In 2022/2023, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education has decided to improve and increase the support allocated to students and their families, intensifying the national scholarship program and the financial support available to young people.

In order to achieve this objective, several measures have been taken for attracting more students to higher education, especially those who come from difficult socioeconomic backgrounds, but also for helping and integrating those who are already enrolled in the system.

Reinforcing the support consists in implementing several measures, such as the following:

• an amendment to the eligibility criteria for applying for a scholarship, rising the scope of the program and expanding the pool of eligible students (increasing the annual income plafond of the aggregate that the student applying for the scholarship belongs to);
• an increase in the value of the grants for master students;
• an allocation of an annual amount for traveling, aimed at students whose official residence is far from the place where they study.

Since the beginning of the academic year, it was possible to point out the rapidity with which the process was conducted, but also the attention that was given to the delicate times that result from the cost of living crisis.

In these past weeks, it was also possible to apply a 10% increase for all students with scholarships, plus a five percentage points increase in complements for those who are remote, and a 50% increase in scholarships for students in Erasmus mobility periods.

Through the measures already mentioned, which imply a 27% growth in the budget appropriations allocated to the Social Action Fund, Portugal intends to reach the goal of 100.000 higher education students with scholarship until 2030. Compared to the current number of 79.000 students, this represents a projected growth of 26.5% in this period.

Source: Eurydice Unit Portugal

More information:

https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/grants-general-information?plid=1533 

https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/superior-programme-general-information?plid=1533