PhDs
Public Health

Coordinating the Phd course at NOVA NSPH is quite easy. You don’t need to motivate the students, because people who apply to a Phd are naturally motivated and enthusiastic; you don’t need to explain how to work, because people who apply to a PhD are usually experienced in hard working and studying; you don’t need to make lots of suggestions, because people who apply to a PhD have generally their own ideas and proposals. In that sense, it is a pleasure to connect with these highly-motivated and interesting students. The main challenge is to make them understand that research will not change the world!
Doing a Phd is a mixture of inspiration (a little), selecting and applying sophisticate and robust methods (a lot), and trying to understand a tiny part of the reality. This may seem frustrating at some point, but it’s highly rewarding when you deeply understand a given phenomenon, become able to explain it and make evidence-based recommendations for action!
The Doctoral Program in Public Health aims to promote scientific activities in the area of Public Health, in order to give its students:
-
Training in creating, planning, and executing scientific research in Public Health;
-
Expertise in the interpretation, discussion, and communication of results, preparation of scientific articles and other technical materials;
-
In depth knowledge in public health and a specific specialization areaSkills and instruments for life-long learning;
-
Preparation of new researchers and management of programs in public health and in a specific area of specialization.
This PhD offers 5 areas of specialization:
-
Epidemiology
-
Health Promotion
-
Health Policies and Management
-
Health Economics
-
Environmental and Occupational Health
Ideal Student
-
Those who have a Master's degree in fields related to or applicable to the health sector (understood in its broadest sense) and who possess a strong motivation in the field of public health;
-
Professionals who are already employed or considering employment in public health, spanning various sectors including healthcare services, local government, academic institutions, research centers, social welfare services, civil society organizations, NGOs, as well as national or international institutions dedicated to public health (such as DGS, WHO, ECDC, World Bank).
Career Opportunities
-
Careers and positions: Higher Education Lecturer/ Researcher/ Epidemiologist/ Biostatistics Consultant/ Consultant for Policy Development and Analysis; Evaluation and Management of Public Health Programs; Quality Program and Health Promotion Consultant; Environmental Policy Consultant;
-
Potential employers: colleges and universities; research centers; Pharmaceutical industry/ Local Authorities/ Health Units/ Government entities/ Communication companies/ Mass media.
Accreditation
Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior
Schedule
Mandatory Curricular Units
Fridays | 11:30-20:10
Optional Units
Mondays (mornings), Wednesdays (afternoons), and Saturdays (mornings)
This program will be held entirely in english.
Pre-Course [0 ECTS] | |
Basic Principles of Statistics and Epidemiology - To be defined | 0 |
Curricular Units [60 ECTS] | |
Seminar in Public Health I - Gonçalo Figueiredo Augusto | 8 |
Research in Public Health: framework and practice - Julian Perelman | 3 |
Seminar in Public Health II - Paulo Boto | 8 |
Advanced Statistics in Public Health - Baltazar Nunes | 5 |
Research Ethics - João Cordeiro | 4 |
Socio-behavioral Research in Public Health - Cristina Godinho | 5 |
Advanced Epidemiology - To be defined | 5 |
Specialty Seminar | 12 |
Free option | 10 |
Thesis (120 ECTS) | |
Total (ECTS) | 180 |
Specialty Seminar
Seminar - Epidemiology - Pedro Aguiar
Seminar - Health Promotion - Ana Rita Goes
Seminar - Health Policies and Management - Rui Santana
Seminar - Health Economics - Julian Perelman
Seminar - Environmental and Occupational Health - Susana Viegas
Schedule 16º DPS 2024 - 2nd Semester
I Application Phase
- Application period: until March 7, 2025
- Publication of the provisional list: March 17, 2025
- Hearing of interested parties: March 18 to 31, 2025
- Publication of the definitive list: April 1, 2025
- Registration and registration period: April 1 to 4, 2025
II Application Phase
- Application period: March 10 to June 27, 2025
- Publication of the provisional list: July 4, 2025
- Hearing of interested parties: July 7 to 18, 2025
- Publication of the definitive list: July 21, 2025
- Registration and registration period: July 21 to 25, 2025
III Application Phase
-
- Application period: June 30 to August 22, 2025
- Publication of the provisional list: August 26, 2025
- Hearing of interested parties: August 27 to September 9, 2025
- Publication of the definitive list: September 10, 2025
- Registration and registration period: September 10 to 17, 2025
The 2nd and 3rd phases will only be opened if vacancies are available.
Access Requirements
-
Holders of a Master's Degree or legal equivalent; or
-
Holders of a Bachelor's Degree who also have an especially relevant academic/scientific curriculum that attests to the applicant’s ability to carry out this cycle of studies (as determined to the satisfaction of the Scientific Council of ENSP NOVA); or
-
Holders of an academic, scientific, or professional curriculum vitae that is deemed by the Scientific Council of the ENSP NOVA to attest to the applicant’s ability to carry out this cycle of studies; and
-
Applicants who are fluent in English (spoken and written).
Applications
Applications must be submitted directly and exclusively to the NOVA NSPH website.
See more information in the Call for Applications here.
For suggestions on how to better present your Application, consult the Application Guide.
Cost
-
Application fee - 51€ (non-refundable)
-
Tuition fee for national citizens - 8.000€ (3 years)
-
Tuition fee for citizens of other countries with status of International Student) - 12.000€ (3 years)

