Education and Medicine are two of the areas that see higher education entry places increased for the 2026/27 academic year. In the next National Competition for Access to Higher Education there will be a 12% increase for Basic Education, 147 more places compared to the previous school year. Medicine courses gain 62 places, through the opening of the course at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), with 40 places, and a reinforcement at the University of Coimbra, with a further 22 places.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) clarifies that, with regard to the increase in vacancies in degrees in Basic Education, these arise following the program contracts signed by the Government with ten Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to “reinforce initial teacher training, through increased funding”.
This number, indicates MECI, could still increase until the beginning of the academic year, as teacher training degrees and masters degrees are excluded from the set deadlines. The ministry also highlights that “to mitigate the problem of lack of teachers that the country faces, the State provides 2,500 annual scholarships to new students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degrees leading to professional qualifications for teaching, corresponding to the value of the tuition fee”.
Overall, the Public Higher Education System offers a total of 78,283 places, an increase of 1,465 compared to 2025. The Private sector opens a total of 29,315 vacancies, an increase of 1,417 compared to last year. This leaves a total of 107,598 places in undergraduate and master’s degrees integrated in public and private institutions, 2,882 more compared to 2025.
Vacancies increase for the various access schemes to Higher Education. There will be 56,790 places for the General Access Regime (National Access Competition + Local Competitions), an increase of 834 places compared to 2025, and 21,493 places in the set of Competitions and Special Access Regimes, plus 631.
“The biggest increases occur in terms of vacancies for holders of Higher Professional Technician Diploma (+233 vacancies / + 19.3%), Technological Specialization Diploma (+25 vacancies / + 11.8% courses), Dual Certification Courses (+118 vacancies / + 14.7%) and for international students (+ 199 vacancies / + 11.4%)”, adds the MECI statement.
There will also be a diversification of access routes to Higher Education, with a 19% increase in vacancies for holders of Higher Professional Technical Courses (CTeSP).
Institutions may only require proof of entry
This year and next, HEIs will be able to add two alternative lists to the already defined entrance test lists, each consisting of a single entrance test. This decision allows the rule that was in force until 2024 to be resumed (between one and three entrance tests).
The ministry decided to change the rules after the reduction in freshmen in higher education in the current academic year, in which at least two entrance tests are now required.
Universities and polytechnics criticized the new access model, considering that the increase in exams was one of the reasons for the reduction in placements, which this year fell to values close to those recorded almost a decade ago. The data shows that it was in courses that increased the number of mandatory tests that the greatest decrease in new students was felt.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, expressed, however, some reservations regarding the new changes in the Superior Access regime. In a note on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, it can be read that the head of State promulgated the diploma “concerned, although, with some effects on the understanding of higher education institutions in a minimalist and facilitative sense, taking into account the flexibility and freedom of choice of the adopted formula”.
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