Organization

The education ministry controls higher education in Portugal; there are other entities and ministries that are linked with education, such as the Education Innovation Institute and the National Education Council.
Higher education is divided into two categories:
- University and/or polytechnic education
Public, private or cooperative education

Portugal has 15 public and 5 private universities, 5 public university-schools and 3 private.
There are some programs related to other ministries, such as health science programs that are related to the health ministry and military and police programs that are related to the defense ministry.
Each university is organized into faculties, institutes, schools and departments. The polytechnic schools prepare students with vocational training, either general or specialized.
After the basic cycle, students follow a cycle in which they receive a general and/or technical education, after which they take the national test for university access. Alternatively, students can take courses in professional schools, leading to entrance into the polytechnic schools and then straight to the labor market.
For entrance into either a university or a polytechnic school, a secondary studies diploma is mandatory. Each university has absolute autonomy, so they can select their own staff. The polytechnic schools have administrative autonomy.
The education ministry is in charge of coordinating the different aspects of public, private, university and polytechnic education.
Social Action Services are given to students according to their financial situation.

Academic calendar
2 semesters: mid-October to December
January to mid-May