Aveiro University, Higher education in Portugal.

Specifically vocationally orientated degrees such as, nursing, accountancy, health care technician, preschool and primary school teaching, are only offered by the polytechnic institutions.

The oldest university is the University of Coimbra founded in 1290. The largest university, by number of enrolled students, is the University of Porto - with approximately 28,000 students. The Catholic University of Portugal, the oldest non-state-run university (concordatary status), was instituted by decree of the Holy See and has been recognized by the State of Portugal since 1971.

Public or private higher education institutions or courses cannot operate, or are not accredited, if they are not recognized by the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education). The two systems of higher education - university and polytechnic - are linked, and it is possible to transfer from one to the other through extraordinary effort. It is also possible to transfer from a private institution to a public one (or vice-versa) on the same basis.

Many universities are usually organized by faculty (faculdade). Institute (instituto) and school (escola) are also common designations for autonomous units of Portuguese higher learning institutions, and are always used in the polytechnical system, though several universities also use these systems.

Access to public higher education institutions is subject to enrollment restrictions (numerus clausus), and students must compete for admission. Students who hold a diploma of secondary education (12th grade) or the equivalent, who meet all legal requirements, particularly exams in specific subjects in which minimum marks must be obtained, may apply. Any citizen over 23 years old who does not have the secondary education diploma (12th grade) can attempt to gain admission to a limited number of vacant places available, through special examination which includes an interview (Decree law: Decreto-Lei 64/2006, de 21 de Março). For a number of academic fields, undergraduate admission criteria and student evaluation in public university institutions are usually more selective and demanding than in private or polytechnic institutions. Access to private higher education institutions is regulated by each institution.

After 2006, with the approval of new legislation on the frame of the Bologna Process, any polytechnic or university institution of Portugal is able to award a first cycle of study, known as licenciatura (licentiate) plus a second cycle which confers a mestrado (master's degree). Before then, only university institutions awarded master's degrees.
All university institutions award master's degrees after a second cycle of study, and some universities award integrated master's degrees through a longer single cycle of study, with fields such as medicine having an initial 5-year study cycle needed for a master's degree. Several university engineering courses and some natural sciences departments in a number of universities offer an initial 4-year study cycle (licenciatura) plus an optional 1- or 2-year study cycle (mestrado). A number of institutions, both public and private, and either belonging to the university or polytechnic sector, offer a 3-year program as a first study cycle in all or almost all courses. A number of master's degree programmes (2nd study cycle according to the Bologna process) have been implemented in the polytechnic institutions from the academic year 2007/2008 onwards. Doutoramentos (Ph.D. degrees) are only awarded by university institutions.

There are also special higher education institutions linked with the military and the police. These institutions generally have good reputations and are popular among students because their courses are a passport to the military/police career. These state-run institutions are the Air Force Academy, the Military Academy, the Naval School and the Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna.