Everybody knows how stressful university life can be but a lot can change depending on our motivation! On one hand, being an International Relations student at ISCSP, the political studies center of UL, has changed a lot of my beliefs and showed me that my future can be a beautiful canvas of knowledge and opportunities. So, even in hard times when giving up seems like the only choice, I keep believing that my best days are ahead of me not in my present challenges. But on the other hand, the old way of teaching and the evaluation process can be very unfair for an XXI century motivated youth. The way some teachers communicate can be very frustrating and the way of giving grades, where we feel like we are measured by numbers, is most of the time super demotivating. So, in general, I would say that despite all the great points of it, this program is not only a classic one but old in a not so good way.

The program is great, many different kinds of study areas which interconnect perfectly. This programme even touches subjects that many IR programs don’t, which for me was a plus. The teachers are mostly very good and very open to helping their students. One thing I would point out and reinforce is the quality of the facilities which are really good and modern, it is not the most important factor of course, but having good surroundings is always helpful when it comes to learning.

This programme is perfect for you if you are looking for a multicultural and safe city to study in. International Relations provides you with the tools to understand and analyze Global affairs. You will have a variety of subjects such as international political economics, history of international relations and even Law. You can even develop your linguistic skills such as English, Spanish and German. If you are an international student you will expect a friendly, dynamic cosmopolitan campus in Lisbon’s university, and since Lisbon is a small city compared to other European cities, it’s amazing how you can travel from one point to another, with easy transportation, with ocean views. One of the great things that I really like is the fact that you have such independence in your student life. Normally you are the one who chooses your evaluation method or if you want to skip class to be at home studying, you can do that, it’s amazing.