Portugal places 52,000 students in higher education

Approximately 52,008 students have been placed in higher education institutions through Portugal's national access contest. This represents a 14.8% increase compared to the previous year, which saw exceptionally low placement numbers.

Out of 56,228 available spots in universities and polytechnics, 92.5% were filled. Universities saw a higher occupancy rate of 97.2%, accounting for 60% of all placed students. Seventeen of the 30 higher education institutions reported occupancy rates exceeding 90%.

The Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril led the list with a 102.1% occupancy rate, followed by ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (99.8%), the University of Porto (99.4%), the University of Lisbon (99.3%), the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (99.3%), and Universidade Nova de Lisboa (99.1%).

In terms of academic fields, Humanities and Transport Services courses were fully occupied. Highly competitive areas included Social and Behavioral Sciences (98.9%), Law (98.6%), and Information and Journalism (90.4%). Conversely, the areas with the most vacancies were Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (48.8%), Security Services (54.3%), and Manufacturing Industries (60.2%).