Porto University has 126 Caixa scholarships open until 17 November, on top of any state grant
The third round of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos scholarships pays €800 to undergraduates and integrated-master's students and €1,200 to master's and PhD students. You need a 12/20 average and household income per head of up to about €13,428 a year. International students living in Portugal can apply.
Apply / Learn moreThe University of Porto is taking applications until 17 November for 126 scholarships funded by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the state-owned bank. Undergraduates and integrated-master’s students get €800. Master’s and doctoral students get €1,200.
This is the scheme’s third year. Last year there were 111 awards, so 2026 adds 15 more (a 13.5% rise, by our sums).
Can you get the Caixa scholarship and a DGES grant at the same time?
Yes. The rules say it stacks with the public higher-education grant run by the DGES, whose main application window closed on 2 October. One limit worth knowing now: you can only hold the Caixa award for two academic years, consecutive or not.
The scheme was set up for students the public system leaves out. Its rules name two groups in particular: Portuguese students who were turned down for a state grant, and international students who no longer qualify for social support. All you need is residence in Portugal, temporary or permanent, when you apply.
Who is eligible for the Caixa scholarships at Porto?
We read the regulation the university links from its announcement. There are three conditions:
- enrolment at U.Porto on a degree course, at 54 ECTS credits or more (unless you are finishing or studying part-time);
- an average of at least 12 out of 20 in the previous academic year;
- income per head of no more than 25 times the IAS, Portugal’s benchmark for social benefits.
In plain money: the IAS is €537.13 in 2026, so the ceiling is €13,428 per person per year, or about €1,119 a month. Roughly, you add up the household’s yearly income and divide by the number of people in it. For a family of four, that lets in households earning up to around €53,700 a year.
How are applicants ranked?
The final score is 60% grades and 40% income. Your average earns 1 to 5 points (12 to 14 gets 1, above 18.5 gets 5). Income also scores 1 to 5, with the top mark for anyone under 19 times the IAS, which is less than about €850 per person per month. Ties go first to families with more than one child studying, then to students living away from home, then to single-parent families.
The rules can change from one round to the next, so check the call notice before you submit.
How do you apply?
Through an online form on the university’s social services portal (SASUP), with every document attached: proof of enrolment, of residence and of last year’s average, plus last year’s Portuguese tax return. If you did not file one, a signed declaration explaining how the household gets by is accepted, and international students can use the income document they file in their home country. Miss one document and the application is thrown out, with no appeal.
Results arrive by email by 7 December.
Image: GualdimG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
