ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute - Silva Leal Merit Award

Silva Leal Merit Award

You will receive a one-off prize of 2,500 EUR for an outstanding academic paper on the topics of social security, solidarity or the social economy. Each year, a prize is awarded for the best eligible paper. The prize is awarded by ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute in conjunction with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Social Security in memory of Professor António da Silva Leal, who specialised in the politics of social solidarity.

Who can apply

• University: You completed and got your work graded at ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute in Lisbon.
• Level: You are a current or former student at ISCTE on a Bachelor’s (Licenciatura), Master’s (Mestrado) or PhD (Doutoramento) programme.
• Type of work: You must submit an individual piece of work, such as a Bachelor’s thesis, a Master’s thesis, a Master’s project or a doctoral thesis. Group work will not be accepted.
• Timing: Your work was marked in the year prior to your application. For the 2025 edition, this means that the work was marked in the year 2024.
• Topic: Your work studies policies and practices in social security, solidarity or the social economy.
• Nationality: All nationalities can apply.

A jury assesses each entry on the basis of the extent to which it addresses these themes, its academic quality, its usefulness to social and public institutions, and the extent to which it contributes to public debate.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted by email to the secretariat of the ISCTE Pedagogical Council (Conselho Pedagógico). Please submit an application form, a one-page summary and the full thesis as a PDF file. For the 2025 edition, the application period begins on 15 September 2025 and ends on 31 October 2025.

Our guide Scholarships in Portugal brings together further funding options for students looking beyond this prize.