ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) is a public university established in 1972. Pursuing teaching, research and community service activities, it plays a major role in educating qualified specialists and personnel, whose cultural, scientific and technical skills enable them to contribute to sustainable development both at the national and the global level.
ISCTE-IUL is one of the most prestigious Portuguese universities offering an exceptional variety of programmes, covering a wide range of study areas in all cycles of higher education. Some of these study cycles are taught in English and others created in association with foreign partner universities, conferring a joint degree.
ISCTE-IUL students have the possibility of completing part of their studies in one of the 450 foreign universities with which ISCTE-IUL has partnership agreements, while still benefiting from the competitive level of tuition fees in Portugal.
The diploma awarded by ISCTE-IUL is accepted and recognized automatically by all European Union countries.
ISCTE-IUL has a broad network of patnerships with leading universities and research centres, national and internationally, as well as public, private and third sector organizations.
ISCTE-IUL has eight research units that develop high quality research. These research units are regularly submitted to international external evaluation conducted by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and most receive top ratings. The work of excellence performed by the research units of ISCTE-IUL is recognized by the Rectory, each year, through Scientific Awards that distinguish professors and researchers with scientific publications in the most highly reputed international journals.
ISCTE - IUL demonstrates a high rate of graduates employability and achieves the 100% rate in most of the courses. Its former students currently occupy positions of high responsibility in private companies, public institutions and governmental entities, which confirms not only the prestige of our institution, but also its teaching quality.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By TopUniversities
Dropped 140 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 661 | 711 | 851 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 92 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 1181 | 1267 | 1359 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 601 | 601 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
The GAES of ISCTE-IUL is available throughout the year to receive candidates and future candidates for Higher Education and to clarify doubts about courses and access.
The Office of Support to University Organisms is part of the Secretariat and the Archives and Archives, and its main objectives are to provide secretarial support to the Rectory and other Governing and Advisory bodies of ISCTE-IUL, as well as to the Administrator and Coordinating Director, to ensure the inherent tasks to the reception, dispatch and distribution of the entire file by the different ISCTE-IUL services, to define the archivist policy and to guide researches and ensure the operation of requisitions and queries to the Central Archive.
With the University Residence Professor José Pinto Peixoto, ISCTE-IUL meets some of the accommodation needs of its visiting students and teachers which, so far have only been served through the room and private house market across Lisbon.
Located in the Monastery of Santos-o-Novo – which is classified as National Monument – on a small hill by the river Tagus, in Lisbon’s east end, the residence benefits from a privileged view and is a short distance from the central railway station of Santa Apolónia, the typical neighbourhood of Alfama, downtown Lisbon, Terreiro do Paço, and also close to the new residential, commercial and service area of the Parque das Nações.
The Library of ISCTE-IUL, specialized in the area of social and human sciences, business and technology, aims to support all sectors of activity of the Institute, providing, under the best conditions of use, bibliographic resources necessary for the performance of teaching, research, continuing education and cultural extension.
Services:
Wired network service in offices, rooms and public spaces (auditoriums, laboratories, classrooms and study rooms).
It is possible to access ISCTE-IUL resources from the home via VPN, establishing a secure tunnel connection between the personal computer and the ISCTE-IUL network.
These services include access to the content of many scientific publications.
Students can benefit from the agreement establish with the Social Services (SAS) at the Technical University of Lisbon (UTL) to use the Medical Center for general medical consultation, family planning, maternal health and ophthalmology. Also for nursing services and vaccinations.At the ISCTE-IUL Residence Dr. Fernando Ramires provides medical care, under appointment.
The Students' Union of ISCTE-IUL has sport activities for exchange students and you may take part in University sports competitions together with home students. The also offer at the Energy Box: krav maga, dance, pilates, salsa and kizomba, yoga, etc. Apart from the above options the students have the possibility to book the multipurpose campus situated next to INDEG-IUL building.
The ISCTE-IUL Students Union (AEISCTE) is an autonomous organization held by the students of ISCTE-IUL. Its mission is to socially and culturally complement the students academic life while they are with the ISCTE-IUL.You will be able to find information about events held not only in Lisbon, but also in other cities of Portugal. There, you can also find leaflets about concerts, performing arts and movie festivals that take place in Lisbon, and much more.
Accredited by A3ES, AACSB, AMBA, European University Association, EUR-ACE®.
Based on 46 reviews
i would strongly recommend the master's degree in HR because it's given me a deep knowledge about the whole hr field and I've had the opportunity to practice a lot with the group assignment. Moreover, the campus life is very stimulating.
I would summarize my overall "study experience" as an ever-expanding, collaborative synthesis of global information. It's an ongoing process of refining how I process, organize, and present knowledge so that I can be the most effective and helpful tool possible for you. Every question you ask and every interaction I have helps to contribute to my iterative improvement.
Great environment on campus, most teachers very available to help with any matter and made sure you got everything you needed. Facilities are excellent, with even more new buildings being added to the campus.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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