How Higher Education Works in Portugal: Degrees, Universities and the Academic Year

Universities and polytechnics: the binary system

Portuguese higher education runs on a binary system: universities on one side, polytechnic institutes on the other, according to Eurydice . Universities concentrate on theoretical and scientific programs plus research, and offer degrees through doctorate level. Polytechnics concentrate on applied, technical and professional programs and stop at master's level.

Both sectors include public and private institutions. According to the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES) , Portugal counts 33 public higher education institutions and 61 private ones, together running close to 5,900 registered courses for the 2026 cycle. Public universities such as Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra sit alongside private universities and a wide network of public and private polytechnics spread across smaller cities.

Degree structure: the three Bologna cycles

Portugal follows the Bologna Process, so degrees stack into three cycles.

• Licenciatura (bachelor's): the first cycle, normally 3 years (6 semesters) and 180 ECTS credits. Some fields such as engineering or architecture extend to 4 years and 240 ECTS.

• Mestrado (master's): the second cycle, usually 1-2 years (60-120 ECTS) after a bachelor's.

• Doutoramento (doctorate): the third cycle, a research degree with no fixed credit count, typically 3-4 years.

Some professions, including medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, architecture and some engineering degrees, use an integrated master's that combines the first two cycles into one 5-6 year, 300+ ECTS program with a single admission.

Outside the three-cycle ladder, Portugal also runs Higher Professional Technical Courses (CTeSP), a short 2-year, non-degree program built for direct entry into the labor market, part of the national system since 2014 per Eurydice. CTeSP credits transfer into a bachelor's degree afterward, if a graduate chooses to continue studying.

The Portuguese grading scale

Grades in Portugal run on a 0-20 scale, with 10 as the minimum passing grade and grades above 16 or 17 reserved for exceptional work. This applies at secondary school and university level alike, and it is the scale used for the national access exams that feed into the application process. When a course requires a minimum grade of, say, 14, that number sits on this 0-20 scale, not a percentage.

Choosing between a university and a polytechnic

The right choice depends on your goals. Pick a university for a research-oriented degree, if you plan to continue to a master's and doctorate, or for a field such as law, medicine or the humanities that Portugal concentrates in universities. Pick a polytechnic for a shorter, more applied program built around direct entry into a specific profession, such as engineering technology, nursing, tourism management or design. Both sectors sit under the same national quality agency, A3ES, so accreditation quality does not differ by sector, and many polytechnic graduates continue directly into a university master's.

How programs get accredited

A3ES, the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education, evaluates and accredits programs and institutions across both the university and polytechnic sectors, public and private alike. A program without valid A3ES accreditation cannot legally award a recognized Portuguese degree, so checking a course's accreditation status protects you from enrolling somewhere that later loses its right to operate. Most university websites list accreditation status directly on the course page, and A3ES publishes its own public register too.

What it costs to study in Portugal

Public tuition in Portugal sits well below many other Western European countries for a standard bachelor's degree, though master's, doctorate and private-institution fees run higher and vary by course. Add rent, food and transport on top of tuition when you plan your budget, since living costs differ sharply between Lisbon, Porto and Portugal's smaller university cities.

How admission works, in brief

Admission to public higher education in Portugal runs mainly through one centralized national process based on your secondary school grades and national exam results, alongside separate routes for students who studied outside Portugal. Private institutions run their own separate admission processes with their own deadlines.

Academic year and teaching language

The academic year splits into two semesters, starting in September and finishing around June or July, with an exam period after each semester and a resit period in July. Individual institutions set their own exact calendar, so check the specific university or polytechnic before you plan travel.

Teaching happens mainly in Portuguese, particularly at bachelor's level. At master's and doctorate level, and especially in business, engineering and technology programs aimed at European and international students, universities increasingly teach in English. If you plan to study a bachelor's in Portuguese, expect to need at least B2-level Portuguese or a preparatory language year first.

Where Portugal sits in Europe

Portugal's structure mirrors the rest of the European Higher Education Area: ECTS credits transfer across Bologna countries, a bachelor's from Lisbon or Porto reads the same way in Germany or France as one from any other EU university, and the Diploma Supplement explains your qualification to employers and admissions offices abroad. That consistency is why moving between Portugal and other European countries for a master's or doctorate rarely creates recognition problems, provided your program held proper accreditation from Portugal's higher education quality agency, A3ES.