University of Porto Scholarships 2027: Tuition, Funding & How to Apply

Porto keeps coming up in every "hidden gem" conversation about studying in Europe, and for once the hype checks out. Degrees from the University of Porto  U.Porto to almost everyone who's been there  are recognized across the continent, rent and groceries cost a fraction of what you'd pay in Amsterdam or Paris, and the university itself sits woven into a city most people end up not wanting to leave.

What trips people up isn't the admission, it's figuring out how to pay for it. U.Porto doesn't hand out one big scholarship that covers everything. Instead it runs several separate funding tracks: need-based grants, merit prizes, research stipends, an emergency fund, and a long list of outside sponsors. None of them talk to each other, so you have to apply to each one individually. Here's how the whole system actually works.

Why So Many Students End Up Choosing U.Porto

U.Porto is Portugal's largest research university with 14 faculties plus a business school, around 32,000 students, and roughly one in five of them international. Engineering and health sciences carry the strongest reputations internationally (the Faculty of Engineering, FEUP, and the two medical schools in particular), but the university also runs solid programs in architecture, law, economics, fine arts, psychology, and sport science.

There's no walled-off campus here, faculties are scattered through Porto itself, so student life just folds into the city: the riverside, the azulejo-tiled buildings, São Bento station, and food that's both cheap and genuinely good. If you're also weighing Portugal's other major option, it's worth comparing this against our University of Coimbra guide before deciding.

The Funding Options, Broken Down

SASUP study grants (need-based). This is the main state-funded scholarship, run through the university's Social Support Services (SASUP) and paid monthly to help cover tuition, food, transport, and often housing. Because it's funded by the Portuguese state rather than the university itself, eligibility is strict: it's open to Portuguese and EU nationals, stateless individuals, and nationals of countries with reciprocal agreements with Portugal. International Student Status holders don't qualify for this one. The grant is reassessed every year  no automatic renewal  and applications go through BeOn, the platform run by DGES (Portugal's Directorate-General for Higher Education).

Merit scholarships and Incentive Prizes. These ignore income entirely and reward academic performance instead. Merit scholarships are cash prizes for the strongest students in each Bachelor's, Master's, or Integrated Master's program. Incentive Prizes go to the top first-year student in each of the 14 faculties, and the prize is worth a full year's tuition  handed out at the university's annual University Day ceremony. For an international student paying the international fee rate, that's not a small win.

Scientific and research scholarships. If you want to work inside a lab or research group, this is the route  funding for undergraduate research and for Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD students tied to active research projects. Awards typically run one year and can extend to three, with a three-month minimum. These pair naturally with PhD funding from FCT (the Foundation for Science and Technology), Portugal's national research funding body, which runs its own annual doctoral studentship round.

The Social Support Fund. For students who don't qualify for the state grant but hit a genuine financial emergency mid-year  a parent losing their job, an unexpected bill, a currency crash back home  SASUP runs a discretionary emergency fund, assessed case by case.

External and government-funded scholarships. A large chunk of the money reaching U.Porto students never actually comes from U.Porto. Students from PALOP countries (the Portuguese-speaking African nations) are among the biggest beneficiaries of these external channels. Funders include the Camões Institute (language and cooperation scholarships), the Foundation for Science and Technology, Santander Universities, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Millennium BCP Foundation, and joint programs like UT Austin Portugal, CMU Portugal, and MIT Portugal. Non-EU students should also check Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's scholarships, which cover tuition, travel, and a monthly stipend through consortia that often include Portuguese universities.

What Tuition Actually Costs

EU/EEA students: Around €700 a year for undergraduate and integrated Master's programs  the fee is capped nationally by the Portuguese government, not set by the university. Students who land a state grant usually have this paid directly by the state, and students with a recognized disability of 60% or more are exempt regardless of income.

International Student Status holders: Anywhere from roughly €3,500 to €16,500 a year, depending entirely on the faculty. Humanities sit at the low end; medicine and dentistry sit at the top. Always check the specific course page  the range is wide enough that assumptions will burn you.

CPLP nationals (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor): eligible for up to a 45% reduction on the international rate  on a €10,000 course, that's worth more than most standalone scholarships.

What You Can Actually Study There

• Engineering: Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical & Computer, Informatics, Environmental, Materials, Industrial Engineering & Management, Bioengineering, Aerospace
• Sciences: Computer Science, AI & Data Science, Biology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geology
• Health: Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nursing, Nutritional Sciences, Veterinary Medicine
• Social Sciences & Humanities: Economics, Business Administration, Law, Criminology, Psychology, Sociology, History, Geography, Communication Sciences
• Creative fields: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Fine Arts, Communication Design

Some Master's and PhD programs in Economics and Business Administration among them  run fully in English. For undergraduate international admissions, though, expect to demonstrate Portuguese at an independent-user level, possibly through a video-call oral test if you can't document it another way.

Deadlines  Two Separate Calendars, Don't Mix Them Up

Scholarship deadline (SASUP grant): Applications open mid-August and close in early October  for the 2026/27 cycle, the window ran 14 August to 2 October 2026. Late applications are accepted through roughly the end of May, but payment becomes proportional and only starts the month after you apply. Being on time here is worth real money.

Admission deadlines (Special Call for International Students): Runs in three phases across the year  January to February, February to April, and June to July. For 2026/27, U.Porto opened 712 vacancies under this call. Six units set their own calendars on top of the general one  Engineering (FEUP), Medicine (FMUP), Sciences (FCUP), Sport (FADEUP), Economics and Management (FEP), and ICBAS  so check the faculty page directly rather than trusting the general timetable alone.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Pick your program and faculty, and read that faculty's specific admission rules.
2. Confirm your route: the national access route, or the Special Call for International Students if you're a non-EU national without Portuguese residency or dual nationality.
3. Get your documents legalized  foreign qualifications often need formal recognition, and this takes time.
4. Submit your admission application online to your chosen faculty's academic services before the phase deadline.
5. Apply for funding separately. Admission and scholarships run through different offices  getting in does not enroll you in a grant.
6. Track your results and any appeal window, then complete registration by the published date.

Official website: up.pt (Student Life → Scholarships and Funding)

Documents You'll Likely Need

• Secondary school diploma or higher-ed certificate, translated and legalized
• Academic transcripts
• Valid passport/ID
• Proof of language ability (Portuguese or English, depending on the program)
• Motivation letter
• Academic CV (a clean Europass-style format helps)
• Recommendation letters, if the program asks for them
• Household income documents, for need-based scholarship applications

Visa and Residence Basics

EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals don't need a visa, just register residence after arrival. Everyone else, on a course longer than 90 days, needs a student visa from a Portuguese consulate before traveling. After arrival, the residence visa (valid for two entries over four months) needs to be followed by a residence permit application with AIMA, the agency that replaced the former SEF for immigration matters. Consulates also want proof of sufficient funds, so a scholarship award letter does double duty: it funds your studies and strengthens your visa application.

What Life in Porto Actually Costs

Budget roughly €700–€1,000 a month, with housing eating the biggest share. University residences or shared flats bring that down meaningfully compared to renting solo, and student discounts on transport, canteens, and culture help stretch the rest. Consulates typically want proof of funds around the Portuguese minimum wage per month, so plan your visa file with that figure in mind.

A Few Things That Actually Move the Needle

• Apply in the first admission phase if you can  later phases are competing over whatever's left.
• Start document legalization early. Apostilles and translations take weeks, not days.
• Apply to multiple funding sources at once  university grants, external foundations, and home-country schemes  rather than betting on one.
• Write a motivation letter that names an actual research group, professor, or course unit. Generic letters get read as generic.
• Keep first-year grades high  both merit scholarships and the Incentive Prize are decided on results, and the Incentive Prize is won in year one only.
• Have a backup. If Portugal doesn't pan out, our Netherlands government scholarships guide is a solid point of comparison.

Quick Answers

Can international students get a SASUP scholarship?
 No  that state-funded grant is reserved for Portuguese and EU nationals, stateless individuals, and nationals of countries with reciprocal agreements. International Student Status holders should target merit scholarships, research funding, external foundations, and the CPLP fee reduction instead.

Is U.Porto free for EU students?
 Not free, but cheap  around €700 a year at the government-capped national rate, often fully covered if you land a state grant.

Do I need IELTS to study at U.Porto?
 Depends on the program. Portuguese-taught courses usually require independent-user-level Portuguese; English-taught programs have their own language requirements that vary by faculty.

How much is tuition for international students?
 Roughly €3,500 to €16,500 a year depending on faculty and course, with up to a 45% reduction available for CPLP nationals.

When do scholarship applications open?
 The SASUP national grant opens mid-August with an early-October deadline, submitted through the DGES BeOn platform. Late applications are generally accepted into spring, but payment is proportional rather than backdated.

Are merit scholarships need-based?
 No  purely academic performance, regardless of financial situation. Same for Incentive Prizes.

Can PhD students get funding here?
 Yes  through U.Porto's own research scholarships (one year, extendable to three) and through national FCT doctoral studentships, plus partnership programs like MIT Portugal, CMU Portugal, and UT Austin Portugal.

Does applying for a scholarship affect my admission chances?
 No  admission and funding are handled by separate offices entirely. Neither one automatically triggers the other.

Do I need a visa to study in Porto?
 Not if you're EU/EEA/Swiss. Everyone else on a course over 90 days needs a study visa before arrival, followed by a residence permit from AIMA. Apply two to three months ahead  consular processing typically takes 30–60 days.

The Bottom Line

There's no single scholarship at U.Porto that covers everything  treat it as a stack of smaller supports instead: a need-based state grant, merit awards, research funding, an emergency fund, and a wide net of external sponsors, all sitting on top of tuition that's already low by Western European standards.

For EU students, a capped national fee plus a state grant can bring the real cost close to zero. For international students, budget for somewhere between €3,500 and €16,500 in tuition, knock off up to 45% if you're a CPLP national, and go after merit and research funding actively rather than waiting for it to show up. Confirm every figure and deadline on the official U.Porto and DGES sites before committing  these numbers get revised every academic year.

You may Also like:
Portugal Government Scholarships 2027: Fully Funded Opportunities for International Students