mestrado
Published 5 November 2026, 23:09
mestrado — the second cycle of higher education, a master's degree
A Portuguese master's degree: usually two years and 120 ECTS credits after a licenciatura. There is also the mestrado integrado — a single five- or six-year programme with no intermediate degree, used to train doctors, architects and some engineers.
Where you come across it. University admissions, job requirements, registration with professional bodies, grant applications.
For some professions (medicine, architecture, and engineering for membership of the professional body) a licenciatura alone is not enough — you need a mestrado or mestrado integrado. A foreign master's degree does not automatically count as a mestrado: it first has to be recognised in Portugal.
Official website: dges.gov.pt