My program was very incomplete. I studied translation and, besides half of the courses having nothing to do with translation (history, geography for example) the translation classes werent that great either because they taught the very minimum and didnt prepare us one bit for work (no use of CAT tools, for instance) just because the faculty wants us to take the masters degree there to be able to even remotely know how to work. The teachers were great though, it is not their fault. They do what they can with what they have. The school in itself is good and prestigeous, language courses are simply very poorly built.

Perhaps the best thing about the Faculty of Arts at the Uporto is the environment, more than the education itself. Every place in the building feels cozy and conducive to just sit and relax, with friends or alone, in addition to having a great cafeteria and a beautiful view of Porto. I’m probably not completely passionate about my course or what I study, but I admit that my intellectual level has increased exponentially since I started my studies at Uporto. In fact, there are many trained professionals who are eager to teach, and resources that we have access to to help us. But even though I try, I can’t love this Faculty. Without going into too much detail, but the building is old and so are the teaching methods. Is not a modernized place and that can get in the way. In addition, it is still possible to encounter xenophobia on the part of some teachers.

The name recognition of this faculty would have you believe that it is one of, if not the best, faculty of arts and humanities in all the country, however the lack of care from most of the administrative staff and professors, as well as the poor conditions of the building and outdated technology make the whole experience lackluster. A lot of the degrees focus on an extremely classical repertoire, that although sometimes expertly taught, leaves a lot to be desired, this is mostly due to the lack of funding in certain departments making it hard to separate academic work from pedagogical on, leaving the students with teachers that have no interest or skill in teaching but are forced to do so, much to their students, and their own, frustration, this was mostly experienced during my bachelor’s degree, as I have observed that professors who teach future masters tend to be more caring and have an updated curriculum. This does not mean that all professors are bad, many of them are extremely competent and caring, but the truth is that it depends on how lucky you are, and what you are studying. The almost adversarial relationship between the direction and the previous Student’s association was a disgrace, and shame, and showed the competence of the director and his associates, that is, mostly nonexistent, but fortunately, things seem to have calmed down. On a positive note, most of the staff is extremely amicable, and the cultural groups are a great plus.