Portugal is located in the southernmost part of Western Europe, on the Pyrenees. Portugal’s population is almost 10 mil. Portuguese is the official language. The biggest and most populous city is the capital Lisbon – over half a million residents.
Portugal is a developed industrial-agrarian economy. Established sectors include textile, tailoring, footwear, ceramic, ship-building industries, as well as car making, electronics, mechanical engineering, chemical industry. Portugal is a member of EU, UN, and NATO.
Tertiary education in Portugal is divided into two systems – universities and polytechnic institutes. There are 14 state-owned universities, one Catholic university, and 15 state-owned polytechnic institutes in the country. Private tertiary educational establishments in the country are, as follows: 36 universities and 64 polytechnic institutes.
Disciplines such as medicine, pharmacy, law, economy, and psychology are only studied at universities, which are the institutions entitled to award doctoral degrees.
If you want to study engineering specialties, management, pedagogy, and humanities – then you may opt to study them at a polytechnic institute or a university.
Bachelor’s programs: 3-4 yrs.
Master’s programs: 1.5-2 yrs.
A growing number of programs in the country are being taught in a language other than Portuguese, most of those being in English. There is growing interest on the part of international universities, which offer the Portuguese universities the option for joint courses.
A Bachelor’s degree is awarded in Portugal following 3-4 years of study, depending on whether you study at a university or an institute, while a Master’s degree takes between 1.5 and 2 years.
The university system in Portugal is combined, comprising scientific research and theory, while the polytechnic institutes based their teaching methods mostly on the practical education associated with the specific occupation.
Over 30 000 international students study in Portugal. Most international students study at Universidade do Porto, where over 10% of all students hail from abroad. In Coimbra, where the oldest Portuguese university is located, that percentage reaches as high as 20% of the total number of students. Most international students hail from both Europe and former Portuguese-speaking colonies, such as Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique.
The country offers over 200 programs taught in English, some of the most preferred programs in Portugal being: IT sciences, business and management, as well as engineering specialties.
Some of the most esteemed universities in Portugal are:
