Institute of Management Sciences - ISG (Lisbon/Portugal) - Merit Award of the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES)

DGES Merit Award at ISG

You will receive a one-off payment of about 4,100 EUR for one academic year. Furthermore, you will not be required to pay any tuition fees or fees for the issue of your degree certificate and academic transcripts. The amount has been set each year at five times the national minimum monthly wage in Portugal. This amounted to approximately 3,800 EUR in the academic year 2023/2024 and 4,100 EUR in the academic year 2024/2025. From the academic year 2025/2026 onwards, each higher education institution sets the amount itself. The grant is funded by the Portuguese government through the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES). It is paid to students by the Instituto Superior de Gestão (ISG), a business school in Lisbon. It is awarded solely on the basis of academic merit and takes no account of income or family background.

Who can apply

• Where you study: You are enrolled on a Bachelor’s (Licenciatura) or Master’s (Mestrado) degree programme at the ISG in Lisbon.
• Full year passed: You have passed all your modules from the previous academic year and have therefore earned a total of 60 ECTS credits.
• Grades: Your grade average for that year is at least 16 out of 20.
• Field of study: Open to all subjects taught at the ISG.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply.
• Financial need: Not required. Your income is irrelevant.
• No debts: You have no outstanding payments to the school.

How to apply

You do not need to apply. The ISG’s academic services select the eligible students and draw up the shortlists. One scholarship is awarded to the student with the highest average mark in each Bachelor’s degree programme. In the event of a tie between two students, the one who has passed more modules will be selected. If the tie persists, the younger student will be selected.

How realistic are your chances?

A maximum of 2 merit-based scholarships were allocated to the ISG for 2023/2024. The government sets this figure each year for each school, so it may vary.

Our guide Scholarships in Portugal lists further funding options you can combine with or pursue alongside this DGES merit-based award.