Iscte is a public higher education institution. Learn more about us here: https://www.iscte-iul.pt/conteudos/iscte/about-us/541/about-iscte

ISCTE-LISBOA

Iscte has a study room that is open 24 hours a day, in Building 1, in the north wing on the first floor.

With 3 spacious floors, the Library is the quietest location for individual study. Groups of students may also request private study rooms.

ISCTE-SINTRA

ISCTE-Sintra has a multipurpose room where students can study peacefully from Monday to Friday, from 7:30am to 11pm, and on Saturday from 7:30am to 6pm.

ISCTE-LISBON

There is a set of concessionaires on campus where students can buy and consume their meals.

There is also a space, near the Students Union office, with a microwave oven where it is possible to heat food brought from home or purchased in the vending machines.

It is possible to eat outside or inside the campus, in the common atriums, and we appeal to everyone's good sense to leave the spaces properly cleaned after use.

Eating in study rooms, classrooms and auditoriums is forbidden.

ISCTE-SINTRA

Students at ISCTE-Sintra have access to school cafeterias, at affordable prices, located about 10 minutes away.

It is also possible to bring food from home and heat it up in the microwave room.

Iscte students have free access to the Internet on the entire campus. A student need only connect their desired device to the Eduroam network and insert their student credentials (i.e. the username and password received upon registration that permit access to Fénix, E-learning and their institutional e-mail).

Iscte's partner in issuing the student card is Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

At the start of the academic year, in the weeks indicated and duly communicated, CGD has a physical representation on the Iscte campus.

Students must choose this period to apply for their card, otherwise they will have to do so at a CGD branch at a later date. In this scenario, the branch they should go to is the Campo Grande location.

Students should always carry their student card with them because they will need it to identify themselves at the services, access the library, enter Iscte at weekends and on public holidays, or attend classes.

The student should contact the branch of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) located in Campo Grande and request a new student card. This card must be activated by the student him or herself on his or her Fénix page. A provisional card is also available through the CGD.

Iscte assigns every student an e-mail account (xxxx@iscte-iul.pt) that must be activated once the student logs onto Fénix for the first time, and consulted regularly as the services of Iscte will send relevant information to this e-mail account.

Iscte email accounts are accessible through Office 365. To access your account, go to http://mail.iscte-iul.pt and input your student credentials (those used to log onto Fénix).

IT

Building 2, 7th floor

Information systems and technology: E-mail (Gmail, 25 GB), E-learning, installation of software licenses, Wi-Fi network, PC registration on the network, VPN access.

Student card: activation of cards at any time during the academic year.

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Spaces and events

Building Sedas Nunes, 1st floor

Reservation of workspace: reserving a space to use a computer in case a student does not have the resources (such as internet or a specific program) available at home .

Promotion of academic events: submission of promotional posters for placement around campus (outdated posters will be taken down).

Students with physical, sensory, or other disabilities with a degree of incapacity duly proven to be equal to or above 60% may benefit from a variety of support services. Please consult our social services to learn more.

Registration and enrollment are not the same thing. Registration makes an applicant into a student of Iscte, but by itself does not give the right to attendance of a course. The student, once registered, has to enroll in order to be able to attend the curricular units of his or her course.

Enrollment must be done in every academic year.

Registration/enrollment of accepted applicants to courses at Iscte can done electronically on the platform FÉNIX+. Some students may need to present in person their documents for validation, within fixed deadlines. Deadlines for enrollment vary, and should be consulted on the academic calendar available on this site.

The administrative management of students’ academic processes is performed by Academic Services (SGE). SGE is divided into different areas, so students should contact the unit which manages their specific course for questions related to their academic path, namely concerning the completion and issue of declarations and proof of enrollment, status requests, requests for accreditation of curricular units completed in other courses, applications to stand-alone curricular units, course changes, transfer and reentry requests, special competitions, changes of attendance schedule, and the issue of certificates, diplomas and course cards.

In-person attendance of SGE is made by appointment only: https://www.iscte-iul.pt/conteudos/academic-information/welcome/1437/attendance-schedule

No, there is no possibility of freezing registration. There is, however, the possibility of withdrawal. Students that wish to stop attending the course in which they are registered/enrolled should submit a formal request of withdrawal via FÉNIX+.

Withdrawal requests are be submitted online, via FÉNIX+. Likewise, as outlined in Iscte’s Tuition Regulation, in the case of cancelling registration/enrollment, the student’s request must be accompanied by the following payments:

• Until the end of the first semester of each academic year, the payment that is due consists of all the tuition payments until the date of request, including that for the month in which the request is made.
• After the end of the first semester, the entire tuition is due along with a withdrawal request.

Re-entry can be requested when a student, after an interruption of studies in a certain course at a certain higher education institution, wishes to register in the same institution and enroll in the same course. Thus, re-entry can only be requested for the course that was interrupted, or that would have continued, as long as the student had not cancelled their registration. Re-entry is not subject to quantitative limitations.

A re-entry request requires the payment of a fee, according to the Fee Table in effect, as well as the observation of the deadlines defined for this possibility.

Students who have interrupted pre-Bologna master's degrees at Iscte and wish to resume their studies must make a new application. In these cases, re-entry does not apply.

Yes.

Tuition costs for undergraduate courses are defined annually, in accordance with the guidelines of the State Budget. The tuition costs of master’s, doctorate, and non-degree courses vary and can be found on the institution website.

The International Student Stature is an exception to these tuition rules. Undergraduate and master’s students under this statute have different tuition fees, which can be found on this site.

Tuition can be paid all at once on the act of registration/enrollment with a 2% reduction in fee, or in 9 payments, and corresponds to the academic year, independent of the cycle or study programme in which the student is enrolled or its duration.

Students with international status are required to pay their tuition fees in one go, although it is possible to pay in installments, provided they apply for Fénix+ (50% on enrollment and the remainder in 3 installments).

Students can and should consult their personal page on FÉNIX+ to verify their tuition status, the payment structure and the bank references to pay tuition.

If so, the student must generate new references.

Tuition installments should be paid in order of due date. It is not possible to transfer payment to a later installment until the previous payments are completely fulfilled.

Failure to pay tuition implies:

• The cancellation of the academic work enacted in the academic year in which the debt occurs.
• The suspension of registration and annual enrollment, with removal of the right to social support in the academic year in which the failure occurs until the debt as well as the respective interest is paid;
• The hindrance of issue of certificates and other documents;
• The loss of a spot, in the case of students who are enrolling for the first time in a master’s, PhD, or post-graduate programme, and do not fulfill the first tuition payment before the stipulated deadline. In these cases, the vacancy is assigned to the following candidate on the waitlist.

No. The value due in respect to tuition fees is not available for reimbursement, nor are the payments made in the application process, except for those made for reasons not attributable to the applicant.

Academic actions and official documents that require the payment of fees are listed in the Iscte Fee Table (Portuguese) currently in effect.

The transition to a part-time study schedule consists of enrollment in a reduced number of curricular units vis-à-vis a student’s course’s study plan. The number of curricular units cannot be above 36 credits.

Any Iscte student can request the alteration of his or her study schedule provided that this option exist in the programme of study in which the student is enrolled. This request can be made annually during the process of online enrollment, or through form submitted to SGE, on which the student should indicate the curricular units in which he or she wishes to participate and be evaluated.

Iscte recently published the Regulation of Students with Special Status, with a view to combining in one document the information on the laws which apply to Iscte students whose profile or situation fit within the provided statutes. Please consult this document to learn about the scope, benefits and procedures associated with each of these statutes.

Students who wish to benefit from a special status should fill out the proper form and submit this to SGE. His or her recognition depends on the submission and verification of the documentation attached to this form.

The special statuses available include:

• Student-worker
• Student in military
• Student leading youth association
• Student athlete at ISCTE-IUL
• Student athlete in high competition
• Pregnant student, student who have recently given birth, breastfeeding student, and student mother or father with children of less than 3 years of age
• Students with special educational needs
• Student of a religious faith in which the day of rest or worship is not Sunday

The final section encompasses students with other special rights resulting from the following situations:

• Death of spouse or parent
• Appearance before police, judicial or military authority
• Temporary incapacity
• Class-representative

The evaluation method of a curricular unit is defined by the coordinator, and should include one or more of the following modalities of evaluation. These options should appear in the Ficha da Unidade Curricular (FUC), and should contain at least the possibility of completing a formal test of individual evaluation:

• Continuous evaluation: evaluation which has a regular character and accompanies the whole process of teaching/learning, i.e. occurring throughout the semester. The student’s participation and attendance can translate into their grade under continuous evaluation if the FUC indicates such.
• Periodic evaluation: evaluation which occurs during the semester, but only on occasions determined by the FUC.
• Final evaluation: evaluation which occurs at the end of the teaching/learning process, i.e. at the end of the lecture period, on the dates given in the academic calendar for evaluations.

Note that projects of individual or group work will only be considered as submitted after confirmation of their reception by the teacher, as stipulated in the FUC. In the case they do not receive this confirmation, students should contact the teacher.

If the FUC includes the modality of final evaluation (by exam), a student that has failed in periodic evaluation becomes immediately eligible for examination during the second period.

The FUC defines the modalities of evaluation available. If it includes only continuous or periodic evaluation, students will have to comply with what was determined by the CU Coordinator. In the case that they fail in one of the evaluation modalities (continuous/periodic) and final evaluation by examination is not provided, the students will have to repeat the CU in its available evaluation style.

The academic calendar outlines 3 periods of evaluation. Every student regularly enrolled in a study programmes is automatically also enrolled in the normal evaluation period or, having not attend that period, in the supplementary period:

• Normal period or first period, which is intended for the completion of attendance for students in continuous or periodic evaluation, or the execution of final exams for those who are not in continuous evaluation.
• Supplemental period or second period, intended for the execution of final exams for students that could not attend the normal period due to the terms specified in the respective FUC, those did not attend the test in the normal period, those who, having attended, withdrew from the exam, and those who failed in the normal period. Students who, having passed in the normal period, wish to increase their grade can also attend this period.
• Special period, student-athlete finalists can attend this period, as well as those whose situations grant them an exception, as outlined in the Regulation of Students with Special Status at Iscte. The ECTS corresponding to the curricular unit of the dissertation/project are not included by these policies.

To be admitted into a final exam in a curricular unit, a student must be regularly enrolled and meet the attendance conditions articulated in the general rules of knowledge and skill evaluation. All students in this situation are automatically registered in first and second exam periods. Therefore, if a student fails a curricular unit in the 1st period, they are already enrolled in the second period.

The exam periods are announced every year in the academic calendar. For this reason, there are specific deadlines for enrollment in exams to improve one’s grades or in special periods - in these cases, the student should speak with SGE.

The modalities of evaluations, the periods outlined for evaluation, the publication of results, and the inquiry and revision of tests, among other things, are defined in Regulation n.º 437/2014 (in general for Iscte), and in the specific regulations of the schools.

In accordance with article 6 of the General Regulation of Knowledge and Skill Evaluation at Iscte (Despacho nº 21434/2009), when a student disagrees with the grade obtained in the final evaluation of a CU, they may appeal the grade.

The incorporation of successfully completed CUs is called accreditation. Accreditation consists of the possibility of an institution recognizing previously completed education and professional experience through the attribution of credits.

By recognizing previously acquired skills and completed education, accreditation allows the student to progress in or conclude their academic course more quickly, in proportion to the recognition given. Accreditation decisions are the responsibility of the academic commission of the school which hosts the courses in which the student is enrolled, and depends on this body’s acknowledgement of the relevance of the academic material to the course in question.

Yes and no. The student whose request is deferred always becomes exempt from attending the relevant curricular unit, but the diploma given at the end of their studies will be different as per the type of accreditation (substitution, equivalence or exemption) that was granted to them.

• Substitution: the curricular units of the original study plan substitute for the current curricular units. The curricular units of the original study plan are certified and the respective grade is counted towards the final average;
• Equivalence: between the curricular units of the original study plan and current study plan. The curricular units of the original study plan are certified and the respective grade is counted towards the final average;
• Exemption: being exempt from completing curricular units on account of skills previously acquired by completing curricular units in other courses or recognition of professional experience. These situations are not counted towards the final average.

This should be submitted via FÉNIX+.

For completing the curricular component of a master’s, the student is attributed a diploma of postgraduate study, which does not confer a degree. In the case of doctorate, a diploma of advanced study in the 3rd cycle is granted in their branch of knowledge or the speciality of their study programme, which also does not confer a degree. In the case of the bachelor’s, finishing the first and second years successfully grants the student a diploma of 1st cycle higher study.

The degree of bachelor’s, master’s or doctor is only granted to those who have obtained the predetermined number of credits for their course by passing all the curricular units in their course’s study plan, as well as by completing the public defense of their dissertation/project or thesis, in the case of master’s and doctorates respectively.

Students that finish their bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate, i.e. obtain a passing grade in the curricular units which make up their study plan, as well as in the public defense of their dissertation/project or thesis (for master’s and doctorates respectively), can request the issue of both a diploma of study conclusion and a course card.

• Diploma: document certifying a degree or completion of course, in Portuguese, a paper stamped with the insignia of Iscte and the present designation, in size A4, and with a white seal affixed. The diploma describes the curricular units completed and the student’s respective grades in them, and is accompanied by the issue of a diploma supplement.
• Course card (bachelor’s and master’s) and doctoral card (doctorate): document certifying a degree, issued in Portuguese, a specific paper with the insignia of Iscte, stamped by the Rector and signed by the Director of Academic Services, in size A3, with a seal affixed on a special envelope.

Any one of these documents can be obtained from SGE by paying the respective fee.

In Portugal, the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions is regulated by Decree-Law No. 66/2018. This Decree-Law came into force in January 2019 and revokes the previous legislation, as well as its nomenclatures (equivalence, recognition and registration).

There are three types of recognition in Portugal.

• Automatic recognition - This is the act that allows the recognition of a foreign higher education degree or diploma identical to a Portuguese academic degree or diploma, through a case-by-case analysis of the level, duration and programmatic content, in a given training area, branch of knowledge or specialty. It only applies to the degrees listed in this table.
• Recognition of level - It is the act that allows the recognition, by comparability, in an individualized way, of a foreign higher education degree or diploma as having a level corresponding to a Portuguese academic degree or higher education diploma. It applies to degrees that do not appear in the table referred to for automatic recognition.
• Specific recognition - This is the act that allows the recognition of a foreign higher education degree or diploma identical to a Portuguese academic degree or higher education diploma, through a case-by-case analysis of the level, duration and programmatic content, in a given training area, branch of knowledge or specialty.

There are three types of recognition in Portugal.

Automatic recognition is the fastest of all (30 days after complete instruction of the process), but applies only to the degrees listed in this table. It can be submitted to any public higher education institution, regardless of its scientific areas. The certificate produced recognises the degree obtained by the applicant, but not the area of the degree.

The recognition of level applies to degrees that do not appear in this table. It can only be submitted to a public higher education institution that provides the same or a related course. As with automatic recognition, the certificate produced recognises the degree obtained by the applicant, but not the specific area. This type of recognition may take up to 90 days after full instruction of the process, or 30 days in cases of recognition of level with precedence.

Specific recognition may only be submitted to a public higher education institution that provides the same or a related course. The specific recognition recognizes a foreign degree identical to a Portuguese degree, through the analysis of the learning objectives, curricular units taken and their respective programmatic contents, workload, etc. The certificate produced recognizes not only the degree obtained by the applicant, but also the specific area. This type of recognition may take up to 90 days after full instruction of the process.

Generally, applicants can submit their requests to any institution of higher education of their choice. However, they should pay attention to the following aspects in their choice of institution when submitting a request for recognition of level or specific recognition:

• Scientific area of course is available at the institution in which they intend to submit their request.
• Course designations and program content.
• Similarity of study plan.
• Duration of study plan.

Requests for recognition, regardless of type, are formalized via the online form, and applications that do not proceed in this way will not be accepted.

When filling in the form, the applicant indicates the institution to which he would like to submit his request.

As a public higher education institution, Iscte receives and examines applications for recognition, as long as it is in the related area or area of the courses taught by the institution*.

*In the case of automatic recognition, this criterion is obviated.