Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto Law School
PhD in Law
Porto, Portugal
PhD
DURATION
6 years
LANGUAGES
Portuguese
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 1st Year (1st and 2nd Semesters) - 10 monthly payments - 340 €/month; | 2nd, 3rd and 4th Year - Full-time attendance regime - 30 monthly fees - €224/month; | 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Year – Part-time attendance regime – 50 monthly installments - 170 €/m
Key Summary
The PhD program in Catholic Porto aims to train quality researchers, contributing to the development of research in the Faculty, as well as to the critical and responsible construction of legal science in Portugal.
This program is intended for PhD students to acquire:
- Competences, skills and research methods in Law;
- Ability to systematic understanding in the field of legal science;
- Ability to conceive, design, adapt and carry out a significant investigation respecting the requirements imposed by academic quality and integrity standards;
- Skills to communicate with the scientific community and society in general on a specific area of law.
Benefiting from the creation of the Center for Studies and Research in Law | CEID - Catholic Research Center for the Future of Law, PhD students can be part of a research unit of the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University, which aims to innovate in the teaching of Law and encourage a change in the traditional paradigm of legal research in Portugal , promoting transnational, interdisciplinary and team research, as well as strengthening the relationship between academic knowledge and the needs of society.
Holders of a master's degree, or legal equivalent
Holders of a bachelor's degree with a minimum grade of 16 and, cumulatively, holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum of notable quality that, according to the recognition of the Regional Scientific Council, demonstrates the capacity to meet the requirements of the doctoral program
The doctoral program has a duration of:
- 4 years (8 semesters) – full-time, including a doctoral course, lasting two semesters (60 ECTS), and a thesis preparation phase, lasting six semesters (180 ECTS);
- 6 years (12 semesters) – part-time, including a doctoral course lasting two semesters (60 ECTS) and a thesis preparation phase lasting ten semesters (180 ECTS).
The academic phase includes participation in seminars on subjects that are transversal to the various branches of Law and has a dual objective: on the one hand, to help students consider new perspectives and approaches in legal research, and, on the other, to propose lines of research. At the same time, students must attend courses that are essentially methodological in nature. Each year, students will attend and be assessed in several modules offered by the Faculty of Law.
After completing the first semester of the doctoral course, the student chooses the topic of the thesis and proposes a supervisor to the Scientific Council.
Once the topic has been approved, the candidate has six months to prepare the thesis project, which will then be evaluated by a panel composed of the supervisor and two or three members appointed by the Plenary Scientific Council of the UCP Faculty of Law. The candidate's admission to the phase of preparation of the thesis itself depends on the approval of this project.
Mobility Programs
The Law School is strongly committed to providing its students with the comprehensive and qualifying training that results from national or international mobility experiences, whether studies or internships at a partner University are involved. The protocols concluded with almost 60 European Universities and outside Europe guarantee the offer of more than 110 places every year.
Thus, any PhD student who wishes to attend a semester abroad and who meets the regulatory requirements can and is encouraged to do so. The School's commitment is translated, namely, in the facilitation of academic recognition (equivalences) to the subjects carried out in mobility, as well as in the eventual reduction of tuition fees during the mobility period.
All students enrolled in the 3rd cycle of the School of Law can apply for the following national and international mobility programs:
Erasmus Program
International mobility of studies and / or internship within the European space, being able to benefit, for the effect, of an Erasmus scholarship.