Universidade do Minho

Founded in 1973, the University of Minho has campuses in Braga and Guimarães and is also established in Vila Nova de Famalicão.

The organizational structure of the University is flexible and innovation and interdisciplinarity-friendly, fostering the exploration of emerging educational and research areas.

UMinho’s organic units are the School of Architecture, Art and Design, the School of Sciences, the School of Law, the School of Economics and Management, the School of Engineering, the School of Literature, Arts and Human Sciences, the School of Medicine, the School of Psychology, the School of Nursing, the Institute of Social Sciences, the Institute of Education and the Institute of Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics.

UMinho received its first students in the 1975/76 academic year. Today, the University offers about 200 bachelor’s, integrated master’s, master’s and doctoral degree programmes, attended by about 20 000 students, 45% of whom are postgraduates; in UMinho’s educational offer, non-degree courses are becoming increasingly important, as part of the promotion of lifelong education.

Our research activity, developed by 31 research centers and 9 associated laboratories, is characterized by its high quality and impact, explicitly assuming the principles of open science, which currently materializes in the development of about 600 research projects and 3,300 published papers per year.

UMinho is an institution strongly committed to the social, economic and cultural promotion of the region and the country. To this end, it leads numerous partnerships and projects in conjunction with public and private entities, and its impact on the University’s ecosystem is ensured by several interface entities, participated by businesses, public entities, social sector organizations and entities of the cultural system.

Internationalization represents a strong commitment of the Institution and international activities are very intense, not only in the European Higher Education Area and in the European Research Area, but also within the CPLP countries, among other geopolitical areas.

UMinho’s facilities are places of permanent academic, cultural, sports and recreational activities that confer great dynamism to university life, to which the strong internationalization confers a vibrant cosmopolitan profile.

Rector’s Message

The University of Minho (www.uminho.pt) carries out its activity in a wide range of scientific and training areas, including social sciences and humanities, life and earth sciences, health sciences, engineering and technology.

UMinho undertakes the production of new scientific knowledge, within the framework of open science, as an essential aspect of its activity, values a comprehensive education of its students, promotes coordination between education and research, and is engaged in an open and permanent dialogue with economic, cultural and social stakeholders. Within these mission axes, its action is guided by international reference standards.

UMinho aims to contribute to the construction of a model of society based on humanistic principles, which considers knowledge, creativity and innovation as factors for growth, sustainable development, well-being and solidarity.

In its operation, UMinho assumes as core value the respect for human dignity and it embraces the principles of equality, democratic participation, pluralism of opinions and orientations, guaranteeing the freedoms of learning, teaching and investigating.

The University of Minho is a modern, inclusive, cosmopolitan and transformative institution, of people and their circumstances, an heir to a past that it is proud of, with traits that define it as an active participant in the construction of a better future for all Portuguese and for Portugal.

Ph. D. Rui Vieira de Castro