articles related to linguistic, cultural and social diversity, relevant within the scope of VIQE.

 

6. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BONUSES

6.1 Evaluation Criteria

 

The evaluation takes into account the merit of the candidate in the Curriculum Assessment (criterion A) and Interview with the five highest-ranked candidates in the Curriculum Assessment.

Applications deemed admissible will be scored on a scale of 1 to 100 for each of the following evaluation criteria: 

 

    Criterion A – Curriculum Evaluation, weighted at 80%;

    Subcriterion A1 – Merit of the curriculum vitae, in relation to the Institute's interdisciplinary project, weighted at 40% (M);

Subcriterion A2 – Suitability of the candidate's profile for the scholarship work plan, according to the preferred line of research stated in the letter of motivation, weighted at 40% (PT);

Subcriterion A3 – Additional characteristics related to the motivation implied in the letter of motivation and availability to start work, with a weighting of 20% (CA)

   

     Criterion B – Interview, with a weighting of 20%;

Subcriterion B1 – Communication skills, with a weighting of 40% (CC);

Subcriterion B2 – Motivation and interest in the work to be carried out, weighted at 60% (MI).

 

For the purposes of deciding on the award of scholarships, candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the scores obtained in each of the two criteria, calculated using the following formula:

Final Score = (0.8 × A) + (0.2 × B)

 

In the event of a tie, ranking will be based on the scores obtained in Criterion A, followed by Criterion B.

Important note for candidates holding a degree issued by foreign higher education institutions:

• In the case of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and to guarantee the principle of equal treatment among applicants with national and foreign academic degrees, the applicants must submit proof of recognition of such degrees and the conversion of the respective final average grade to the Portuguese grading scale under the terms of the applicable legislation.
• In any case, scholarship contracts with applicants whose diplomas have been issued by foreign institutions will only be concluded upon presentation of proof of recognition of academic degrees and conversion of the final average grade, as indicated above.

     

Applicants whose application is scored with a final grade lower than 45 points are not eligible for scholarship award.

     

     

7. EVALUATION

The evaluation panel is composed of the following members:

• Prof. Maria Clara Bicudo de Azeredo Keating (Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra), Chair;
• Prof. Alberto Sismondini (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra) – full member;
• Prof. Anabela dos Santos Fernandes (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra) – full member;
• Prof. Olga Solovova (Researcher, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Coimbra – alternate;
• Prof. Susana Araújo (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Coimbra) – alternate.

 

The evaluation panel will assess applications based on the evaluation criteria described in this Call for Applications, considering the components of evaluation.

All panel members, including the coordinator, will make a commitment to respect the responsibilities of the evaluation process, such as the duties of impartiality, the declaration of any potential conflicts of interest, and confidentiality. At all times during the evaluation process, confidentiality is fully protected and ensured in order to guarantee the independence of all opinions produced.

For each application, a final evaluation form will be produced by the panel, in which the arguments that led to the scores attributed to each of the evaluation criteria and sub-criteria will be presented in a clear, coherent and consistent manner.

Minutes of the meetings of the evaluation panel will be taken under the responsibility of all its members.

The minutes and their attachments must include the following information:

• Name and affiliation of all members of the evaluation panel;
• Identification of all excluded applications and respective reasons ;
• Methodology employed by the panel for particular cases;
• Final Evaluation Sheets for each application;
• Provisional list of the scoring and ranking of the candidates, in descending order of the final grade, of all applications evaluated by the panel;
• Conflict of Interest (COI) statements from all members of the panel;

• Delegations of voting and decision powers by reason of justified absence.

   

8. DISCLOSURE OF THE RESULTS

Evaluation results will be communicated by email to the address provided by the candidates in the application form.

     

9. DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

Once the provisional ranked list of the evaluation results has been communicated, applicants may request a preliminary hearing with the interested parties, under the terms of Articles no. 121 and following of the Code of Administrative Procedures (CPA).

The final decision will be announced after the analysis of applicants’ arguments presented in the preliminary hearing. Following the final decision, the applicant can file a formal complaint within 15 working days or, alternatively, file an appeal within 30 working days, counting after the communication of the final results.

Applicants who choose to file a complaint should address their request to the member of the FCT Board of the Directors with the delegated competence. Applicants who choose to file an appeal must address their request to the FCT Board of Directors.

     

10. REQUIREMENTS TO AWARD THE SCHOLARSHIPS

The research scholarship contracts are signed directly with FCT.

The following documents are mandatory, upon conditional awarding of the scholarship for the purposes of contract preparation:

Copy of the document(s) of personal identification, tax number and, if applicable, social security;[1]

Copy of academic qualification certificates;

Presentation of the recognition of foreign academic degrees and conversion of the respective final grades to the Portuguese grading scale, if applicable;

Document proving enrolment and registration in one of the Doctoral Programmes in the areas indicated;

Statement from the supervisor(s) assuming responsibility for supervising the work plan, in accordance with Article 5-A of the Research Fellow Statute (draft statement to be provided by FCT);

Document proving acceptance of the candidate by the institution where the research activities will take place, guaranteeing the necessary conditions for its proper development, as well as compliance with the duties set out in Article 13 of the Research Fellow Statute (draft statement to be provided by FCT);

Updated document proving compliance with the full-time commitment regime (draft statement to be provided by FCT);

Work plan to be carried out. 

 

The granting of the scholarship is still dependent on:

• The fulfilment of all the requirements listed in this Call for Applications;

• The results of the scientific evaluation;

• The absence of unjustified non-compliance of the fellowship holder during previous directly or

indirectly funded FCT fellowships;

• The FCT's available budget.

     

The lack of any of the necessary documents to complete the contracting procedure implies the expiration of the scholarship granting and conclusion of the process; applicants have up to 6 months after the disclosure of the provisional granting to present all of the documents listed.

     

11. FUNDING

The payment of the scholarships will begin after the return, by the candidates, of the scholarship contract duly signed, which should occur within a maximum of 15 working days from the date of receipt. 

Grants relating to the components of the scholarship in national territory are financed by the FCT with funds from the State Budget and, when eligible, with funds from the European Social Fund, to be made available under PORTUGAL2030, namely through the Regional Operational Programme for the Centre (Centro 2030).

12. SCHOLARSHIP COMPONENTS

A monthly maintenance allowance is granted to the fellows in accordance with the table in Annex I of the RBI.

The scholarship may also include additional allowances, according to RBI’s Article no. 18 and the values indicated in its Annex II.

All the scholarship holders have a personal accident insurance related to the research activities, which FCT will support.

All scholarship holders who are not beneficiaries of any social protection regime have the right to register for social security through the voluntary social insurance regime, under the terms of the Contributory Scheme of the Social Security System. FCT will ensure the charges resulting from contributions under the terms and the limits provided in Article no. 10 of the EBI.

     

13. PAYMENT OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

Payments due to the scholarship holder are made by bank transfer to the bank account indicated. The monthly maintenance allowance is paid on the first working day of each month.

Registration, enrolment and tuition fees are payed directly by FCT to the national institution where the scholarship holder has enrolled or is registered in a 3rd Cycle of Studies/PhD Programme.

     

14. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PhD SCHOLARSHIP RENEWAL

The renewal of the scholarship always depends upon the applicant’s request, within 60 working days prior to the renewal start date, which must include the following documents:

a) Declaration(s) issued by the supervisor(s) and by the host institution(s) attesting the work plan development and the evaluation of the respective activities;

b) Updated document proving compliance with the exclusive dedication regime;

c) Declaration proving enrolment renewal in the study cycle leading to the doctoral degree.

 

15. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY OF THE GRANTED FUNDING

In all R&D activities directly or indirectly financed by the scholarship, in particular in all communications, publications and scientific creations, as well as theses, carried out with the support provided for in the scholarship, the mention of financial support from FCT and the European Social Fund, through, inter alia, the Demography, Qualifications and Inclusion Program (PDQI) should be expressed. For this purpose, the insignia of FCT, MCTES, ESF and EU logos should be entered in the documents relating to these actions, in accordance with the graphic standards of the Community support program.

The disclosure of research results funded according to the RBI provisions must comply with the open access guidelines, publications and other research results in accordance with FCT rules.

In all scholarship, and in particular in the case of actions supported by Community funding, in particular the ESF, follow-up and control actions may be carried out by national and Community bodies in accordance with applicable legislation in this area, with the scholarship holders supporting the obligation to collaborate and provide the requested information, which covers the carrying out of surveys and evaluation studies in this area, even if the scholarship has already ceased.

 

     

16. NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL ACCESS POLICY

FCT promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, thus no applicant may be privileged, benefited, damaged or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty, due to ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic status, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic disease, nationality, ethnicity or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs or trade union affiliation.

     

17. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS

The present call is governed by this Notice of Opening, by the FCT Regulations for Research Fellowships approved by the Regulation no. 950/2019 (published in the Series II of the DR, of 16th December), by the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (approved by Law no. 40/2004, of 18th of August, in its current version), and by other applicable national and Community legislation.

 

[1]  Instead of providing these documents, the candidate may opt to present them in person at the financing body, which will store the data contained in them that are relevant for the validity and execution of the contract, including the civil, tax and social security identification numbers, as well as the validity of the respective documents.

Where to apply

E-mail

maria.keating@fl.uc.pt

Requirements

Research Field

Other

Education Level

Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Internal Application form(s) needed
Im1367en_VIQE_2025_Pub.pdf
English
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Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

2

Company/Institute

Universidade de Coimbra

Country

Portugal

Geofield

Contact

City

Coimbra

Website

https://www.uc.pt/administracao/dpa

Street

Rua Larga

E-Mail

sonia.cardoso@uc.pt

STATUS: EXPIRED

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