Training to teach in Portugal? The state will cover your tuition fees
Portugal's grant for future teachers pays the tuition fee on Basic Education degrees and teaching master's (at private schools, up to the public cap). It has been paid 5,096 times and carries on in 2026/2027. Master's students need an entry grade of 14 out of 20, and grant holders must apply for state-school posts for three years after graduating. The 2027 budget adds €3.1M to open more places.
If you are thinking about teaching in Portugal, one bill gets lighter. The state pays the tuition fee for anyone on a Basic Education degree (licenciatura em Educação Básica) or a teaching master’s (mestrado em Ensino), the two routes into the profession. According to the Ministry of Education’s statement on the grants, the scheme has paid 5,096 grants to 3,994 students, €3.6 million in all, and it continues in 2026/2027.
What qualifies you is the course. The statement mentions no family-income test, unlike Portugal’s standard means-tested student grant.
How much is the grant for trainee teachers?
It equals the tuition fee the student owes. At a public university or polytechnic, it covers the full fee. At a private institution, it covers up to the maximum fee set for the same level in the public sector, and the student pays any difference.
By our sums, the average comes to about €706 per grant paid. That average mixes degree and master’s grants, which carry different fees.
Who is eligible?
- Students on a Basic Education degree or a teaching master’s.
- No debts to the tax authority or social security.
- For the master’s, an entry grade of at least 14 out of 20.
- PhD holders can also qualify if they enrol on a teacher-training master’s in a subject short of teachers.
On the degree, the grant renews each year for students who pass at least 90% of that year’s ECTS credits.
What if you drop out?
You pay it all back. Students who abandon the course or stop meeting the conditions must refund everything received up to that point.
There is also a commitment after graduation. For three years, grant holders must put themselves forward in the national placement rounds for state-school teaching posts. The duty is to apply, which does not guarantee a post.
How many students have received it?
In the first year, 2024/2025, grants went to 1,254 first-year degree students and 763 master’s students. In 2025/2026, by March, 3,079 degree grants had been paid (1,977 new and 1,102 renewals), with master’s payments still being processed by the Instituto para o Ensino Superior, the agency that handles them.
What does the 2027 budget add?
More places on these courses. According to the 2027 budget note as reported by ECO, the ministry has set aside €3.1 million to expand teacher-training degrees and master’s, and about €1 million for 1,036 places for working teachers who still lack pedagogical training. Places should reach 20,292 by 2030, 3,020 more than planned for 2026/2027.
Institutions get a bonus per graduate, up to 30% for master’s in the subjects with the worst shortages: primary (1st cycle), Portuguese and Maths. Maths will need the people, too: it is set to become compulsory up to Year 12 on every course from 2028/2029.
How do you apply?
The statement describes no public application form. Payment is handled by the Instituto para o Ensino Superior based on enrolments at the institutions, so the safest step is to ask the academic office where you are enrolling, at registration. Studying in Porto? It is also worth a look at the University of Porto and CGD scholarships, which close on 17 November.
Image: Comunicar ESEC / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
