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Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems: University and Polytechnic education. It is provided in autonomous Public Universities , Private Universities , public or private polytechnic institutions and higher education institutions of other types. In Portugal , the university system has a strong theoretical basis and is highly research-oriented while the polytechnical system provides a more practical training and is profession-oriented. Degrees in fields such as Medicine , Law , Natural Sciences , Economics , Psychology or Veterinary Medicine are taught only in university institutions. Other fields like Engineering , Management , Education , Agriculture , Sports , or Humanities are taught both in university and polytechnic institutions. Specifically vocationally orientated degrees such as, Nursing , Accounting technician, health care technician, Preschool and Primary School teaching, are only offered by the polytechnic institutions. The oldest university is the University Of Coimbra founded in 1290. The largest university, by number of enrolled students, is the University Of Porto - with approximately 28,000 students. The Catholic University Of Portugal , the oldest ''non-state-run'' university ( Concordat ary status), was instituted by decree of the Holy See and has been recognized by the State of Portugal since 1971 . Public or private higher education institutions or courses cannot operate, or are not accredited, if they are not recognized by the ''Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior'' (Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education). The two systems of higher education - university and polytechnic - are linked, and it is possible to transfer from one to the other through extraordinary effort. It is also possible to transfer from a private institution to a public one (or vice-versa) on the same basis. Many universities are usually organized by Faculty (''faculdade''). Institute (''instituto'') and school (''escola'') are also common designations for autonomous units of Portuguese Higher Learning Institutions , and are always used in the polytechnical system, though several universities also use these systems. Access to public higher education institutions is subject to enrollment restrictions ( Numerus Clausus ), and students must compete for admission. Students who hold a diploma of secondary education (12th grade) or the equivalent, who meet all legal requirements, particularly Exams In Specific Subjects in which minimum marks must be obtained, may apply. Any citizen over 23 years old who does not have the secondary education diploma (12th grade) can attempt to gain admission to a limited number of vacant places available, through special examination which includes an interview (Decree law: ''Decreto-Lei 64/2006, de 21 de Março''). For a number of academic fields, undergraduate admission criteria and student evaluation in public university institutions are usually more selective and demanding than in private or polytechnic institutions. Access to private higher education institutions is regulated by each institution. After , any Polytechnic Or University Institution Of Portugal is able to award a first cycle of study, known as '' Licenciatura '' (licentiate) plus a second cycle which confers a '' Mestrado '' (master's degree). Before then, only university institutions awarded master's degrees. All university institutions award master's degrees after a second cycle of study, and some universities award integrated master's degrees through a longer single cycle of study, with fields such as medicine having an initial 5-year study cycle needed for a master's degree. Several university engineering courses and some natural sciences departments in a number of universities offer an initial 4-year study cycle (''licenciatura'') plus an optional 1- or 2-year study cycle (''mestrado''). A number of institutions, both public and private, and either belonging to the university or polytechnic sector, offer a 3-year program as a first study cycle in all or almost all courses. A number of master's degree programmes (2nd study cycle according to the Bologna process) have been implemented in the polytechnic institutions from the academic year 2007/2008 onwards. '' Doutoramento s'' (Ph.D. degrees) are only awarded by university institutions. MINISTÉRIO DA CIÊNCIA, TECNOLOGIA E ENSINO SUPERIOR, Decreto-Lei nº 74/2006 de 24 de Março, Artigo 29º - Atribuição do grau de doutor , accessed December 2006 There are also special higher education institutions linked with the Military and the Police . These institutions generally have good reputations and are popular among students because their courses are a passport to the military/police career. These state-run institutions are the Air Force Academy , the Military Academy , the Naval School and the '' Instituto Superior De Ciências Policiais E Segurança Interna ''. SITUATION ]] In Portugal, university attendance before the Carnation Revolution (1974) was predominantly for the students from wealthy families. Today higher education, which includes polytechnic institutions, is generalized but very heterogeneous, with different tonalities and subsystems. Overcrowded classrooms, obsolete curricula, dishonest competition among students, frequent rule changing in the sector and increasingly higher tuition fees (inside the public higher education system, although much smaller than private institution feesThe tuition fee for undergraduate degrees was less than 10€/year in 1995, and had increased to 356€/year in 2002/2003 in many institutions. It was increased again by many universities to 880€/year and to 901,23€/year in 2005/2006, the maximum fee allowed to state universities by law. First cycle annual fees of public higher education institutions can not exceed 920 euros (as of 2006)) that can be a financial burden for many students. Nearly 40% of the higher education students do not finish their degrees, although an undisclosed number of those students are subsequently readmitted into other courses or institutions of their choice. ''"...perto de 40% dos alunos do ensino superior não terminavam o seu curso em 2003."'' ''Relatório da OCDE de avaliação do ensino superior - O Relatório da OCDE: A avaliação do sistema de ensino superior em Portugal'' , source: OECD report, website: www.portugal.gov.pt - Official website of the Government of Portuguese Republic, date: 14th December 2006, retrieved March 2007 (in Portuguese) Despite their problems, many good institutions have a long tradition of excellence in teaching and research, where students and professors can attain their highest academic ambitions. UNIVERSITY AND POLYTECHNIC Portugal has two main Systems Of Higher Education :
The state-run universities (''Universidades'') are governed by a Rector , and are groupings of Faculties , and university institutes, departments or schools. They have been created mostly in the most populated and industrialized areas near the coast (although strategically balanced with three establishments opened after 1970 in the northern, central and southern interior regions), being established in the main cities. Two of these universities are located in the Azores and Madeira Islands, and the remaining eleven in Continental Portugal . Three of them are located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal (four if considered also ISCTE , a large and independent university institute). Public universities have full autonomy in the creation and delivery of degree programmes, which are to be registered at DGES - ''Direcção-Geral do Ensino Superior'' (State Agency for Higher Education). Tertiary Education in Portugal - Background Report prepared to support the international assessment of the Portuguese system of tertiary education, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, pg.63 (April 2006) , accessed December 2006 Universities are regulated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and are represented as a whole by the '' CRUP - Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas ''. The state-run polytechnic institutes (''Institutos Politécnicos'') are governed by a , after many reforms, upgrades and changes, including the Bologna Process , the polytechnic institutes have become '' De Facto '' technical universities with little formal difference between them and the classic full chartered universities (polytechnics can't award doctorate degrees and, in general, they are not true research institutions, with few exceptions). The creation of degree programmes by public polytechnics require their prior approval from Government, through DGES - ''Direccção Geral do Ensino Superior'' (State Agency for Higher Education). Tertiary Education in Portugal - Background Report prepared to support the international assessment of the Portuguese system of tertiary education, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, pg.63 (April 2006) , accessed December 2006 Polytechnics are regulated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and are represented as a whole by the '' CCISP - Conselho Coordenador dos Institutos Superiores Politécnicos Portugueses ''. The creation of private institutions and delivery of degree programmes by them, require prior approval from Government, through DGES - ''Direccção Geral do Ensino Superior'', after assessment by experts teams, which are nominated by the Government. This system has resulted in increasing manifestations of concern from polytechnic and, above all, private institutions, arguing against discretionary attitudes and unnecessary bureaucracy. Government replies defend the necessity of maintaining selective mechanisms to secure a minimum level of institution quality, rationalize the whole system, and protect educational standards. History of the university subsector , the oldest Portuguese university]] Public university schools have a long history in Portugal. They started in the Middle Ages , and like other European universities at the time, they were founded by the Monarchs under the authority and supervision of the Catholic Church . For many centuries there was only one university, the University Of Coimbra , founded in 1290 in Lisbon ; it transferred between Coimbra and Lisbon several times. The University Of Évora was an old university which operated between 1559 and 1759, but it was shut down during the Marquis Of Pombal government, because it was run by the Jesuits , and the marquis had a strong anticlerical creed. A new state-run university at Évora was founded in 1973. Since the population was largely illiterate, the two universities at Coimbra and Évora, and some later higher-education schools in Lisbon (e.g. ''(Escola Politécnica: 1837-1911; Curso Superior de Letras: 1859-1911; and Curso Superior de Comércio: 1884-1911)'') and Porto ''(successively Aula Náutica: 1762-1803; Real Academia da Marinha e Comércio: 1803-1837; and the Academia Politécnica: 1837-1911)'', were enough for a small population inside a territory like and the ''Instituto Superior de Comércio'', successor of the former ''Curso Superior de Comércio'', (today ISEG - Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão), both born from the former Lisbon Institute Of Industry And Commerce which originated the creation of university schools in 1911. With the advent of the Republic, the University Of Lisbon and the University Of Porto were created in 1911. In 1930, a new university in Lisbon was created, the Technical University Of Lisbon , which incorporated the ''Instituto Superior Técnico'' and some other university institutes and colleges such as the ''Instituto Superior de Comércio'', and agriculture and veterinary schools. , in Covilhã ]] In 1972 the ISCTE , a public University Institute , was created in Lisbon by the decree ''Decreto-Lei nº 522/72, of 15 December '', as a first step towards a new and innovative public university in the city. Due to the Carnation Revolution of 1974 this first facility of a never-completed projected larger university stayed alone. In 1973 a new wave of state-run universities opened in Lisbon - the New University Of Lisbon , Braga - the Minho University and Évora - the University Of Évora . After 1974, the Revolution's Year , new public universities were created in Vila Real - the University Of Trás-os-Montes And Alto Douro , Aveiro - the University Of Aveiro , Covilhã - the University Of Beira Interior , Faro - the University Of The Algarve , Madeira - the University Of Madeira , and the Azores - the University Of The Azores . In 1988, the Portuguese government founded a public Distance University , the ''Universidade Aberta'' ( Aberta University ), an "Open University" with headquarters in Lisbon, regional branches in Porto and Coimbra, and study centres all over the country. In the 1980s and 1990s, a boom of private institutions was experienced and many private universities started to open. Most private universities had a poor reputation and were known for making it easy for students to enter and also to get high grades. In 2007, several of those private institutions or their heirs, were investigated and faced compulsory closing or official criticism with recommendations that the state-managed investigation proposed for improving their quality and avoid termination. Nowadays, the Catholic University Of Portugal , a private university with branches in the cities of Lisbon , Porto , Braga , Viseu , and Figueira Da Foz (founded before the others, in 1967 , and officially recognized in 1971 ), offers some well-recognized degrees. This private university has a unique status, being run by the Catholic Church . The Portuguese universities have been the exclusive granters of Master's and Doctoral Degree s in the country and are to this day the major source of Research And Development in Portugal. Today, as in the past, they have full autonomy to offer all levels of Academic Degrees and the power to create new graduate or undergraduate courses in almost every major field of study. (see List Of Universities In Portugal ) History of the polytechnic subsector Portuguese learning institutions called "polytechnics" or "industrial and commercial institutes" were established in various periods with very different roles and objectives. They were designations for institutions ranging from university or polytechnic institutes to technical and vocational institutes.
The 19th century - the industrialization era - created the need for new education programs in the country, the "industrial studies". In 1837 , the ''Escola Politécnica'' (Polytechnic School) in Lisbon and the ''Academia Politécnica'' (Polytechnic Academy) in Porto were opened. They were university Higher Learning institutions conferring academic degrees, fully focused on the Sciences , Mathematics , and Engineering . Apart from sharing the name, they were not related to the polytechnic subsystem which has existed in Portugal since the 1970s, or to any current institution belonging to it. The label and legal statute of ''University'' had been reserved for exclusive use by the University of Coimbra, but with the Republican revolution in 1911 , two new universities were founded. The ''Escola Politécnica'' and ''Academia Politécnica'' were the core from which the sciences and engineering Faculties , respectively, of the new universities of Lisbon and Porto emerged.
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Fontes Pereira De Melo , was not satisfied with the excessive academism of both schools (''Escola Politécnica'' (Polytechnic School) in Lisbon and the ''Academia Politécnica'' (Polytechnic Academy), as he considered the institutions excessively theoretical for industrial labour force needs, as both were modelled on the only Portuguese university - the ancient University of Coimbra. Thus, in 1852 , the minister created the '' Instituto Industrial De Lisboa '' (Lisbon Industrial Institute) which awarded higher education degrees between 1898 and 1911, and the '' Escola Industrial Do Porto '' (Porto Industrial School), which a decade later was also declared an Institute and awarded higher education degrees between 1905 and 1918. The '' Instituto Industrial De Lisboa '' gave birth to the '' IST '' in 1911, which with other institutions formed the Technical University Of Lisbon in 1930.
The Industrial Superior Studies were cut in 1918 by the minister Azevedo Neves reforms, as the country suffered many social and political convulsions, and the creation in 1911 of the new universities in Lisbon and Porto covered the highest educational needs of the country at the time. Between 1918 to 1974 (until the approval of decree Decreto-Lei 830/74 of 31 December 1974 ), the Industrial and Commercial Institutes in Porto and Lisbon, plus new ones created in Coimbra (1965) and Aveiro, provided Vocational and technical education, instead of higher education.
The idea of creating a polytechnic sector in Portugal can be traced back to the OECD 's Mediterranean Regional Project, MRP, of 1959. This project aimed at assessing future needs for skilled labour in five Mediterranean countries (Italy, Greece, Spain, Yugoslavia and Portugal) and had a lasting impact in terms of the political and social perception of education, with significant effects on the educational structure of the participating countries. These changes included the expansion of the higher education network by creating new university-level institutions, while a binary system was initiated through the establishment of polytechnic institutes and several colleges of teacher training (Parliament Act 5/73 of 25 July). After 1974 the existing polytechnics were transformed into University Institutes under the allegation that they should not remain "second class" institutions. It was in this context that successive governments established contact with the World Bank and, from 1978 to 1984, about nineteen different missions visited Portugal. A final statement was based on two main principles:
Although the final report welcomed the expansion of higher education, correcting the prior situation of unequal and limited access, the World Bank did not favour further expansion: "...the enrolment represents 8% of the 18-22 age group and could be considered adequate. ...In view of the rapidly increased university enrolments, which represent an uneconomical drain in the economy... Bank recommends a gradual introduction of quantitative restraints" (World Bank, 1977 Progress report). At the same time, the World Bank urged the Portuguese authorities to restrain enrolment quotas so as to make "better use" and rationalise the supply of for every university study programme and eliminated the threat to the new short vocational education programs – that without reducing the supply of engineering jobs, graduates of the technician training institutes would find employment too scarce. The World Bank was critical of the erratic policies toward the existing technical institutes, and of the excessive enrolment in university engineering programs and the lax approach on managing vacancy quotas, and raised the issue of diseconomies of scale in the system, suggesting that there were too many institutions with small dimensions. The government replied to the Bank’s demands with Decree-Law 513-T/79, which established a network of polytechnic institutes, including Higher Schools of Education. The main objectives of Polytechnic education were: to provide education with an applied and technical emphasis and strong vocational orientation, and for training intermediate-level technicians for industries, service companies and educational units (first cycle of basic education). During the were transformed into Higher Learning Superior Institutes of Engineering and Accounting and Administration and integrated in the university subsector; although originally exclusively focused on providing short-cycle degrees, the need for a stronger Polytechnic sector, and these schools' history and purpose, led them to be integrated in the polytechnic subsector in the late 1980s (Administrative Rule 389/88 of 25 October 1988 - ''Decreto-Lei n.º 389/88, de 25 de Outubro''). After its creation in the late , accessed December 2006 (in Portuguese) The Portuguese ''licenciatura'' was a longer undergraduate degree, which included a Licensure for working in a particular profession and an accreditation by the respective professional orders - ''ordens profissionais''. The ''licenciatura'' diploma was also required for those applicants who wished to undertake masters and doctorate programs. The publication of Administrative Rule 645/88 of 21 September 1988 authorised polytechnic schools to teach two-year courses of specialised higher education (CESE - ''Curso de Estudos Superiores Especializados'') within the fields already taught at the school. This system guaranteed a prominent independence between the two levels (bachelor's and CESE) since it was not compulsory to maintain a coherence of subjects. The diploma of specialised higher education (DESE - ''Diploma de Estudos Superiores Especializados'') thus emerged much more as a post-graduate diploma than a complementary education to the bachelor student who wanted a licentiate degree. Changing the structure of the CESE into two-stage degrees obtained in two levels known as ''licenciatura bietápica'' (bachelor's and licentiate, in which access to the second level is granted immediately after completing the first), as consigned in Administrative Rule 413A/98 of 17 July 1998 , removed the formal differences between the university ''licenciatura'' and the new two-stage polytechnic ''licenciatura'' (''licenciatura bietápica''). By the government decree of July 1998 the polytechnics started to offer a two-stage curriculum (the first three years conferring a ''bacharelato'' degree, the following two years a ''licenciatura bietápica'' degree); both are undergraduate degrees, but the universities were offering a single Licentiate degree (''licenciatura'') of four to five years. This was changed with the Bologna Process with a new system of three years for a bachelor degree (''licenciatura''). Two additional years grant a masters degree (''mestrado'') which is conferred by the polytechnic institute under protocols with a partner university or alone when the polytechnic institution is in full compliance with the necessary requirements (proper research activity, doctoral teaching staff, and budget). However, as of 2007, almost no polytechnic institute is offering ''mestrado'' degrees. The doctoral degree (''doutoramento'') is conferred only by the universities, as it always has been. The , the formal differences are less notorious), due to limitations that were imposed by State Education Laws on polytechnics (such as the professor's career, the professor's wages, the State funds spending and the teaching competences of the polytechnics). The Porto Superior Institute Of Engineering (ISEP) was never merged into the University of Porto (or one of its predecessor schools, the Polytechnic Academy). The original proposal was dropped, partially because the University of Porto has owned its own engineering school since 1911 - the '' Faculdade De Engenharia Da Universidade Do Porto '', known as ''Faculdade de Engenharia'' since 1926 , unlike the University of Lisbon. Nursing and health technologies technicians (technicians in clinical analysis, radiology, audiology, nuclear medicine and other technical fields in health) are also polytechnic higher education courses offered by nursing schools and schools of health technologies which are grouped into polytechnic institutes, and, in some cases, into universities (remaining in each of those situations as autonomous schools belonging to the Polytechnic subsector). The nursing schools were legally defined as comparable to polytechnic institutions in 1988 (Administrative Rule 480/88 of 23 December 1988 - ''Decreto Lei n.º 480/88, de 23 de Dezembro''), and started to provide Higher Education degrees in nursing in 1990 (Rule 821/89 of 15 September 1990 - ''Portaria n.º 821/89, de 15 de Setembro''). Before 1990 nursing schools were not academic-degree-conferring institutions, and did not belong to the Higher Education al system. In 1995 they were fully integrated into the polytechnic subsystem (Administrative Rule 205/95 of 5 August 1995 - ''Decreto Lei n.º 205/95, de 5 de Agosto''), and in 1999 the new courses in nursing were approved, conferring a ''licenciatura'' diploma (Administrative Rule 353/99 of 8 September 1999 - ''Decreto Lei n.º 353/99, de 8 de Setembro''). Between 1918 and 1974 , some older schools that are today integrated into the polytechnic subsector were industrial and commercial schools of Vocational Education , as well as intermediate schools for primary-education-teacher training, schools of agriculture, or nursing schools. Current establishments for polytechnic studies in engineering such as the '' Instituto Superior De Engenharia De Lisboa '', '' Instituto Superior De Engenharia Do Porto '', '' Instituto Superior De Engenharia De Coimbra '', the Nursing School s, and the current polytechnic schools of education ''(Escolas Superiores de Educação)'' during that period had no relation with Higher Education , and were known by other names. Admission to these schools was open to people with no complete Secondary Education , with universities reserved for secondary school graduates. For decades, these vocational schools of intermediate education (known as ''ensino médio'') did not have the higher education status or credentials they have now. However, the majority of current polytechnical institutes was fully created in the 1980s and 1990s . It must be remembered that the '' Instituto Superior De Engenharia De Lisboa '' and the '' Instituto Superior De Engenharia Do Porto '', both born from the earlier industrial institutes (''Instituto Industrial''), were higher education degree-conferring institutions in technical engineering during a short period before 1919, and were known by other institutional names in their long histories.
During the 1980s , the former Polytechnical Institute of Faro, in the Algarve region, southern Portugal, was incorporated into the University Of The Algarve , but as a totally independent institution in terms of staff, curricula and competences, remaining a full public polytechnic institution within a larger and independent public university. The former and short-lived Polytechnical Institute of Vila Real, in northern Portugal, was closed and then reformed, having been reorganized into a university in the 1980s - the University Of Trás-os-Montes E Alto Douro . The University Of Beira Interior in Covilhã was founded in 1979 after the closing of a former (also short-lived) polytechnical institute - the PIC - Polytechnical Institute of Covilhã (''Instituto Politécnico da Covilhã'') (1973-1979). A remarkable level of achievements allowed PIC in 1979 to be promoted by the Portuguese Ministry of Education to a higher institutional level, University Institute . Seven years later, in 1986 , the University Institute of Beira Interior was granted full university status, becoming the current University of Beira Interior. SOCIO-ECONOMIC COMPOSITION OF STUDENTS Based on a research study (''Preferências dos estudantes'', co-authored by Diana Amado Tavares, from ''CIPS - Centro de Investigação de Políticas do Ensino Superior'' (Centre For Research In Higher Education Policies) Pais licenciados influenciam carreira universitária de filhos , source: ''Preferências dos estudantes'', co-authored by Diana Amado Tavares, from ''Centro de Investigação de Políticas do Ensino Superior'' (CIPES) on reported on 2nd April 2007, that according to the study, pre-higher education students from families with an higher educational and cultural background have a 10 times higher probability of becaming higher education students than the others. And among all higher education students, the family economic and cultural background are decisive on the type of course a student can attain in the higher education system. According to the study, using as an example medicine, it shows that 73,2% of the 2003/2004 medicine freshman admitted to Portuguese Universities have graduated parents. On the other side, 73% of nursing and health technician students ( Polytechnic courses), have parents without Higher Education . The study shows a relation between parental very low educational levels and the students' options in higher education, where 39% of basic education teacher students, and 20% of management students, have parents with 4 years of study or less, the 4th grade (''4ª classe''). On the other side, Law , Natural Sciences and related fields (particularly Medicine ), and Fine Arts , are preferred courses of students from families with higher educational and cultural backgrounds. The study reports that about 42,000 unemployed people registered in the employment centers and seeking for a job have an higher education academic degree, with the fields of teaching and education accounting for 32% of those unemployed people, and art and humanities accounting for 12%. The study also concludes that the higher is the financial and educational background of a family, more evident is the student preference of applying to university institutions, and the lower is the number of students desiring to apply to polytechnic institutions. The study was also expected to be published in the European Journal Of Higher Education . EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA The Bologna Process was a Europe an reform process aimed at establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010 . It was an unusual process in that it was loosely structured and driven by the 45 countries participating in it in cooperation with a number of international organisations, including the Council Of Europe . The broad objectives of the Bologna Process are to remove the obstacles to student mobility across Europe; to enhance the attractiveness of European higher education worldwide; to establish a common structure of higher education systems across Europe, and for this common structure to be based on two main cycles: undergraduate (1st cycle of study) and graduate (2nd cycle of study). In its drive to improve the quality of higher education and, in turn, human resources across Europe, the Bologna Process play a key role in contributing to the EU's Lisbon Strategy goals which aim to deliver stronger, lasting growth and to create more and better jobs. The reform aim was to create a higher education system in Europe, organised in such a way that:
Changes Portugal, like other European States, has conducted educational policies and reforms to accomplish these objectives. This included the reorganization of both university and polytechnic subsystems and the implementation of extensive legal and curricular changes and the adoption of innovative teaching methods. Its field application process was mostly visible in 2006 and 2007. This reform was elaborated in order to attain an education system based on the development of competences rather than on the transmission of knowledge, and included the development of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees aimed to simplify comparison between qualifications across Europe. The flexibility and transparency enabled students to have their qualifications recognised more widely, facilitating freedom of movement around a more transparent EHEA ( European Higher Education Area ). This was aided by the establishment of a system of credits in the form of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and the adoption of the Diploma Supplement by all countries involved. One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1500-1800 hours of study. Cycles The European higher education area adopted a system based on three cycles of study, at Bachelor , Master and Doctorate 's level, that is:
1st cycle degree
2nd cycle degree
3rd cycle degree
DEGREE SIGNIFICANCE AND ACCREDITATION Schools that adhered to the Bologna Process (since 2006 - 2007) maintained the degree names but their significance changed. In ascending order of importance: Degrees ''Bacharelato'' ( Bachelor's Degree ) - title: ''Bacharel'' - abbreviation: none or ''Bach.''
''Licenciatura'' (Academic , used extensively (formal and colloquially) in accordance with the historical underdeveloped world's tradition followed in a number of countries ranging from Latin America to Africa)
''Pós-Graduação'' or ''Especialização '' ( Postgraduate degree) - no specific title
''Mestrado'' ( Master's Degree ) - title: ''Mestre''
''Doutorado'' ( Doctorate ) - used in front of holder's name: ''Doutor''
''Agregação'' ( Agrégation ) - used in front of holder's name: ''Professor Doutor''
Accreditation Professional associations of some of the regulated professions run their own accreditation systems, they are known as ''Ordens'' (these include several ''Ordens'' like the '' Ordem Dos Engenheiros ''; '' Ordem Dos Advogados ''; '' Ordem Dos Arquitectos '', '' Ordem Dos Médicos '', '' Ordem Dos Biólogos '', '' Ordem Dos Economistas '', etc.). In general, registration with such associations is a requisite for the legal practice of the profession and it normally requires an admission examination. The accreditation process exemptes candidates, possessing an accredited course degree, of such examination. Towards the european higher education area - Bologna process, NATIONAL REPORTS 2004 – 2005 , accessed December 2006 History During many years (at least during most of the 20th century to the 2000s), a graduate in Portugal used to have a compulsory 4 to 5 year course (an exception included medicine, with a 6 years course) known as ''licenciatura'' which was granted exclusively by (Nº1382), 24th April 1999], accessed December 2006 (in Portuguese) Today's situation Currently, after many major reforms and changes in higher education started in 1998 which originated a process that spans across the 2000s, the formal differences between Polytechnic and University ''licenciatura'' degrees are in general null and they have an equivalent denomination and course duration, and due to the Bologna Process both graduates should be recognized equally all across Europe. However, there are many courses whose degrees are still not recognized by the ''Ordens Profissionais'' (the highest Portuguese authorities in accreditation of graduated professionals), especially those courses conferred by several polytechnic institutes and many private institutions. For instance, there are many courses in engineering, law, or architecture, among many other fields, which are not recognized by its respective highest professional association authority (''Ordens Profissionais''). Among the oldest recognized and most extensively accredited courses in Portugal, are those university degrees awarded by the state-run universities. After the large 1998 - 2000s reforms and upgrades, many polytechnic ''licenciatura'' degrees started to be offered by the largest state-run polytechnic institutes, like those in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, have been awarded in the same way with wide official recognition by the concerned ''Ordens Profissionais'' and the State. ADMISSION AND INEQUALITIES Admission to state-run higher education level studies requires either a secondary school credential, ''Diploma de Ensino Secundário'', given after twelve study years, allowing the student to be examinated through the '' Exames Nacionais De Acesso Ao Ensino Superior '', or an extraordinary exam process available to anyone aged 23 or older. Admission to private institutions is at the total discretion of each school. With secondary school credential Students must have studied the subjects for which they are entering to be prepared for the Entrance Exams , but they are not required to have previously specialised in any specific area at the secondary school. Students sit for one or more entrance exams, ''Concurso nacional'' for public institutions or ''Concurso local'' for private institutions. In addition to passing entrance exams, students must fulfill particular prerequisites for the chosen course. Enrollment is limited; each year the institution establishes the number of places available. At the universities this is called the '' Numerus Clausus ''. For the public institutions the exam scores count for the final evaluation, which includes the secondary school average marks. Then the students have to choose six institutions/courses they prefer to attend, in preferential order. The ones who reach the marks needed to attend the desired institution/course, given the number of vacancies, will be admitted. This means that the students could not be admitted at its first or second choice, but be admitted at the third or even sixth choice. In some cases, those entering polytechnics or nursing and health technologies schools with previous vocational training will receive institutional preference. Extraordinary exam process After the approval of decree law ''Decreto-Lei 64/2006, de 21 de Março'' in 2006, even without a complete secondary school education, anyone 23 or older can apply to state-run higher learning institution through the ''Exame Extraordinário de Avaliação de Capacidade para Acesso ao Ensino Superior'' (extraordinary exam to assess the capacity to enter higher-level studies), also called the ''Ad-Hoc'' exam. The process consists of the general Portuguese exam, an interview to evaluate motivation and CV, and additional written and oral exams specific to each school and course. Candidates approved go through a separate ''numerus clausus'' or enroll directly at the discretion of the school's board. Inequalities Until the mid 2000s, public university courses often demanded much higher admission marks than most similar courses at the polytechnic institutes or private institutions. This was a major statistical fact among the higher education subsystems in Portugal. "Analysis from the mid 90´s..." "...institutional responses differed, with a few of the most recognized institutions setting high minimum marks, while less prestigious institutions set lower entrance standards" - Tertiary Education in Portugal - Background Report prepared to support the international assessment of the Portuguese system of tertiary education, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, pg.49 (April 2006) , accessed December 2006 However, it is not possible today to characterize precisely a course's quality level by its higher education subsystem (polytechnic or university) because selective courses demand high grades and have a better reputation and popularity in both subsystems after many years of reforms and reorganization in the polytechnical subsytem. But in general, the majority of the most highly regarded degrees, noted for their selectiveness and popularity, are provided by the university system, with the polytechnic system being oftenly regarded as a second choice alternative to the university for a large number of students. Ensino superior deve abrir-se a novos públicos, in ''a Página da Educação'' (Portuguese Education magazine) , interview to Ana Maria Seixas, Ph.D. in Education Sciences, professor and researcher at the '', Master's Degree programmes can be offered to any student who had completed the first study cycle (''licenciatura'') and enroll in the second study cycle (''mestrado''). For instance, Medicine is traditionally one of the most popular courses in Portugal, and therefore one of the most selective, with some of the highest rated secondary school top students competing with the best of the best for a place in a medicine course. Normally, a student who wants to attend the Medical School (''Faculdade de Medicina'') at one of the Portuguese public universities which exclusively offer this graduation course, has to get very high grades in the entrance exams (it may include exams in fields like chemistry, biology, and mathematics) and to have done an almost-brilliant secondary school course. Admission marks of the applicants admitted in medicine, are never less than 180 out of 200. Architecture , Biochemistry , Economics , Electrical Engineering , Chemical Engineering , Civil Engineering , Computer Sciences , Dentistry , Law , Pharmacy , or Veterinary Medicine at most public universities, are on a varying degree and depending on the institution, another examples of courses which are traditionally the most selective and popular. In contrast with these, like in any other educational system in the world, there are many courses offered by polytechnic institutes, private universities, and public university departments, where the entrance requirements are sharply below the average. There are also some courses with low or even no demand and condemned to be extinguished. EMPLOYABILITY After students graduate from a higher education institution, factors like the field of studies, the grade point average and the prestige of the teaching institution, are relatively important for getting a job. But most important is the current employment market. Due to these factors, higher education courses with a higher Employability rate include Medicine , Nursing , health technician courses, several Engineering specializations, Computer Sciences , and Architecture . Low employability is found among Teaching , Humanities and some Social Sciences fields of study, like History , Geography , Linguistics , Philosophy , Sociology ; or to a lesser degree among the Exact Sciences and Natural Sciences , such as Mathematics , Physics , Chemistry , Biology or Geology , when these courses are oriented towards a teaching career instead of a more technical or scientific research career. Law is also a course with an increasingly low employability rate, because of an excessive number of new graduates each year. An article was published by the (''editorial do caderno de emprego'') - 22nd October 2004, accessed December 2006 This non-scientific report used a survey made by some Human Resources recruiting firms, which means that the population surveyed comprised only the candidates who were seeking a job through those recruiting firms, and excluded the highly-qualified candidates who were recruited directly by the companies, by other important recruiting firms, or were recruited by headhunters before graduation. Additionally, some graduates are recruited from local higher learning institutions through partnerships with local companies, bypassing full and open competition. MAJOR INSTITUTIONS Older and larger institutions (right)]] Among the biggest and most highly-financed institutions of higher education in Portugal are the University Of Coimbra , the University Of Lisbon , the New University Of Lisbon , the Technical University Of Lisbon and the University Of Porto . These five public universities manage the largest budgets for teaching and research, and have the largest number of enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, being renowned in aspects such as:
Newer institutions Although generally smaller and younger, the other public universities, and also the polytechnical institutes, are national or regional powerhouses in certain studying/teaching areas. In addition, they have contributed to the development and improvement of the quality of life of the local populations. This group of universities and polytechnics encompass the other state-run Portuguese institutions founded after 1970. In the university subsector, University Of Aveiro , Minho University , University Of Beira Interior , and the ISCTE , have been frequently referred to as the "new generation" of Portuguese university institutions, renowned in general for their innovative methods and modernity (see List Of Universities In Portugal ). The University of Beira Interior and Minho University were the first new public universities to be chosen to offer medical schools since the 2000s , when only Lisbon's, Porto's and Coimbra's public universities previously had that privilege. As of 2007, the University Of The Algarve is preparing a medical school to open before 2010. in Lisbon ]] In the polytechnical engineering and accountancy fields, the ''Instituto Superior de Engenharia'' of Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra, and the ''Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração'' of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Aveiro, are well-known in the country, and their graduates have been recruited regionally by several employers. The Portuguese Catholic University has generally been considered a good non-state-run university, notably because of Law , Economics and Business Management degrees offered at its Lisbon and Porto facilities. Other private institutions are also renowned in some fields. Rankings The results and rankings of multi-criteria evaluation on higher education institutions may be controversial and are not definitive proof of the higher standard of one institution over the others. However, ranking-based evaluation could be useful to point out certain characteristics or trends of a given institution, like notability and growth, both nationwide and internationally. Official state-managed ranking The Portuguese ''Agência de Acreditação'' (Accreditation Agency) for higher education is, since 2007, responsible for the publication of the national ranking of higher education institutions and degrees. Mariano Gago quer fazer ranking das universidades , in Diário Económico (in Portuguese) The Times Higher Education Supplement According to The Times Higher Education Supplement (2006 QS World University Rankings, by QS - Quacquarelli Symonds), the University Of Coimbra is ranked number 1 university in the Portuguese-speaking Countries , and ranked 266 in the overall world rank. Information for international students and researchers, University of Coimbra THES - QS World University Rankings 2006 (www.topuniversities.com) The Times Higher Education Supplement world rankings 2006 (PDF file; registration needed) Webometrics Portuguese higher education institutions Webometrics ranking, 2007 - Top 20 ranked according to indicators measuring web presence and impact. University and college webometrics ranking in Portugal, 2007 RESEARCH AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING See Also: Science and technology in Portugal Academic research in 2003 represented about 50% of total expenditure in R&D (including expenditure by higher education and related non-profit institutions). Total expenditure (public and private) in R&D was 0.78% of the GDP, which had reached 0.85% in 2001, when the European average was 1.98% for the then-15 EU member-states. Overall, higher education and related non-profit institutions represented in 2003 about 74% of Portuguese researchers, with a total value of 24.726 researchers (i.e., head counts), representing 13.008 FTE researchers. In December 2004, higher education institutions included 11.316 teaching-staff members holding a PhD degree. In 2001 Portugal was, for the first time in history, one of the countries of excellence that contributed to the top 1% of the world's highly-cited publications. Spain was responsible for 2.08%, while Ireland and Greece accounted for 0.36% and 0.3%, respectively.See the analysis of King, D.A., The scientific Impact of Nations – What difference countries for their research spending, Nature , vol. 430, 15 July 2004
Source: ''FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia'' {Link without Title} INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS International partnership programmes and international conventions or agreements in higher education include:
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