Target Population
Highly-motivated students with an interest in research in Applied Psychology are the principal target of our recruitment strategy. We want to enroll high-achieving students, with a level of a Master’s degree (or equivalent).
Admission Criteria
To be eligible to apply for the PhD Program in Applied Psychology, a candidate should have: a) A Master's degree or legal equivalent; b) A degree with at least 300ECTS, with an academic and scientific curriculum especially relevant that is recognized as attesting the capacity to carry out the PhD by the Scientific Council of the School of Psychology, under proposal of the Board of the Department of Applied Psychology, after consulting of the Directive Committee; c) A Curriculum Vitae (CV; academic, scientific or professional) recognized as attesting the capacity to carry out the PhD by the Scientific Council, under proposal of the Council of Applied Psychology Department, after consulting the Directive Committee.
Besides the CV, the candidate must have completed a research project in one of the domains of applied psychology that are covered by this program. Before submitting the research project as part of their application, students are encouraged to discuss it with the possible supervisor, given that the students will be integrated in research teams.
Selection and ranking criteria
The selection of students will occur in two steps. At Step 1 we will take into consideration the following criteria for selection and ranking purposes
Step 1: Main CV criteria (scored up to 100 points):
i. Overall classification of academic education (up to 15 points):
0 points – 300 ECTS or pre-Bologna graduation with an overall classification lower than 14.
5 points - 300 ECTS or pre-Bologna graduation with an overall classification of 14 or 15 .
10 points - 300 ECTS or pre-Bologna graduation with an overall classification of 16.
15 points - 300 ECTS or pre-Bologna graduation with a overall classification higher than 16.
Master pre-Bolonha: Aditional 5 points (up to the maximum 15 points)
(Note: In Portugal, University scores range from 0 to 20, with a passing grade of 10)
ii. Research experience (up to 25 points):
0 points – absence of experience.
5 points – occasional experience in research projects.
15 points – experience of being part of a research team.
25 points – experience of being a fellow researcher.
iii. Oral presentations in scientific conferences (up to 20 points):
0 points – absence of presentations.
5 points – up to 2 presentations in national conferences.
10 points – more than 2 presentations at national conferences.
15 points – up to 2 presentations in international conferences.
20 points – more than 2 presentations at international conferences.
iv. Scientific publications (up to 40 points):
0 points – absence of publications
5 points – up to 2 national publications
10 points – more than 2 national publications
15 points – 1 international publication
25 points – 2 international publication or 1 article indexed in the Journal of Citation Index
40 points – 2 or more publications in the Journal of Citation Index
(Note: If more than one category is rated (e.g. National and International publication) the higher score is rated.)
The criteria for this step are as follows:
Step 2: Evaluation of the PhD project
i. Organization: Is the project well organized? (0 – 20 points).
ii. Relevance: Does the project target an important problem or a central question for the domain of research? What is the expected contribution of the research? If the aims were achieved, what is the expected impact? (0 - 20 points).
iii. Innovation: Does the project contribute in an original way to applied research, aims to improve existing practices, or studies relevant complex psychological phenomena? (0 - 20 points).
iv. Methodology: Is the methodology suited to the objectives of the research? (0 – 20 points).
v. International impact: Is the project suitable for international publication and dissemination? (0-20 points)
The final classification of the candidate will result from the sum of Steps 1 and 2.
How to apply
Documents:
Research proposal <pdf>
Application Form <doc> <pdf>
Application fee: €40
