Holding the qualification for access to higher education.

The general rules for access and admission to higher education (which includes the national entrance examination for public higher education and institutional entrance examinations for private higher education) establish that a student may apply for enrollment and registration if they cumulatively meet the following conditions:

a) Hold a secondary education qualification or legally equivalent qualification;
b) To demonstrate the ability to attend higher education, which is done by passing entrance exams and meeting prerequisites when required by higher education institutions.

Therefore, if the student meets these conditions, they are qualified to access higher education.

Conversely, the student does not acquire this title if:

• Did not complete secondary education; or
• Completed secondary education:

1. Did not take, or having taken, did not pass, the entrance exams required for the intended institution/course;
2. You have completed the required entrance exams for the desired institution/course, but these exams are no longer valid (they are valid for the year they are taken and the two subsequent years); or
3. The student has completed the required entrance exams for the desired institution/course, and these exams are valid. However, application to higher education is subject to meeting or completing a prerequisite, which the student has not met or completed.

The applicable legal framework governing access to higher education for those over 23 years of age does not establish any impediment, in its rules, to a student attending university or obtaining a bachelor's degree; however, students should also consult the regulations of the intended higher education institution in order to ascertain the rules in force there.

Specially designed tests to assess the suitability of individuals over 23 years of age for higher education.

These tests are designed to assess the suitability of students over 23 years of age to attend a bachelor's or integrated master's degree program at a Higher Education Institution (HEI), and are conducted annually.

The legislation does not establish a maximum age limit for registration and taking the exams, but it does define a minimum age limit: for a student to register, they must be 23 years old by December 31st of the year preceding the exam.

Thus, by way of example:

• If the student turns 23 on November 26, 2023, they can register to take the exams that will take place in 2024;
• If the student turns 23 on January 10, 2024, they can only register to take the exams that will take place in 2025.

The process for assessing a student's suitability for attending university takes place within each higher education institution (HEI), with the institution responsible for establishing the regulations for the entrance exams. These regulations include deadlines and registration rules, grading criteria and final grade assignment, as well as defining the form that the assessment for admission to each of its undergraduate or integrated master's degree programs should take, considering the mandatory assessment components established by law.

1. Evaluation of the candidate's academic and professional background;
2. Assessing the candidate's motivations, which can be done, in particular, through an interview;
3. Conducting theoretical and/or practical tests to assess the knowledge and skills considered essential for admission and progression in the course, which may be organized according to the different profiles of the candidates and the courses they are applying for.

The exams should focus exclusively on the areas of knowledge directly relevant to admission and progression in the course.

The student registers to take the exams with the chosen higher education institution (HEI), within the deadlines set by the institution, which also establishes the dates for the completion of the assessment components.

Passing the exams:

1. It produces effects for the application for admission, through the respective special competition, to the institution/course for which they were carried out;
2. The institution's regulations may stipulate that the tests may be used for application for enrollment and registration, through the respective special admission process, in more than one course at the same institution;
3. Each institution may admit students who have passed entrance exams for courses at other higher education institutions through its respective special admission process.

The exams are valid for the year they are taken, as well as for any period that the institution decides to establish in its regulations, should it so choose, and do not grant any equivalence to school qualifications.

Consult the exam regulations at each Higher Education Institution, also available in the Official Gazette.

Prerequisites

For the purpose of assessing the capacity to attend higher education, higher education institutions may also establish entry prerequisites when they consider that physical, functional or vocational aptitudes are particularly relevant for admission to a specific course.

Therefore, whenever a student indicates in their application options, a pair or pairs of institutions/courses for which a prerequisite is required, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 16 of Decree-Law no. 296-A/98 , of September 25, it is necessary to specify it.

You can check here which institution/course pairs are subject to meeting the prerequisites.

The deadlines for registration, assessment, and fulfillment of prerequisites are set annually by the National Commission for Access to Higher Education (CNAES).

Applications for institution/course pairings within the local competition are also subject to meeting the student's eligibility for higher education. Students should contact the respective higher education institution to obtain more information about the required criteria.

In the Course Index you can consult the higher education courses that are subject to local admission processes.

Students who have taken and completed the specially designed tests to assess the capacity for higher education of those over 23 years of age, and who meet the other required application conditions, may apply to higher education through the special admission process for them:

• For the institution/course for which you were accepted into the entrance exams;
• Other course(s) from the same institution, in which you obtained approval in the exams, provided that such a situation is foreseen in the regulations of the higher education institution;

Other course(s) from other higher education institutions, different from the one(s) in which you obtained approval in the entrance exams, provided that those institutions accept this application for enrollment and registration in their courses, through the respective special admission process.

Applying to higher education through special admission processes:

• It takes place annually, together with the Higher Education Institution (HEI) chosen by the student;
• It can be presented for access and admission to public or private higher education, with the exception of military or police higher education;
• This is intended for enrollment in undergraduate and integrated master's degree programs. Within the scope of the special admission process, institutions are responsible for preparing and developing actions related to access and admission to their courses, in accordance with the legislation, establishing, in particular, the number of places available for each of their institution/course pairs and the respective ranking and tie-breaking criteria. The deadlines for carrying out the acts for access and admission to higher education, in each academic year, through the special admission processes, are also set by the higher education institutions.

• Applications for the special competition must be submitted according to the terms to be established by each higher education institution (HEI), in its own regulations, which include the documentation required for the respective processing of the application.

The deadlines for completing the procedures for access and admission to higher education, in each academic year, through special admission processes, are:

• Set annually by the Higher Education Institution (HEI);
• Published on the institution's website.

In the special admission process for medical school holders, the deadlines for completing all required actions are set by the organizational units of the higher education institutions offering the medical course, in their own regulations.

In the special admission process for international students, the deadlines for completing all required actions are set by the higher education institution.

The ranking criteria for this competition are set by each Higher Education Institution (HEI), and are therefore regulated by it, duly approved and published.

In the competition, the placement of candidates in each institution/course pair is done in descending order of the ranked list resulting from the application of the respective ranking criteria. The Higher Education Institution (HEI) is also responsible for establishing the tie-breaking rules between candidates and deciding on applications to the special competition, regulating the competition and duly approving and publicizing the rules.

Setting quotas for special competitions

Without prejudice to the limits set out in Articles 12 to 15 of Order No. 3580/2023 of 21 March, the maximum number of places to be allocated for all special access and entry competitions and competitions for change of institution/course for the 1st year of the curriculum is equal to the result of the following expression:

Maximum vacancies CE = LMA – RGA vacancies – RE vacancies

in which:

• Maximum Vacancies CE = maximum number of vacancies to be allocated in special competitions and competitions for changing institution/course in each study cycle;
• LMA = Maximum admission limit for the study cycle;
• RGA vacancies = number of vacancies allocated in competitions integrated into the general access system;
• RE vacancies = number of vacancies allocated under special access and admission schemes.

Setting aside vacancies for candidates who passed the exams for those over 23 years of age.

The total number of places available at each higher education institution for enrollment and registration through the competitive process for candidates who have passed the entrance exams for those over 23 years of age must represent at least 5 % of the maximum number of admissions for all study cycles at that institution.

Military personnel who have completed at least one year of effective service under a Contract Regime, four years of effective service under a Special Contract Regime, and who meet the defined age requirements, have priority access to 2.5 % of the vacancies offered through the over-23-year-old route.

Military personnel can benefit from these incentives during their active service and, after the contract ends, for a period equivalent to the time of service rendered, up to a limit of six years.

In special access and admission processes, any restrictions are set by the Higher Education Institutions in their own regulations.

Special admission processes are held for enrollment and registration in an academic year and are valid for the academic year to which they refer.

The recognition of previously acquired academic qualifications by students entering a study cycle through a special admission process is carried out in accordance with the terms set out in Articles 45 to 45-B of Decree-Law No. 74/2006 , of March 24, amended by Decree-Law No. 65/2018 , of August 16.

Thus, within the scope of pursuing studies to obtain an academic degree or diploma, higher education institutions, under the terms of Article 45 of Decree-Law No. 74/2006 , of March 24, amended and republished by Decree-Law No. 65/2018 , of August 16, and republished therein in the annex:

a) They acknowledge the training undertaken within the framework of other higher education degree programs at national or foreign higher education institutions, whether obtained within the framework of the Bologna Process or obtained previously;
b) They credit training completed within the scope of higher professional technical courses up to a limit of 50% of the total credits of the study cycle;
c) Credit is given for successfully completed curricular units, in accordance with Article 46-A of the diploma, up to a limit of 50% of the total credits for the study cycle;
d) Credits may be awarded for training undertaken within the scope of non-degree courses at national or foreign higher education institutions, up to a limit of 50% of the total credits of the study cycle;
(e) They may credit training completed within the scope of technological specialization courses up to a limit of one third of the total credits of the study cycle;
f) They may receive credit for other training not covered by the preceding paragraphs up to a limit of one third of the total credits for the study cycle;
(g) Professional experience may be credited up to a limit of 50% of the total credits for higher professional technical courses in situations where the student has more than five years of duly proven professional experience;
h) They may credit duly proven professional experience up to a limit of one third of the total credits of the study cycle, without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The total credits awarded under points d) to h) cannot exceed two-thirds of the total credits for the study cycle.

The awarding of credits under points g) and e) may be wholly or partially conditional upon the completion of specific knowledge assessment procedures.

According to Article 45-A of the decree, each higher education institution approves its own regulations regarding the accreditation process, publishing them in the 2nd series of the Official Gazette and on its website, and the student must contact the institution of interest.