Conditions for Application

The application implies reading the Public Notice

Applicants should read the Terms of Confidentiality and Processing of Personal Data.

All contacts and/or clarifications of information should be made by email to medicina.fm@ucp.pt.

Conditions for admission of applicants

This Postdoctoral Program in Bioethics is aimed at applicants with a recognised PhD degree in scientific fields of higher education, which may include life, health, and environmental sciences, natural and exact sciences, engineering and technological sciences, social sciences and humanities, and others to be considered.

Applicants with a PhD degree in the above-mentioned areas, provided that their academic background, particularly in the field of Bioethics, with scientific merit and ethical relevance, will be considered for the Postdoctoral Program in Bioethics.

Number of Vacancies

There are 10 vacancies available for the Postdoctoral Program in Bioethics.

Deadlines

This application process will have a single phase, running from the 15^th of October 2025 to the 15^th of July 2026. The evaluation and selection of applicants is possible at any time within this period, provided that they have completed all stages of the application process.

Note: The formal validation of the application requires the submission of all mandatory documents, the complete filling out of the requested information and the corresponding payment.

Necessary documentation

During the application process, all applicants must complete an online form and attach the requested documents:  

• Passport-type photo (up to date);  

• Identification document – Citizen Card. If other type of document, the tax identification number is required;  

• PhD Degree Certificate;  

• Detailed Curriculum Vitae or Narrative Curriculum, highlighting the applicant’s academic and professional background, with particular emphasis on research activities, relevant publications, interdisciplinary experience and contributions in the field of Bioethics;
• Motivation letter, in which the applicant must, concisely and thoroughly, present the reasons for applying, the academic and scientific objectives to be achieved, as well as the relevance of their background to the development of research in Bioethics;
• Project work plan, which must include the topic, the research question, a brief description of the objectives, the theoretical framework, the proposed methodology, the activity timeline and the expected contribution to the advancement of knowledge in Bioethics. Whenever applicable, the plan should highlight the project’s relevance to the research areas developed by the IB-UCP and the CMS-UCP;
• Scientific project coordinator acceptance document, in which the supervisor formally declares their availability to oversee the applicant’s work, recognizes the alignment of the proposed project with their field of research and ensures the necessary conditions for its development.​

Assessment of Applications and publication of results

The selection of applicants to the Postdoctoral Program in Bioethics will be carried out by the designated jury, which consists of the Course Coordinators and Assessment Commission:

• Professor Mara de Sousa Freitas, Dean of the Bioethics Institute.
• Professor António Medina de Almeida, Dean of the Católica Medical School;
• Professor Paulo Oom, Vice-Dean of the Católica Medical School.

The final approval of the application is the responsibility of the Scientific Council of the CMS-UCP and of the IB-UCP, which will deliberate based on the jury’s proposal.

Considering the proposal submitted by the applicant, the Scientific Council shall appoint the project’s scientific advisor. If the applicant has previously indicated an advisor, the appointment may be made based on that suggestion, provided it is validated by the jury and the plenary of the Scientific Council. In the absence of such an indication, the Council will proceed with the appointment of a suitable advisor. Whenever deemed appropriate, a co-advisor may also be appointed to ensure the scientific guidance of the project, particularly within the scope of their expertise in Bioethics, in the context of the Postdoctoral Program.

The application grade will be a weighted average of the assessment of the following criteria: 

Application’s Final evaluation

The selection of applicants results in the attribution, by the jury, of a final qualitative classification, expressed in the categories: Admitted, Not Admitted, or Excluded. This classification is based on the analysis of the previously defined evaluation criteria and on the compliance of the application with the formal requirements of the Postdoctoral Program. The application proposal, together with the respective classification, is submitted to the Scientific Council of the CMS-UCP and IB-UCP, which deliberates on its final approval.

Operation

The Postdoctoral program may extend over a variable period, depending on the specific characteristics of the project and the applicant’s conditions. However, except in duly justified cases, its duration shall be no less than six months and no longer than three years. The Postdoctoral Program in Bioethics operates in accordance with the regulated terms.

Apply here
 

In order to start their application, applicants must:

If applying for the first time at UCP:

Sign up here

After creating the account, the candidate will receive access data in their email.

1. Once you have the access data, the candidate can proceed to formalize the application at fenix.ucp.pt/login
    
2. Access to fenix.ucp.pt/login must be done by filling in the User and Password fields and then clicking on Login

If you do not remember your username or password, you should access the email address fenix.ucp.pt/passwordResetRequest and follow the instructions to recover your username or password.

If you are a UCP student or former student with Fenix access:

Access by  fenix.ucp.pt/login  click on UCP Login and enter with IDU

Tuition fees, payments and other fees

The value of tuition fees, payments and other fees is determined annually, and published in a separate document (Instituto de Bioética - Tabela de propinas, taxas e emolumentos para 2025/2026) therefore, the values for subsequent school years may change. The application fee is non-refundable in situations of cancellation, withdrawal or exclusion of the application.

Registration

Enrolment of applicants admitted to the Postdoctoral Program will only be formalized after confirmation of the corresponding tuition fee payment, an essential condition for the completion of registration. Once the applicant receives the notification of “Admitted,” they have 10 consecutive days to pay the enrolment / first registration and the amount corresponding to the first monthly tuition instalment. Each year, at the beginning of the academic year, payment of the subsequent annual registration is required.