University of LIsbon: Programmes | Students

Studying at Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa) is much more than just an academic experience – it is an affirmation of talent and a broadening of life’s horizons.

ULisboa offers educational opportunities throughout life, valuing the complementarity of different fields of knowledge and promotes entrepreneurship.

To study at ULisboa is to be part of a people-centred university, which is focused on merit and which is strongly committed to providing quality education and its projection in the international areas of science and innovation.

The Higher Education System in Portugal 

There are two systems of higher education in Portugal Under, both governed by the Ministry of Education and Science: University and Polytechnic. ULisboa is a University institution, and, as such, its goal is to provide the necessary academic education for the development of professional activities and also to encourage research and critical analysis.

For the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cycles of education, the Portuguese higher education system is based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), which is a system that measures the amount of time that a student has had taken to achieve the study programme’s objectives. The degrees offered are the following: 1st Cycle – Bachelor’s Degree (3-4 years of study, with between 180 and 240 ECTS); 2nd Cycle – Masters Degree (1-2 years, with between 90 and 120 ECTS); and the 3rd Cycle – Doctoral Degree (3 or 4 years, with between 180 and 240 ECTS).

The International Student Statute, which was approved in 2014, provides for the admission of international students to the Portuguese higher educational system through a special access procedure. Any international student may apply for ULisboa, as long as they hold a secondary education certificate, or the equivalent, from their country of origin.

Excluded from the International Student Statute are those students who are nationals of a European Union member state, or who have been legally resident in Portugal for more than two un-interrupted years. Such students may access Portuguese Higher Education through the general system of admissions, as long as they have completed secondary school, have passed the entrance examination required by the School to which they are applying to, and have fulfill the School´s pre-requisites (when applicable).