Bachelor's and Integrated Master’s Degrees - Applications and Admissions

The National Call for Applications to Public Higher Education (NCA) is the primary means of admission (general admission regulation) to 1st Cycle and Integrated Master's courses at U.Porto. Applicants are mainly students who have completed their secondary education in Portugal, though there are other eligible categories of applicants.

The Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES) organises and coordinates this form of admission directly.

To apply through the National Call for Applications to Higher Education (NCA), you must: 

• have completed secondary education or equivalent; 
• take (or have taken within the preceding two years) national examinations that correspond to the required admission tests. As admission tests vary according to the course and faculty, it is advisable that you confirm that you meet admission test requirements by contacting the faculty you wish to enrol in directly;
• meet the prerequisites necessary to enter your chosen course and faculty.

A percentage of vacancies are reserved during the 1st phase of the National Call for: 

• Applicants from the Azores
• Applicants from Madeira
• Applicants who are Portuguese Emigrants and Family members residing with them
• Applicants who are Soldiers under Contract
• Applicants with a Disability

Students who have completed a course that is legally equivalent to Portuguese secondary education (e.g. students from the European Union who wish to study at U.Porto) are also eligible. In these cases, admission tests are substituted by the final examinations of the subjects of those courses, according to the conditions set out by DGES.

You can apply to all Bachelor's and Integrated Master's Degree courses at U.Porto through the National Call for Applications to Higher Education.

For more information on available vacancies, minimum application score, etc., consult the Course Guide.

The National Call for Applications to Higher Education opens at the end of the academic year, following the national exams for secondary education in Portugal, and is organised in three distinct phases. You can apply to all phases of the call.

Your application score must be equal to or greater than the minimum score stipulated annually by U.Porto’s 14 faculties for each of their courses.

You can find the minimum grades for U.Porto’s courses in the U.Porto Course Guide or in the Guide for Applications to Public Higher Education, published online every year on the DGES portal.

You must apply online through the portal of the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES). You should have all requested documentation ready for submission.*

*  Applicants covered by the special categories and students who have completed non-Portuguese courses that are legally equivalent to Portuguese secondary education may have to submit additional supporting documentation to the Office for Access to Higher Education (GAES-UP).

Some courses and faculties require that specific physical, functional or vocational conditions are met. These conditions are related to your performance in the respective fields. The following U.Porto study cycles have prerequisites:

For more information, visit the Prerequisites page on the DGES website (available in Portuguese).

The Special Call for Applicants Over the Age of 23 is a call aimed at applicants over the age of 23 who do not have the qualifications typically required to apply to register for a higher education programme.

To apply to this call, applicants must: 

• be over the age of 23 (having turned 23 by 31 December of the year preceding the call); 
• not have qualifications typically required to apply to register for a higher education programme; 
• pass the tests specifically administered to assess the applicant’s capacity to attend a higher education course (taken at U.Porto); 
• meet the prerequisites of the intended course, where applicable;
• not have internatioConcurso Especial para Estudantes Internacionaisnal student status. 

Applicants who have a secondary or higher education qualification or equivalent but who have not taken the necessary admission tests may also apply to this call.

For the 2021/2022 academic year, the faculties of U.Porto opened 249 vacancies for 49 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degrees) and Integrated Master's Degree courses under the Special Call for Applicants Over the Age of 23.

There are no vacancies open for applications to courses at the Faculty of Law (FDUP) and the Faculty of Medicine (FMUP) and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS) in this call for applications.

Applications to the Special Call for Applicants Over the Age of 23 are submitted directly to the participating U.Porto faculties.

A specific test is administered that accounts for 50% of the final score. The remaining 50% is distributed between a personal interview with the applicant and an assessment of their professional and academic CV.

The faculties of U.Porto determine the dates for the specific tests and for applications to this special call every year.

For more information, contact the academic services of the faculty you wish to enrol in.

The Special Call for Holders of a Higher Professional Technical Diploma is aimed at applicants who have a higher professional technical diploma (HPTD).

To apply to this call, applicants must:

• have a higher professional technical diploma, validated by the faculty of U.Porto to which they are applying; 
• have passed the admission tests (national exams for secondary education) required by the study cycle that they are applying to enter (applicants cannot have a grade below the minimum grade established by U.Porto for the course that they are applying to register in);
• meet the prerequisites of the intended course, where applicable;
• not have international student status. 

For the 2021/2022 academic year, U.Porto’s faculties of Fine Art and Engineering have opened four vacancies for three 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degrees) and Integrated Master's Degree courses under the Special Call for Holders of a Higher Professional Technical Diploma. No other courses have vacancies open under this call.

Applications to the Special Call for Holders of a Higher Professional Technical Diploma are submitted directly to the participating U.Porto faculties. Faculties determine the number of vacancies for each of their courses and the respective ranking and tie-breaking criteria.

Applicants are ranked according to their final grade for the respective Higher Professional Technical Diploma (HPTD) and their score in the admission tests.

The faculties of U.Porto determine the dates for the specific tests and for applications to this special call every year.

For more information, contact the academic services of the faculty you wish to enrol in.

The Special Call for Graduates of Other Higher Education Courses is a call designed for applicants who hold an undergraduate, Master’s or Doctoral degree.

To apply to this call, applicants must:

• hold an undergraduate, Master’s or Doctoral degree;
• meet the prerequisites of the intended course, where applicable;
• not have international student status.

Note: Holders of the now-defunct degrees in Primary Education (Magistério Primário), Pre-school Teachers (Educadores de Infância), and General Nursing (Enfermagem Geral) who can prove that they have also successfully completed secondary education, upper secondary education or grades 10/11, can apply under this special call.

For the 2021/2022 academic year, the faculties of U.Porto opened 148 vacancies for 44 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degrees) and Integrated Master's Degree courses under the Special Call for Graduates of Other Higher Education Courses.

Applications to the Special Call for Graduates of Other Higher Education Courses are submitted directly to the participating U.Porto faculties. Faculties determine the number of vacancies for each of their courses and the respective ranking and tie-breaking criteria.

Applicants are ranked according to criteria such as the relatedness of their CV to the field of study of the intended course, an assessment of their professional career as well as an assessment – resulting from an interview – of their soft skills.

The faculties of U.Porto determine the dates for the specific tests and for applications to this special call every year.

For more information, contact the academic services of the faculty you wish to enrol in.

The Special Call for Admissions to Courses in Medicine for Graduates is aimed at health care professionals with a bachelor's degree who would like to pursue an integrated master’s degree in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of U.Porto (FMUP) and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS). Here is what you need to know...

You may apply to this special call if you:

• hold a bachelor's degree in one of the areas approved by the competent scientific body of FMUP and ICBAS;
• meet the prerequisites for enrolment in the Medicine courses of FMUP and ICBAS;
• do not have international student status.

For the 2021/2022 academic year, the Faculty of Medicine of U.Porto (FMUP) and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences(ICBAS) have 60 vacancies for their Integrated Master’s Degrees in Medicine, open under the Special Call for Admissions to Courses in Medicine for Graduates.

Applications to the Special Call for Admissions to Courses in Medicine for Graduates are submitted directly to the participating U.Porto faculties. These faculties determine the number of vacancies for each of their courses and the respective ranking and tie-breaking criteria.

The faculties of U.Porto determine the dates for the specific tests and for applications to this special call every year.

For more information, contact the academic services of the faculty you wish to enrol in.

The Readmission regime is aimed at applicants whose studies have been interrupted and who would now like to re-enrol in a 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degree) or Integrated Master's Degree course at U.Porto.

The following students can apply for Readmission to U.Porto: 

• Students who were registered and enrolled in the institution/course pair that they would now like to re-enrol in, or who attended a pair that preceded the current one.
• Students who were not enrolled in the institution/course pair in the academic year before the one they would now like to enrol in.

Note: Each U.Porto faculty sets out the specific conditions that must be fulfilled in order to apply under this regime, in accordance with the U.Porto Regulation for Change of Course, Transfer or Readmission.

Readmission in a study cycle at U.Porto is not subject to a set number of vacancies and covers all of the University’s 51 1st Cycle (Bachelor's Degree) and Integrated Master's Degree courses.

Applications for Readmission should be submitted to the academic services of the Faculty in which you would like to re-enrol.

The academic and professional career of students admitted through this regime is recognised by the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), in accordance with the study plan of the U.Porto course/faculty in which they register and enrol. In cases of Readmission, the student will be awarded the credits for all the training completed previously in the same study cycle.

You can apply for Readmission at any time during the academic year.

For more information, contact the academic services of the faculty you wish to enrol in, or visit their website.