Portugal

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Country in a nutshell

Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

Education in country

Compulsory education: since 2009 (law no 85/2009 of August 2007) education is compulsory from 6 to 18 years of age and include the following cycles:

LevelsBold text	GradesItalic text	AgeItalic text
Ensino básico – 1° e 2° ciclos (Primary education)	1st – 4st (first cycle)	6-10 years old
	5th- 6th (second cycle)	10-12 years old
Ensino básico – 3° ciclo (lower secondary education)	7th – 9th (third cycle)	12-15 years old
Ensino secundario (upper secondary education), including four types of courses: scientific-humanistic, technological, specialist artistic and vocational)	10th- 12th (secondary)	15-18 years old

The raising of compulsory education is a recent reform and is part of a national effort aimed at enhancing the overall level of qualification of the Portuguese population to face the challenges of the knowledge society.

Post- secondary non tertiary education: post-secondary non-tertiary education provides specialized training in different technological areas, allowing for integration in the labour market or the continuation of study at higher level, granting a Specialist Diploma in Technology and a level 4 qualification.

Youth and adult education: youth and adult education offer a second opportunity to individuals who dropped out of school or may wish to do so. The different modes of youth and adult education and training provide for a school certification and/or professional qualification, as well as for the possibility to pursue studies at post-secondary non-tertiary or higher level.

Higher education: Higher education is taught in Universities and Polytechnics (which can be public, private or cooperative) and is aimed at those who successfully completed secondary education or gained a legally equivalent qualification.

Further and Higher education

The higher education system in Portugal is binary, comprising university institutions and polytechnic institutions, which can be public or private. There are more than 150 higher education institutions. The public sector includes 14 universities and a nonintegrated university institution; 15 polytechnics and a number of polytechnic schools integrated in universities; 9 non-integrated nursing schools; 4 university-level military schools; and 5 polytechnic military schools. The private sector includes 34 university level institutions and no less than 66 polytechnics. The private sector also includes a Catholic university. The university and polytechnic subsystems are mainly differentiated by their formative role in research, as is seen, for example, also in Denmark and the Netherlands. The polytechnics are vocationally or professionally oriented and do not carry out fundamental research as the universities do. Only applied research is conducted at the polytechnics.

Source: [[1]] More information [[2]]

Universities in Country

The university system has a strong theoretical basis and is highly research-oriented; Degrees in some fields such as medicine, law, natural sciences, economics, psychology or veterinary are university. Other fields like engineering, management, education, agriculture, sports, or humanities are found both in university and polytechnic systems.Many universities are usually organized by Faculty (Faculdade).

The university system, which is the oldest, has its origins in the 13th century. It is composed of thirteen public universities, one public university institute, a public open university, and several private universities and university institutes.

The oldest university is the University of Coimbra founded in 1290, and the biggest by number of enrolled students is the University of Porto with about 28,000 students. The Catholic University of Portugal, the oldest non-state-run university (concordatary status), was instituted by decree of the Holy See and is recognized by the State of Portugal since 1971.

University education can lead to the following degrees: bacharelato (first degree course, normally 3 years’ duration), licenciatura (normally 4 years’ duration), masters’ degrees and doctorates.

Polytechnics in Country

The non-university system provides a more practical training and is profession-oriented. Nursing, preschool education, accounting technician, or health care technician degrees, are only offered in the polytechnic system. 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, but also in several universities.

The polytechnic system, that began offering higher education in the 1980s after the former industrial and commercial schools were converted into engineering and administration higher education schools (so its origins could be traced back to some earlier vocational education schools of the 19th century). It is composed of fifteen state-run polytechnic institutes, public and private non-integrated polytechnic institutions, and other similar institutions.

Polytechnic education can lead to a bachalerato or a licenciatura.

Colleges in Country

The Portuguese education system offers post-secondary non-tertiary education courses since the creation of the Technological Specialisation Courses [Cursos de Especialização Tecnológica CET]. Technological Specialization Courses are defined as post-secondary non-tertiary education courses aimed at the acquisition of a level 4 qualification, as defined in Council Decision no. 85/368/CEE of July 16. This qualification is obtained through the combination of an upper secondary education, whether general or vocational, with a post-secondary technical training.

References

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