Study Medicine in Portugal

Portugal has been a member of the European Union since 1986, and a medical degree from a state-recognized Portuguese university is automatically recognized within the EU. For international applicants, there is one study location in Portugal for human medicine in English: Porto.

Porto: Universidade Fernando Pessoa

Universidade Fernando Pessoa teaches human medicine in Porto. Tuition fees are 10,250 EUR per semester, or 20,500 EUR per academic year. Teaching is in English, with accompanying Portuguese instruction to B2 level as part of the curriculum. Porto is a city of around a quarter of a million inhabitants, with the Douro running through it, short distances, and a cost of living below that of Lisbon.

English in the Lecture Hall, Portuguese on the Ward

The combination of English-language teaching and compulsory Portuguese is not an optional add-on but part of the study plan. The reason is practical: patients in Portuguese clinics speak Portuguese. Those who treat the language courses as an unwelcome obligation will face a problem in the clinical phase. Those who take them seriously will leave Portugal with a second foreign language at a functional level.

What Can Speak Against Portugal

Two points deserve sober consideration. The first is the price: 20,500 EUR per year is considerably more than English-language medical programs in Bulgaria, Romania, or Hungary. The second is the dual burden of language learning alongside anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology. Portugal also has only one location for human medicine — those who do not get a place in Porto change country, not city.

Universidade Fernando Pessoa in Porto charges 10,250 EUR per semester, or 20,500 EUR per academic year. Over six years, that totals approximately 123,000 EUR in tuition fees. This figure belongs at the start of every planning process.

For living expenses, Porto has become noticeably more expensive in recent years but remains below the level of many Western European cities. A realistic budget is 600 to 900 EUR per month. A rough estimate for one academic year in Porto: 20,500 EUR in tuition fees plus around 9,000 EUR for twelve months of living expenses, approximately 29,500 EUR in total.

Portugal does not apply a Numerus Clausus (NC) for international applicants at Universidade Fernando Pessoa. The university selects students independently through an application with school records, a subject-matter assessment of biology and chemistry foundations, and an interview in English. Portuguese is not a prerequisite for admission but is built up during the program.

The academic year begins in autumn. Early applications are at an advantage — there is no alternative location within Portugal. Deadlines and documentation requirements change from year to year. Medschool Experts goes through the specific process with you, assesses your academic record, and prepares you for the interview at no charge for the initial consultation.

Teaching at Universidade Fernando Pessoa in Porto takes place in manageable groups, with lectures, practical sessions, and continuous assessment spread across the semester. Portuguese language instruction runs in parallel and is aimed at B2 level — essential for ward rounds in Porto's hospitals, which are conducted in Portuguese.

Most students live in shared apartments in neighborhoods such as Paranhos, Bonfim, or Cedofeita. Porto has a good metro network and rents, while rising, remain below the level of many Western European cities. The group of students from German-speaking countries at Universidade Fernando Pessoa is small; cohorts are internationally mixed.