University of Porto Scholarships 2027: Fees, Merit Awards and Funding for International Students

University of Porto scholarships for international students are mostly fee reductions and merit prizes, and full funding only comes from outside the university. If you enter U.Porto under the International Student Status, you pay between €3,500 and €16,500 a year for a bachelor’s or integrated master’s, you cannot get the state-funded SASUP need-based grant, and your main chances of money are merit scholarships, the Incentive Prize for top first-year students, research grants, Erasmus Mundus and outside funders.

Nationals of Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries can get up to 45% off the international fee. All three 2026/2027 application phases for international students have now closed, and the deadline is 6 February 2027, when the first 2027/2028 phase closes. Below are the fees, each funding route and who can use it, the application steps and what the Portuguese visa asks you to show.

University of Porto scholarships: quick summary

Who counts as an international student at U.Porto?

Your status decides your fee and which scholarships you can apply for. U.Porto gives International Student Status (ISS) to applicants who are not Portuguese and not nationals of another EU member state. You do not get ISS, and you apply as a national student instead, if you:

• hold the Statute of Equal Rights and Duties (a status some Brazilian nationals have)
• have dual nationality that includes Portuguese
• have lived legally in Portugal, or your parents have, for more than two continuous years
• are a family member of a Portuguese or EU national

Applicants from countries such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the United States, Ghana or China would normally enter under ISS.

University of Porto tuition fees for international students

The exact fee for each bachelor’s is in U.Porto’s list of courses, and each faculty publishes its own master’s fees. The CPLP countries are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor.

University of Porto scholarships and funding, one by one

1. SASUP study scholarships (need-based)

SASUP is U.Porto’s social support service. Its study scholarship is a monthly cash payment toward the cost of a bachelor’s, master’s or integrated master’s, paid from state funds. It is open to Portuguese and EU nationals, stateless persons and nationals of countries with reciprocal agreements with Portugal. U.Porto states that students with International Student Status are excluded.

For eligible students, applications go through the DGES (Directorate-General for Higher Education) platform. The 2026/2027 window ran from 14 August to 2 October 2026. Late applications are accepted until 31 May 2027, but the grant is then paid only from the month after you apply. Students who enrol after 2 October get 20 working days after enrolment.

2. SASUP Social Support Fund

This fund gives temporary help to students in a difficult financial situation who did not meet the SASUP scholarship criteria. U.Porto’s page does not say whether ISS students can use it, so ask SASUP directly (Rua dos Bragas, 151, Porto; +351 222 005 435) if you hit an emergency.

3. Merit scholarships

U.Porto awards merit scholarships every year to bachelor’s, master’s and integrated master’s students with exceptional results, regardless of income. They are cash prizes under U.Porto’s General Regulation on the Awarding of Merit Scholarships. The page does not limit them by nationality, but it also does not publish amounts or a separate application, so you earn them through your grades once enrolled.

4. Incentive Prizes for first-year students

The best first-year students in each faculty receive an Incentive Prize worth one year’s tuition fee for their course, presented on University Day. The most recent round, for 2024/2025 results, had 23 winners across the university. For an ISS student paying international fees, this is the largest single award you can win from U.Porto itself.

5. Research scholarships and FCT funding

U.Porto offers research initiation grants and research scholarships to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students working in research projects or science institutions in Portugal. They usually last a year, can be extended up to three years, and cannot be shorter than three consecutive months.

For PhD study, the main national funder is FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology). Its 2026 call offered 1,600 PhD studentships worth €145 million in total, split into 1,000 general and 600 non-academic studentships, with applications open from 2 to 31 March 2026. Nationality and residence rules and the monthly amount are set in each call’s regulations, so read the 2027 call when it opens.

6. External scholarships

U.Porto lists outside funders that support some of its students through national or international agreements. It names students from Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) as one group that often benefits. Each funder sets its own amounts, eligibility and deadlines.

7. Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus+

Some Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters include U.Porto as a partner. The EU scholarship pays €1,400 a month for up to 24 months, and you apply to the consortium, not to U.Porto. If you are already enrolled at a university elsewhere, Erasmus+ exchange agreements can also bring you to Porto for a semester. Our MARIHE Erasmus Mundus guide shows how a consortium application works.

How international students apply to U.Porto (special call)

Bachelor’s and integrated master’s places for ISS students go through the Special Call for International Students. For 2026/2027 U.Porto offered 712 places over three phases, all now closed. For 2027/2028 the deadlines are the 2026/2027 dates below one year later: 6 February, 2 April and 22 July 2027. Times are Portuguese time (GMT in winter, GMT+1 in summer).

Six faculties run their own calendars: FEUP (engineering), FMUP (medicine), FCUP (sciences), FADEUP (sport), FEP (economics) and ICBAS (biomedical sciences). FEUP, for example, ran two phases (2 January to 6 February, and 12 June to 27 July 2026) and charged a non-refundable €100 application fee.

Language and documents

Most bachelor’s programmes are taught in Portuguese, and U.Porto asks ISS applicants to speak Portuguese at independent user level. If you cannot document it, you may be given an oral test by video call. Several master’s and PhD programmes are taught in English. FEUP’s list of mandatory documents is typical:

• Passport or ID
• Secondary school diploma, with an equivalence or eligibility declaration
• Proof of Portuguese language level
• A declaration that you qualify as an international student
• A motivation letter

FEUP also sets entrance exam subjects and minimum grades: for most engineering courses, Physics and Chemistry plus Mathematics A, with a minimum exam grade of 95 out of 200. Check your own course’s rules, because each faculty sets them.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your status: confirm you qualify for International Student Status, since it sets your fee and which grants you can get.
2. Pick a course and faculty: look up the course fee and whether the faculty (FEUP, FMUP, FCUP, FADEUP, FEP or ICBAS) runs its own calendar.
3. Prove your Portuguese: get a certificate at independent user level, or be ready for an oral test by video call.
4. Prepare documents: passport, secondary diploma with equivalence or eligibility declaration, ISS declaration and motivation letter.
5. Apply in the first phase: submit online and pay the application fee (FEUP charged €100, non-refundable).
6. Register and pay: after the final results, register within the stated week, then apply for your study visa.

Visa money and living costs in Porto

Students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland on courses longer than 90 days need a Portuguese study visa from a consulate, followed by a residence permit from AIMA (the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) after arrival. Consulates usually measure your funds against the Portuguese monthly minimum wage, which rose to €920 on 1 January 2026. Ask your consulate or visa centre for its exact rule, since practice differs by country.

If you are weighing Porto against other European options, compare it with the University of Coimbra, which publishes fixed merit discounts for international students, or with University of Oulu scholarships in Finland. For the Netherlands, see the Leiden University Excellence Scholarship.

FAQ on University of Porto scholarships

Does the University of Porto offer fully funded scholarships to international students?

Not from its own budget. Full funding usually comes from Erasmus Mundus programmes, FCT PhD studentships or outside funders such as the Camões Institute.

Can international students get the SASUP scholarship?

No, not if you have International Student Status. SASUP grants are for Portuguese and EU nationals, stateless persons and nationals of countries with reciprocal agreements.

How much is the University of Porto tuition fee for international students?

For 2026/2027, bachelor’s and integrated master’s fees for ISS students range from €3,500 to €16,500 a year. FEP’s master’s fee for international students was €5,000.

Can I study at the University of Porto in English?

At master’s and PhD level, often yes. Most bachelor’s courses are in Portuguese and need independent user level Portuguese.

Sources and updates

Scholarship types and SASUP rules come from U.Porto’s scholarships and funding page. Status rules, fee range, CPLP reduction, places and phase dates come from U.Porto’s special call for international students. FEP master’s fees come from FEP’s 2026-2027 master’s call, and FEUP dates, fee and documents from FEUP’s special call page on Sigarra. The Incentive Prize round comes from a 2026 FEUP informatics department report. DGES grant dates come from the 2026/2027 scholarship notice published by Portuguese higher education institutions. FCT figures come from FCT’s news on the 2026 PhD call. Erasmus Mundus figures come from the European Commission’s Erasmus+ site, and the 2026 minimum wage from WageIndicator’s report on the Portuguese decree. Information checked on 24 October 2026; this post will be updated when U.Porto publishes its 2027/2028 special call.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.