Address: Alameda da Universidade, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal
Engineering, Sciences, Medicine, Law, Arts and Humanities, Economics and Management, Agronomy, Architecture
The University of Lisbon, known as ULisboa, descends from a studium generale founded between 1288 and 1290 under King Dinis, which moved between Lisbon and Coimbra before settling permanently in Coimbra in 1537. The first modern University of Lisbon was founded in 1911, and the Technical University of Lisbon was founded in 1930. The merger of the two began in 2011, became law on 31 December 2012, and the merged university began its legal existence on 25 July 2013, when the newly elected rector took office.
It is located in Lisbon, with schools across the metropolitan area. In 2018 and 2019 it enrolled 47,794 students, 35,063 of them undergraduates and 12,731 postgraduates. In 2018 it employed 3,369 academic staff and 2,106 administrative staff.
The university comprises eighteen to nineteen schools, depending on how they are counted. They are the Faculties of Architecture, Fine Arts, Sciences, Law, Pharmacy, Arts and Humanities, Medicine, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Human Kinetics and Psychology, together with the Institute of Social Sciences, the Institute of Education, the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, the Instituto Superior Técnico and the Lisbon School of Nursing.
The Instituto Superior Técnico, the engineering school, and the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão were part of the Technical University of Lisbon, while the Faculties of Sciences, Law, Medicine and Arts and Humanities came from the old University of Lisbon. This history explains why the university combines the studies of engineering, agronomy and economics with those of medicine, law and the humanities.
The merger created the largest university in Portugal by number of students. Fees for Portuguese students are set by the state, and international students pay different rates. Check the current tariff. Teaching is mainly in Portuguese, with a growing number of programmes in English.
The Lisbon School of Nursing, the Institute of Education and the Institute of Social Sciences are among the specialised units of the university.
Domains taught:
Agriculture, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Data Analytics, Engineering, Finance, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Instituto Superior Técnico, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, and eighteen faculties and institutes.
Research:
Engineering, sciences, medicine, veterinary medicine, law, arts and humanities, social sciences, economics, agronomy and geography.
Famous Alumnis:
N/A
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
5475
Current students***:
47794
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Largest university in Portugal, merger of two historic universities, broad range of faculties, Instituto Superior Técnico for engineering, central Lisbon location.
Cons
Schools spread across the city, large and decentralised, courses mainly in Portuguese.
Best For
Students seeking the largest Portuguese university with a wide range of faculties and institutes in Lisbon.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Also strong in finance, civil engineering and chemistry, University of Porto makes a sensible second look at home; it covers food science as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 30,640 students against roughly 47,794 here.
University of Aveiro sits close to this institution on chemistry, life sciences and engineering; it covers marine science and telecommunications as well, and is far smaller, with about 14,280 students against roughly 47,794 here.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on finance, agriculture and civil engineering is Cairo University in Egypt, and it is also a public institution and does not run the mba programmes found here.
If this university is on your list for finance, civil engineering and chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa deserves a comparison, because it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba.
For agriculture, civil engineering and chemistry outside the home country, King Saud University in Saudi Arabia is a natural reference; it covers software engineering as well, and is slightly larger, at about 61,412 students against roughly 47,794 here.
National Taiwan University brings a Taiwan setting to the same core fields, finance, agriculture and chemistry, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba programmes, and covers electrical and electronics as well.
University of Tehran, in Iran, takes a similar route through agriculture, civil engineering and chemistry; it is slightly smaller, at about 41,000 students against roughly 47,794 here, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the University of Lisbon?
In Lisbon, Portugal, with schools across the metropolitan area.
When was it formed in its present shape?
The merger of the University of Lisbon and the Technical University of Lisbon began in 2011, and the merged university began its legal existence on 25 July 2013.
When was the first modern University of Lisbon founded?
In 1911.
When was the Technical University of Lisbon founded?
In 1930.
What is the oldest root of the university?
A studium generale founded between 1288 and 1290 under King Dinis.
How many students does it have?
47,794 in 2018 and 2019, including 35,063 undergraduates.
How many schools does it have?
Eighteen to nineteen faculties and institutes, depending on how they are counted.
Which school teaches engineering?
The Instituto Superior Técnico.
Which school teaches economics and management?
The Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão.
What does it cost?
Fees for Portuguese students are set by the state, and international students pay different rates. Check the current tariff.
Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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