The Lisbon Region has a highly qualified and diversified network of higher education universities and polytechnic institutions and numerous research centres that are funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. There are also three Science and Technology Parks, which makes this region the largest university and research hub in Portugal.
Higher education institutions in Lisbon are among the best and most prestigious and have been recognised annually in multiple international rankings (Financial Times, CWUR – Centre for World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities of Shanghai, THE – Times Higher Education, and QS Ranking – World University Rankings).
There are numerous options for bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or PhDs, which include areas of knowledge so different, such as exact sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and technologies, social sciences, arts and human sciences.
Portuguese is the sixth most widely spoken language worldwide. There are Portuguese lessons for foreign students, as well as English lessons in multiple higher education institutions. Economic and Business Sciences are the areas where there are more courses are taught in English.
Lisbon is still a city in the EU with an affordable cost of living. It is the economic centre of a large region and has qualified human resources, a cosmopolitan atmosphere and a top quality of life. The cost of basic goods, such as food, transportation or health, or access to culture, such as cinema, theatre and concerts, is quite reasonable, which makes the stay in this city very appealing.
The cost of tuition for foreign students depends on their status, and if their presence is the result of a bilateral agreement, they may even be exempt from paying tuition. . For more details about tuition costs, please contact the host institution.
The city has a space dedicated to providing advice and guidance to international students and researchers, the Study in Lisbon Lounge. Here, students receive support in a number of areas, such as finding accommodation, obtaining visas and residence permits, opening bank accounts, and purchasing transport tickets.
Information about the national health service and Lisbon’s cultural, leisure and sports agenda is provided when requested by the students, as well as clarifications about their academic career.
Although Lisbon is one of the cities in the European Union that offers the best quality of life for students, and is considered one of the safest cities in Europe, accommodation is still the biggest challenge to students’ settlement, as in some areas of the city, renting a room or a house can be expensive.
As in other cities, the supply of commercially priced accommodation coexists with the supply of socially priced accommodation, with several residences for students and researchers located mainly in the city centre and with easy access to the different university campuses. The university residences are not sufficient to meet the growing demand for accommodation. To address this issue, the Municipality is actively promoting policies to support student rentals, which include, among other things, the conversion of properties into academic residences.
Over the course of history, Lisbon’s citizens have gained a remarkable experience in being in contact with different communities. Warm, spontaneous and sociable, they communicate with foreigners easily not only in English, but also in Spanish or French.
There are numerous communities in Lisbon that came from Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Venezuela, among others. These communities preserve their culture especially through the promotion of their gastronomy, which is deeply rooted in Lisbon, and by participating in festivals and other events supported by the municipality, such as the Hindu Ratha Yatra Festival, the Buddha’s Birthday-Vesak, or the Diversity Festival, sharing their roots with the people of Lisbon.
Lisbon is admittedly a multicultural city that welcomes everybody who wants to live, work, study or just visit the city. With a population a little over two million inhabitants, Lisbon is a large population agglomeration without any of the confusing and hostile features of a big city.
There are countless, diversified events happening in Lisbon throughout the year, many of them internationally renowned. The city has a wide network of museums, art galleries, libraries, theatres and cinemas, which gives rise to a premium, widely diversified cultural offer.
The cultural equipment, traditional shops, bohemian and leisure places strongly connected to traditional neighbourhoods are a distinctive future of the city.
In the unique neighbourhoods of Baixa, Alfama, Castelo and Mouraria, you can hear Fado, a Portuguese nostalgic type of song, in many traditional places. There is a great variety of cinema festivals in Lisbon over the year (IndieLisboa, Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival, Motelx, DocLisboa, Queer Lisboa, Monstra). According to music genres, concerts take place in churches, large venues, bars, and, whenever the weather allows, in gardens, viewpoints and parks.
Lisbon is more and more receptive to social and technological innovations. It is a privileged place not only to study, but also to research, experiment, share and disseminate new ideas and new products. The city focuses on entrepreneurship by providing numerous co-working spaces and by supporting the network of start-ups and incubators that can be found across the city. Since 2016, it has hosted WEB SUMMIT, one of the largest and most important conferences on entrepreneurship, innovation and technology worldwide, attracting some of the top executives from the largest and most innovative global companies to Lisbon.
