Special Admission Contest for International Students

Students whose nationality is not Portuguese, nor that of another European Union country, who intend to apply for a programme at ULisboa, may register for the Special Admission Contest for International Students. The procedures and specific conditions are established and regulated by the International Student Statute.

A system designed for international students who want to access to the degree of licenciado: 1^st cycle or an integrated master's degree that fullfil the following conditions:

1. If you do not have Portuguese nationality;

2. If you are not a national from a Member State of the European Union;

3. If you are not a Family member of Portuguese or nationals of a member state of the European Union, regardless of your nationality;

4. If you are not legally residing in Portugal until the 1 January of the year in which you intend to enroll in higher education for more than two years, continuously, and if you are not family of foreign citizens that hold a resident permit for more than two years;

5. If you are a student that is not a beneficiary, on January 1 of the year in which they intend to enter higher education, with the status of equal rights and duties attributed under the international treaty granted between the Portuguese State and the State of which they are nationals;

6. If you don’t intend to enroll in Higher Education through special regimes;

7. If you Hold:

A Qualification giving access to Higher Education, meaning any diploma or certificate issued by a competent authority in the country in which it was awarded; or
A Diploma of Portuguese secondary school or equivalent degree.

Higher Education in Portugal is divided into two sub-systems, university and polytechnic education.

Both university and polytechnic institutions award the degree of licenciado (1^stcycle).

In polytechnic education, the cycle of studies that leads to the degree of licenciado has 180 ECTS and a normal length of six curricular semesters of students’ work. In certain cases, namely those covered by national or European legislation, the cycle of studies can have up to 240 ECTS with a normal length of eight curricular semesters of students’ workload.