Incoming students (study at the University of Coimbra)

Erasmus+ and other Exchange Programmes

Studies and Placements/ Traineeships

Please read carefully the application guide and check the list of ISCED codes (subject areas). Before starting your online application, please check our tutorial.

Please note: if your University is not in the list of agreements available, contact us at: dri.intstudy@uc.pt

Nominations

Nominations are accepted between 1 January and 30 June. Institutions in EWP may nominate through EWP.

Application deadlines for all students:

• Application deadline for one academic year or first semester: 1 March to 15 July.

• Application deadline for the second semester: 1 September to 15 December.

FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

Studying at the University of Coimbra as a "Free Mover"

International students from non-partner or from partner Universities, who have already used their opportunity of exchange, have the opportunity to study for one or two semesters at the University of Coimbra as Free Mover students.

Free Mover may choose course units of the different study programmes offered by the Faculties, but mainly from the Faculty where they will be enrolled. Please note that the study plan must also be approved by the area Coordinator.

Free Mover have access to all facilities and services of the University of Coimbra, as other enrolled exchange students.

Application

A Free Mover must have finished at least three study terms at their home university and have sufficient Portuguese (B1 level) and/ or English language (B2 level) proficiency. Also, it is required a proof that the home university agrees with this type of mobility.

The application procedures to the University of Coimbra are done online at inforestudante.uc.pt. It is compulsory to follow the process in our web site. Please read carefully the application guide before starting the application.

Contact persons

For questions concerning the program, please consult the International Relations Unit via dri.intstudy@uc.pt.

Fees

Free Mover are required to pay fees to the University of Coimbra, which can vary depending on the Faculty and the number of chosen ECTS credits. You will also have to pay for school insurance and tax registration (amount approved yearly and published in Official Journal).

Free Mover are required to pay fees to the University of Coimbra, which can vary depending on the Faculty and the number of chosen ECTS credits. You will also have to pay for school insurance and tax registration (amount approved yearly and published in Official Journal).

To receive information on the prices please contact: dri.intstudy@uc.pt

Organization: dates, choice of courses

In Winter semester lectures start usually in the beginning of September. The Summer semester lectures start approximately in the second week of February. Please find the exact dates in the academic calendar of the University of Coimbra at www.uc.pt/international-applicants/estudar-viver-coimbra/mais-info/calendario

Course descriptions

Information on course curricula is indicated on the application guide and updated at:

• Undergraduate courses
• Master courses
• PhD courses

If you need further assistance with the study plan you may contact the area coordinator and/or the International Relations Office of the faculty for help; the contacts may be found here.

Registration, practical info and academic supervision

After your arrival you should come to the Student Hub to register and receive all practical information.

Afterwards you will be able to consult your academic coordinator from your Faculty about course offerings, class schedules and all other questions related to the topic. Please note that the International Relations Unit cannot provide information about academic issues such as course contents, class schedules, etc. After completing the semester we will send you a Transcript of Records with ECTS credits.

For further questions, please contact the International Relations Unit: dri.intstudy@uc.pt

The University of Coimbra has an ECTS Mobility Coordinator per Faculty, and each Faculty nominates an ECTS Departmental Coordinator by subject area/department. They work in close connection with the International Relations Unit and deal with learning/ training agreements and the academic recognition of student mobility.

See their names and contacts in this page.

As the majority of course units are conducted in Portuguese, Erasmus students are strongly advised to take the OLS preparation course available online (access is provided by the home institution). Non-Portuguese speakers can also take the “Portuguese Language Erasmus” semester course, as long as they include it in their Learning Agreement when applying for mobility. They can also attend the Intensive Language Preparation Course at the beginning of each semester, in September and February (enrolment subject to fees).

A number of course units is also offered in English and, in most cases, exchange students can make arrangements with lecturers in order to be allowed to do examinations or submit assignments in English (or other language, if both parts know it).

If you need further assistance with the study plan you may contact the area coordinator and/or the International Relations Office of the faculty for help; the contacts may be found here.

Modern Language studies are usually half taught in Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian.

Language and culture courses
The Language Centre of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of UC offers a wide variety of opportunities to improve students’ language proficiency in Portuguese and other languages, from European to Asian languages. These courses are lectured by native speakers.

Information sheet for partner universities and exchange students

Erasmus+ and Other Mobility Programme Students

Have you sucessfully completed your application?

Then, you just need to bring with you:

• ID card/ Passport (if you are not an EU citizen)
• European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a private medical insurance (if you are not an EU citizen) or CDAM (ex-PB4) for Brazilian citizens
• Vaccination Book (with the tetanus vaccine up to date)
• Visa (compulsory for non-EU citizens, even for three months of studies)

Arrival confirmation and appointment booking

Very important: as soon as you fix your arrival date in Coimbra please book your arrival session in inforestudante.uc.pt. In your application space, pick one of the arrival confirmation periods available and register. Your presence in the session is mandatory so that we can confirm your official enrolment in the University of Coimbra!

How to get a Visa

Non-EU citizens wishing to perform an exchange period of studies or training in Portugal need to request a visa to the nearest Portuguese Consulate/ Embassy of their city of residence.

After the acceptance of the learning/ training agreement, students can download the Acceptance Letter from inforestudante.uc.pt for free following these steps:

This letter must be annexed to the remaining documents required by the Portuguese consular services, upon visa request. The visa request should be done by the visa applicants in as short a time as possible before the start date of their stay in Portugal.

Inform yourself about the types of visa that apply to your case, required documents, and procedures at the nearest Portuguese Consulate/ Embassy of your city of residence (search for location and contacts in the interactive map of the Portuguese Communities’ Office).

The visa request, the associated costs, and the collection of documents required by the consular services are the sole responsibility of the visa applicants.

The evaluation and validation of the requests and visa issuing are the sole responsibility of the consular services.

Accommodation

Mobility students may book their own accommodation at the students' residences of the UC included in the online accommodation platform of the University of Coimbra available at www.uc.pt/go/accommodation

Outside the UC residences, there are several accommodations offers for students, for instance the possibility of renting apartments with or without furniture and equipped kitchen, bedrooms in family houses or private residences. If you choose one of these options but feel unsure about the offered conditions, you may consider booking a hostel or hotel for a couple of days and make your rent contract only after checking the facilities and conditions for yourself in loco.

Please note that you're responsible for booking your own accommodation in either case.

“MOBILITY BUDDY"

Whenever possible every incoming student at the University of Coimbra will be assigned a Mobility Buddy! One student from the UC will simply contact you by e-mail before your study period at the University of Coimbra, offering support and assistance if needed, for ex. help arranging accommodation, finding your way around campus, etc. Mobility Buddies also show exchange students the city, student’s night life and may help in problematic issues like opening a bank account.

This program is managed by the International Relations Offices of the UC Faculties and the Erasmus Student Network of Coimbra.

Administrative Procedures at the International Office

Information Sheet

Erasmus+ and Other Mobility Programme Students

What to do after arrival?

1. Attend your Welcome Session in the indicated venue:

• Pay full attention to the information and documents given to you;
• Receive the arrival and departure certificate/ ask for signature in your home university certificate;
• Receive your student card. If the card is not yet available, go to inforestudante.uc.pt, left-hand menu Academic Service > Certificates > Generate new certificate and select the option Multipurpose Certificate. This certificate can be used to identify you as a UC student, while you wait for your student card;
• Receive a declaration to register in the Foreign Office (SEF) or at the City Hall (CMC);
• Receive a form to make changes to the Learning Agreement.

2. Activate student email and pay the registration/school insurance

• After your Welcome Session, go to inforestudante.uc.pt and activate your student account - read carefully the message in the system. The new login issued by the system should be used to access the UC Eduroam wireless network, which you can check how to configure at www.uc.pt/wifi
• In order to attend UC, students have to pay the registration and school insurance fee in the amount of 20 EUR. The school insurance is valid in the University Campuses during academic activities.
• The payment details are available at inforestudante.uc.pt, left hand menu Academic Service> Tuition fees> Itens a Pagamento.

3. Meet with the UC Mobility Coordinator(s) to:

• Present yourself and get to know him/her;
• Check the enrolment and registration in the menu Curricular Data and your class timetable in the menu Schedules at inforestudante.uc.pt;
• Verify if you need to make changes to the Learning Agreement. If yes, those changes have to be justified and authorized by the UC Mobility Coordinator, by filling in the form to make changes to the Learning Agreement (Erasmus form ; Other Mobilities Form). Within the maximum time limit of 1 month, this form has to be signed by you and the home and host Mobility Coordinators and handed in at Student Hub or in the International Office of your Faculty (FCDEF; FDUC; FEUC; FMUC; FPCE).

Before you return home be sure to:

- Certify that your courses are correct in inforestudante.uc.pt;

- If you have made changes in your Learning Agreement, certify that your home University has signed the document and that you have returned it to our services. Your Transcript of Records will depend on that.

- Talk to your local coordinator;

- Fill in the satisfaction evaluation survey as requested by the services;

- Find out if your home University requires any departure document and come to the international relations desk at Student Hub one day before you leave.

You can always find our contacts in our website.

The Incoming Mobility team wishes you good luck!

About the ECTS System

The European Credit Transfer System was initially set up in 1989 as a pilot scheme within the framework of the Erasmus programme. Its aim at that time was to facilitate the recognition of study periods undertaken abroad by mobile students through the transfer of credits. As a transfer system ECTS has expanded to over 30 countries and has been introduced in more than one thousand higher education institutions.

The 40 Signatory States in the Bologna Process have identified ECTS as one of the cornerstones of the European Higher Education Area. A large number of countries have adopted ECTS by law as an accumulation system for their own higher education systems and others are in the process of doing so.

The University of Coimbra officially applied the ECTS to all its courses in December 2005 with the publication of the Regulation on the application of the course credit system (ECTS – European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) to the courses of the University of Coimbra, in compliance with the Decree-law 42/2005, of February 22.

ECTS makes study programmes easy to read and compare. It can be used for all types of programmes, whatever their mode of delivery, and for lifelong learning purposes. It serves both mobile and non-mobile students: it can be used for accumulation within an institution and for transfer between institutions. For these reasons the well-known acronym “ECTS” now stands for “European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System”.

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a programme of study. These objectives should preferably be specified in terms of learning outcomes and competences to be acquired.

ECTS is based on the principle that 60 credits measure the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. The student workload of a full-time study programme in Europe amounts in most cases to around 1500-1800 hours per year and in those cases one credit stands for around 25 to 30 working hours. Sensibly, 30 credits correspond to a study semester and 20 credits to a study trimester.

Credits in ECTS can only be obtained after successful completion of the work required and appropriate assessment of the learning outcomes achieved. Learning outcomes are sets of competences, expressing what the student will know, understand or be able to do after completion of a process of learning, long or short.

Student workload in ECTS consists of the time required to complete all planned learning activities such as attending lectures, seminars, independent and private study, preparation of projects, examinations, and so forth. Credits are allocated to all educational components of a study programme (such as modules, courses, placements, dissertation work, etc.) and reflect the quantity of work each component requires to achieve its specific objectives or learning outcomes in relation to the total quantity of work necessary to complete a full year of study successfully.

The ECTS is based on three core elements: information (about study programmes and students’ academic records), mutual agreement (between the partner institutions and the students) and the use of ECTS credits (quantified students’ workload). This three core elements are translated into three key documents, namely: the ECTS information package, the learning agreement and the academic transcript of records.

For more information on the ECTS see the European Commission website or read the ECTS User's Guide.

Application of the ECTS system and academic recognition at UC

› Application of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System)

The University of Coimbra officially applied the ECTS to all its courses in December 2005 with the publication of the Regulation on the application of the course credit system to the courses of the University of Coimbra, in compliance with the Decree-law 42/2005, of February 22.

For further information about the application of the ECTS grading scale, visit this page.

› Academic Recognition Procedures of Periods of Study Abroad

The academic recognition of periods of study abroad of the students of the University of Coimbra is based on the use of the Learning Agreement agreed and signed by all parties (student, home university and host university) and the Transcript of Records (ToR) issued by the host university, at the end of the mobility period. The credits and grades obtained abroad as specified in the ToR are then transferred to the students’ curriculum at home by means of credit assignment. The studies carried out by students during the mobility period are also clearly mentioned in the Diploma Supplement issued by UC.

Degree System

In this page, you will find the description of the degree system in force at the University of Coimbra structured in accordance with the Bologna Process principles, already authorised by the decree-law 74/2006 of March 24.

1st Cycle Studies
First Cycle Studies have six/eight semesters’ duration and confer 180-240 ECTS credits. This study level provides students with basic knowledge in the subject areas of the course and with instrumental and systemic competences focused on students’ employability and preparation for further studies, namely at second cycle level.

2nd Cycle Studies
Second Cycle Studies have three/four semesters’ duration and confer 90-120 ECTS credits. In this study level, besides the attendance of course units, students have also to write and defend publicly an original thesis. In the case of professionally-oriented programmes, instead of the thesis, students can participate in an internship or project and write and defend the concerned reports. In both cases, students are always supervised by a professor.

Mestrado Integrado (Integrated Study Cycle – 1st and 2nd Cycles)
The Mestrado Integrado is an integrated study cycle which combines the 1st cycle and the 2nd cycle levels. It applies to courses which prepare students to practice specific professions such as engineers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and psychologists. The integrated study cycle encompasses a set of course units, the writing and public defence of an original thesis or of a project or internship report, at the end of the programme. The programme’s duration is ten/twelve semesters and confers 300-360 ECTS credits. Upon successful completion of the entire study cycle students are awarded the master’s degree and are professionally qualified.

Doctorate, 3rd Cycle Studies
There are two types of doctorates: one without study programme and one with study programme.

The doctorate without study programme lasts normally ten semesters. Students carry out research under the supervision of a professor, write and defend publicly an original thesis.

The doctorate with study programme has six/eight semesters’ duration and confers 180-240 ECTS credits. Besides carrying out research, writing and defending publicly an original thesis, students have also to attend a set of advanced course units.

(*) This limit does not apply to the cases in which the access to the practice of a certain professional activity requires an academic cycle of studies with 210 or 240 ECTS credits. (**) The Mestrado Integrado is an integrated study cycle which combines the 1st cycle and the 2nd cycle levels. It applies to courses which prepare students to practice specific professions such as engineers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and psychologists. The programme’s duration is ten/twelve semesters and confers 300-360 ECTS credits. The duration and the number of credits of the programme are set according to: a) legal standards and b) stable and consolidated practice within the European Union. Upon successful completion of the integrated study cycle, students are awarded a 2nd cycle degree. Degree System and Assessment Methods Degree System Assessment Methods