Universidade Politécnica de Santarém

About Universidade Politécnica de Santarém

The university’s present identity combines a recent name change with a substantially longer institutional history. It was created on 26 December 1979 as Instituto Politécnico de Santarém and became Universidade Politécnica de Santarém on 1 August 2026. The change did not establish a separate campus or replace the institution’s academic operation; current admissions, housing, and student-service pages continue the same institutional structure under the new name. UPSantarém is a public higher-education institution organized into five schools. The School of Agriculture, School of Education, School of Management and Technology, and School of Health operate in Santarém. The School of Sport is located in Rio Maior. This gives the university a strongly applied and professionally oriented portfolio, but students should investigate the particular school rather than treating the university as a single compact campus. The institution’s history also explains the breadth of its current organization. Agriculture and education were part of the original institution; management was added during the 1980s, sport in the 1990s, and the nursing school was integrated in 2001 before becoming the School of Health. Prospective students can therefore choose among distinct academic environments and facilities. The official welcome guide identifies central administration and social-action services at the Andaluz campus in Santarém, alongside education and management and technology, with separate Santarém campuses for agriculture and health.

Applicants to a bachelor’s degree must use the route appropriate to their status. For candidates covered by Portugal’s general system, admission to public higher education is conducted through the national competition organized by the Directorate-General for Higher Education. Applicants ordinarily need a secondary-school qualification or legal equivalent, the national examinations required for the chosen institution-course combination, any applicable prerequisites, and the annual minimum classifications. Course vacancies and detailed requirements are published for each cycle; applicants should consult the 2026/2027 course entry rather than infer requirements from another program. Some health and related courses have additional prerequisites. The university’s 2026/2027 admissions information identifies interpersonal-communication prerequisites for Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Veterinary Nursing and a functional and physical aptitude prerequisite for specified sport degrees. These are course-specific and must be documented at enrollment where required. International applicants not eligible for the domestic route use the university’s special international-student competition. For 2026 entry, applicants with Portuguese secondary education or its equivalent are assessed through the applicable entrance examinations. Applicants from foreign systems may use recognized examinations specified in the call, including eligible results from the previous four years, or take equivalent entrance tests at UPSantarém when permitted. Applications are submitted online through academic management. Master’s and doctoral study use separate program calls with their own qualifications, selection criteria, documents, fees, and calendars; there is no single university-wide graduate deadline.

Academic provision is distributed among five specialist schools rather than concentrated in a single general faculty. The School of Agriculture addresses agricultural and related applied fields; the Rio Maior school focuses on sport; and the remaining schools cover education, management and technology, and health. This structure can help students identify a professionally focused setting, but course availability, facilities, entry examinations, and location vary by school. Official 2026/2027 material confirms bachelor’s and master’s activity. Bachelor’s admission through Portugal’s national system is organized by institution-course combination, with course-specific entrance examinations, minimum classifications, vacancies, and any required prerequisites. The university also publishes separate calls for master’s programs. Its 2026/2027 fee decision identifies master’s categories including teacher-qualifying programs and other master’s degrees, with some health and management programs carrying distinct rates. Doctoral provision is more limited than the database record alone might suggest. The official fee schedule identifies a doctoral program in Agro-Food and Environmental Sustainability delivered in partnership with the polytechnic institutions of Coimbra, Castelo Branco, and Viseu. Students seeking broad doctoral choice should therefore verify supervision, location, and the precise role of each partner before applying. Teaching and assessment are generally conducted in Portuguese unless an individual course states otherwise. International applicants should not assume that institutional participation in Erasmus or other mobility programs means a full degree is available in English. The university supports learning through school libraries, Moodle, online academic administration, eduroam access, and research and knowledge-management services.

Key Highlights

• Public higher-education institution founded in 1979
• Renamed Universidade Politécnica de Santarém on 1 August 2026
• Five schools operating across Santarém and Rio Maior
• Agriculture, sport, education, management and technology, and health are the principal academic areas

Student Life & Environment

Student experience differs by school and city. In Santarém, the Andaluz complex brings together central services, social-action services, education, and management and technology. Agriculture and health occupy separate Santarém campuses, while sport students study in Rio Maior. Students should therefore assess daily travel, residence location, and access to their own school’s facilities before enrolling. The university’s Social Action Services provide student residences in both Santarém and Rio Maior. For 2026/2027, applications are processed through the SASocial portal in several phases, with priority directed particularly toward displaced scholarship students. The official page listed a second application phase from 17 August to 2 September 2026 and a third from 14 to 22 September 2026. A 2026/2027 accommodation price table had not yet been published as of 20 August 2026, so applicants should budget cautiously and consult the updated notice before committing. Support extends beyond accommodation. The welcome guide describes peer mentoring for new students, individualized assistance for students with permanent or temporary educational needs, student associations, social support, and academic-success initiatives. International activity includes Erasmus mobility and the Pedro Álvares Cabral program with partner institutions in several Latin American and Lusophone countries. A buddy initiative is designed to help incoming international and mobility students settle into local academic and everyday life.

Location & Surroundings

The university is based in Santarém in central Portugal, but it is not a one-site institution. The Andaluz campus contains the rectorate, central administration, Social Action Services, the School of Education, and the School of Management and Technology. The School of Agriculture and School of Health are on two other Santarém campuses. A fourth campus in Rio Maior houses the School of Sport. This geography should influence program selection and housing decisions. A student admitted to sport will normally need to organize daily life around Rio Maior, not the university’s central address in Santarém. Likewise, residence availability in either city does not necessarily mean a room is close to every teaching site. The official housing service operates residences in both locations, and candidates should match the residence, school, and transport plan before accepting an offer. Santarém serves as the administrative center and provides access to most of the university’s schools and services. Rio Maior offers a more specialized environment centered on sport education. Students comparing courses should use the exact school address in the relevant course material rather than relying only on the general institutional address at Complexo Andaluz.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026/2027, the official annual fee schedule sets bachelor’s tuition at €697 for national students and €1,300 for international students. The collaborative doctorate in Agro-Food and Environmental Sustainability is listed at €1,500 for national students and €3,000 for international students. Master’s pricing is not uniform: teacher-qualifying and other master’s programs have different rates, while specified health, animal engineering, and management degrees may follow program-specific amounts. Applicants should use the exact row for their program rather than treating one master’s price as universal. International students entering a bachelor’s program for the first time must pay 50% of annual tuition at enrollment under the published schedule. Housing should be budgeted separately. The university had opened phased residence applications for 2026/2027, but its official accommodation page still said that the new price table was awaiting publication as of 20 August 2026. The most recent older table should not be treated as the current price. Social Action Services also administer study grants and collaboration scholarships, subject to their eligibility rules and annual notices. Career support is provided through the university’s entrepreneurship, employability, and alumni office and the Links4Future platform. The platform carries internships and job opportunities from employers, while the welcome guide identifies career fairs, employability activities, idea competitions, and alumni initiatives. These services provide useful access to opportunities, but the available official sources do not support a current university-wide employment rate, typical salary, or guaranteed placement outcome.