By signing “Scientiae Thesaurus Mirabilis”, King Dinis created the oldest university of the country and one of the oldest in the world. Dated from 1290, the document originated the General Study, recognised in the same year by Pope Nicholas IV. A century after the birth of the nation, the University of Coimbra germinated. It starts operating in Lisbon but, in 1308, it is transferred to Coimbra.
UC is a world leading university that offers education and research in all study levels and in nearly all study fields. It participates in joint programmes with some of the best universities in the world. Erasmus Mundus, MIT Portugal, CMU Portugal, Harvard-Portugal Clinical Scholars Research Training Program and UT Austin Portugal are examples of such excellence partnerships to name just a few.
R&D Centers that are associated to the IIIUC:
SASUC provides three residences reserved for undergraduate and integrated master international students, admitted within the framework of the special call for international students. Monthly prices include all expenses with water, electricity, gas, internet, TV, weekly laundry service of bed clothing and bathroom towels, utilisation of equipped kitchen with micro-waves, fridge, stove, range hood, utilisation of washing and drying machine, iron and ironing board, and access to study room.
Outside the UC residences, there are several lodging offers for students, for instance the possibility of renting apartments with or without furniture and equipped kitchen, bedrooms in family houses or private residences.
The General Library of the University of Coimbra is the richest university library within the Portuguese-speaking world, and one of the most beautiful and prestigious libraries worldwide. It currently comprises two buildings: the Library of King João V of Portugal (known as Joanina), built in 1728, and the main building, which became fully operational in 1962.
UC has its own medical services that provide general practice examinations and speciality examinations that cost around 5 to 10 euros according to the required type of examination.
Coimbra is a district capital, the largest city of the Centre Region of Portugal with around 150,000 inhabitants.
The City Festivities, the Arts Festival, the jazz festival "Jazz ao Centro" and the Cultural Week of the University of Coimbra are just a few examples of the events that take place every year and are really worth to see.
Coimbra is a friendly city to the young people. With over 30,000 students, it offers several discounts for students in restaurants, bars, shops, hairdresser, beauty shops, public transports, gym, swimming pools, bookshops, theatres, cinema, art galleries and museums, among others.
In the area of sports, for the quality of its sports’ facilities (Multi-sports’ Pavilion, Coimbra City Stadium, University Stadium, Horse Riding Centre, AAC Nautical Sports Section, Olympic Swimming Pools’ Complex, Mondego Swimming Pools, among others), and the excellence of the UC student athletes, the European University Sports Association chose Coimbra to be the organiser of the European University Games of 2018. The event is expected to host 4500 athletes and 2000 participants from all over Europe, representing more than 400 universities.
The student union is a characteristic of the student life in Coimbra. Besides the AAC, students form and belong to groups linked to their study field, such as the student nuclei at the Faculties that interact with similar groups at national level, but also to international networks, for instance the European association of engineering and technology students BEST. The international Erasmus network ESN Coimbra helps international students to find their way in the city.
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
Climbed 5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 355 | 347 | 342 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 46 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 474 | 490 | 444 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | 401 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 501 | 501 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 92 reviews
Fui para a cidade que queria primeiro que tudo e só depois escolhi o melhor curso, ciências farmacêuticas em Coimbra e desde que entrei às espectativas estavam muito altas mas foram superadas, têm sido 2 anos perfeitos em que encontrei o amor da minha vida "Coimbra dos amores" e tenho adorado e curso e estou apaixonado pela cidade, associei me a experiências de associativismo que adorei porque melhora nos como pessoas, o nosso espírito crítico e encontra mos amizades para a vida, no 3 ano vou de Erasmus para Vitória Gasteiz e espero que seja fantástico
Ever since I can remember I wanted to study abroad and finally I can do it. I’m most excited about studying at University of Coimbra, especially because it was one of very few universities I found, that could offer me a study plan almost perfectly tailored to my interests and needs. And I am not individually studying. It’s just great🤩.
The campus is good and is located in a very good area. The installations are modern and good for new students. The problem is the curriculum plan for courses is great and let us a very good feeling about the possibility of a great year and interesting topics. But, when the classes start the exceptions are low. The contents were below the formed expectations, leaving no room for the actuality of the facts or taste for the area. An excellent plan that in many classes was not implemented at all. Too bad it was like that because it had everything to be spectacular.
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