Universities in Portugal

Located on the far west of Europe on the Atlantic coast, Portugal offers international students a mix of culture, history, warm weather, affordable living costs and high quality education.

The types of University

There are over 90 universities in Portugal, and these fall into two main categories:

Universities – These tend to be research led. Universities in Portugal are fairly evenly split between publicly funded and privately owned universities.

Examples of public universities include the University of Lisbon, the University of Porto and the University of Algarve.

Examples of private universities in Portugal include the European University of Lisbon, the Autonomous University of Lisbon and the Catholic University of Portugal.

Polytechnic Institutes – There are many Polytechnic institutions and schools in Portugal which offer their students practical training to prepare them for career roles. There is a fairly evenly split of publicly funded and privately run Polytechnics in Portugal.

Public polytechnics include the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, the Polytechnic Institute of Lisboa and the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal.

Privately run polytechnics include the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra, the Polytechnic Institute of Maia and ISAVE – Instituto Superior de Saúde.

Language of tuition

The official language of Portugal is Portuguese, whilst there are also several regional languages spoken in areas of the country such as Mirandese.

Universities in Portugal use Portuguese as their main language of tuition, and most offer Portuguese language courses to help get international students up to speed. Portuguese is the 4th most spoken language in the world, and can be an incredibly useful language to master.

Several universities are now beginning to offer bachelors and masters degrees taught in either partly or fully in English, such as Politécnico de Leiria who offer a Games and Multimedia bachelors programme taught in English and Portuguese.

Popular Portuguese cities for international students

• Lisbon – Situated on the coast on the west of the country, Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city. With a rich cultural history and the largest population of any city in Portugal, Lisbon is popular for both tourists and students alike. There are over 20 universities and polytechnics located in Lisbon, including the University of Lisbon, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa and the Catholic University of Portugal.

• Porto – The second largest city in Portugal behind Lisbon, located on the coast towards the north west of Portugal, Porto is known historically for its production of Port, a fortified wine. It is a city full of history that is attractive to tourists, and over 10 universities and polytechnics for international students to consider, including University of Porto, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto and Fernando Pessoa University.

• Braga – Located in the north of Portugal, slightly further north and inland from Porto, Braga is one of the oldest cities in Portugal with a fantastic history to discover, and a very popular city for students thanks to the University of Minho, and the Catholic University of Portugal which has a campus in Braga.

• Coimbra – Located on the river Mondego towards the south of Portugal, Coimbra is known for being home of the oldest university in Portugal, the University of Coimbra, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The top universities in Portugal

Portugal is known for its historic and prestigious universities, with 17 universities featuring in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Table of the top ranked universities in Portugal

See below for a list of universities and higher education providers in Portugal. Click on universities you are interested in below to read more and to see which courses are available for international students.