Catholic University of Portugal
| Universidade Católica Portuguesa | |
 | |
| Latin: Universitas Catholica Lusitana | |
| Motto | A Ω Veritati |
|---|---|
| Type | Concordatary University |
| Established | October 13, 1967 |
| Rector | Maria da Glória Garcia |
Administrative staff | 1571 (2006) |
| Students | 11,426 (2008)[1] |
| Location | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Website | www.ucp.pt |
The Catholic University of Portugal (Portuguese: Universidade Católica Portuguesa, pronounced: [univɨɾsiˈdad(ɨ) kɐˈtɔlikɐ puɾtuˈɡezɐ]), also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is the only concordatary university (non-state-run university with concordatary status) of the Catholic Church, in Portugal.
Although it is just one university, UCP is organized as a university system, made up of four major regional centres: Lisbon (the headquarters), Beiras (Caldas da Rainha and Viseu), Braga, and Porto. These include 18 faculties, schools and institutes, which are the basic education and research units. Besides the four regional centres in Portugal, UCP also has the University of Saint Joseph in Macau as its affiliate.
History
The Catholic University of Portugal was established in 1967 by decree of the Holy See (Lusitanorum Nobilissima Gens), at the request of the Portuguese Bishop's conference and under Concordat Law. It was founded in 1967 and gained official recognition in 1971.
Its first constituent Faculty was the Jesuit-owned and run Faculty of Philosophy of Braga (Northern Portugal). However, the University was soon extended to Lisbon where it opened, in 1968, the Faculty of Theology and, in 1971, the Faculty of Human Sciences.
The Portuguese government's official recognition of UCP occurred in 1971, via decree-law 307/71, which acknowledged the Catholic University as on a par with the other Portuguese universities and conferred on the degrees it grants - presently Licentiate, Master and Doctorate, - the same value and the same effects as those awarded by State universities.
The late 1970s and 1980s saw the establishment and development in Portugal of a privately owned sector in higher education (including both universities and polytechnics). Within that context, there has been a generalized acceptance of the distinctive position held by the Catholic University - a public, non-State and non-profit-seeking institution.
Nowadays, and following the general trend in Portugal and abroad, UCP enjoys a large degree of autonomy in the creation and running of new campuses, faculties and courses.
Currently it has, among others, the well known courses of Business, Economics, Architecture, Law, Media and Cultural Studies, Civil Engineering and Dental Medicine.
The Lisbon MBA
The Lisbon MBA is a partnership between Universidade Catolica Portuguesa and Universidade Nova de Lisboa. The partnership includes a Full Time One year MBA, in partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management and a Part Time MBA. The two Universities that offer this MBA program hold the triple crown accreditation namely AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB.
Rankings
According to the QS World University Rankings, the Catholic University of Portugal is within the world's 600 best universities.[2]
According to rankings published by the Financial Times, the Catholic University School of Business and Economics is the best in Portugal and 25th in Europe. Its master's degree in management is one of the two best in Portugal in 2013, when it was ranked 52nd worldwide.[3]
It is the largest "private" university in Portugal in terms of students enrolled and the 10th largest including public universities.[1]
Teaching units
The Portuguese Catholic University is a decentralized university composed of four regional centers, each one including several academic and research schools, faculties, institutes and departments.
- Lisbon (hedaquarters):
- Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics
- Faculty of Human Sciences
- Faculty of Law - School of Lisbon
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Theology
- Institute of Health Sciences
- Institute of Political Studies
- Higher Institute of Canonical Law
- Beiras Regional Center (Viseu):
- Department of Economy, Management and Social Sciences
- Department of Humanities
- Department of Architecture, Science and Technology
- Department of Health Sciences
- Braga Regional Center:
- Faculty of Philosophy
- Faculty of Theology
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Oporto Regional Center
- Faculty of Theology
- Faculty of Law - School of Oporto
- Higher School of Biotechnology
- School of the Arts
- Faculty of Business and Economics
- Institute of Bioethics