Catholic University of Portugal - UCP (reviews)

UCP was founded in 1967 and is the first Portuguese university of modern times not to be established by the state – instead it was set up through an agreement between the Vatican (the head of the Catholic Church) and the Portuguese State. The university achieved official recognition in 1971 and so gained the power to award degrees that have the same status as those awarded by other universities in Portugal. This has allowed UCP to contribute significantly to higher education in Portugal since its founding in 1967.

Studying at the Catholic University of Portugal

The institution is an autonomous public body and is divided into four regional centres, namely Lisboa (Lisbon – the university’s headquarters), Braga, Porto, and Viseu. Departments at the Lisbon campus include: the Faculty of Human Sciences, Faculty of Theology, the Higher Institute for Canon Law, Institute for Health Sciences, Institute for Political Studies, the Lisbon School of the Faculty of Law, and the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics.

Other Regional Centres

At Braga, there is: the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Theology.

Porto: Católica Porto Business School, the Faculty of Biotechnology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Faculty of Theology, the Institute of Bioethics, Institute of Health Sciences, the Opporto School of the Faculty of Law, and the School of Arts.

And finally at the Viseu Regional Centre: the Department of Architecture, Sciences and Technology, Department of Economics, Management and Social Sciences, and the Institute of Health Sciences.

Apart from its taught programmes UCP also carries out research at its various centres for example the Centre of Studies of the Portuguese Thought, Cardinal Höeffner Centre for the Study of Religions and Cultures, and the Católica Lisbon Research unit in Business and Economics.

Approximately 6,600 students attend UCP at under- and postgraduate levels, with around 1,000 lecturers teaching at the institution.

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