The Program

In 1975, the Department of Computer Science of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the New University of Lisbon pioneered higher education in the area of Computer Science and Informatics in Portugal, by founding the first national undergraduate programme in Computer Science. The Department has maintained a leading role in higher education and research in Computer Science ever since. At the Doctoral level, the list of alumni of the Department accounts for more than 90 entries, including the very first to have been awarded a Doctorate Degree in Computer Science in Portugal in the early 1980s.

Following the reformulations of higher education set up by the Bologna Treaty, the Doctoral Studies within the department were structured as the Doctoral Program in Computer Science, a 3rd cycle post-graduation program aimed at training researchers, lecturers, and leaders in innovation, in both fundamental and applied Computer Science and Computer Engineering. The skills and training acquired during the program will provide our graduates with a competitive advantage when seeking opportunities in institutions such as:

• Companies that ground their competitive advantage in the added value provided by the advanced information and computing technology developed within their research and development (R&D) units;
• Start-ups aiming at exploiting the technological potential of research results conducted within Universities and other Research Centres, namely during the Doctoral Studies;
• Research Laboratories and Centres, private and public, with the mission of promoting the advancement of both Applied and Basic Research in Computer Science and related areas;
• Universities, Polytechnics and other higher studies institutions, which require highly trained Computer Scientists with Doctorate Degrees, for their teaching and research activities.

The Doctoral Program in Computer Science typically lasts four years. The first is dedicated to preparatory studies, including a PhD Course. The remaining three are devoted to advanced research, leading to the writing and submission of a Doctoral Thesis. 

Research activities are conducted within the Department's Research Centre, NOVA LINCS, a leading research unit in Computer Science and Informatics in Portugal, internationally recognised by the high quality, visibility and significance of its scientific contributions and knowledge transfer activities. Rated Excellent by the Foundation for Science and Technology, NOVA LINCS is organised into 4 ground expertise areas – Computer Systems, Knowledge-Based Systems, Multimodal Systems, and Software Systems – to develop cutting edge scientific research in key areas of Computer Science and Informatics.

The vibrant international atmosphere with regular seminars by leading researchers that characterises NOVA LINCS is further enhanced by the close ties between the Doctoral Program in Computer Science and other international PhD Programs in which the Department is involved:

• Dual Degree PhD Program in Computer Science/Informatics, Carnegie-Mellon University, USA
• Dual Degree PhD Program in Digital Media, University of Texas at Austin, USA
• European PhD Program in Computational Logic, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy; Technical University of Dresden, Germany; and Technical University of Vienna, Austria.

More information about:

• The Study Plan, including a detailed description of the various phases and their requirements;
• The PhD Course, including the available units and how they are structured;
• The Application Process, including minimum requirements and necessary documents;
• Some Funding Opportunities. 

You can also check out our current students and see what they are working on, and a list of some recent events.