History
Founded on the 16th January 1979, the University of Algarve results from the union of two preexisting institutions, the University of Algarve and the Polytechnic Institute of Faro, which makes it somewhat unique from most universities given that Faculties and Schools of both systems, co-exist.
Education
In these last three decades, the University of Algarve has consolidated the link established with the regional business and with the public and private organisations, encouraging the transfer of knowledge and contributing to sustainable development with an impact across the community.
Research
Research Centres
- Centre for Molecular and Structural Biomedicine
- Centre of Marine Sciences
- Centre of Electronics, Optoelectronics and Telecommunications
- Research Centre in Arts and Communication
- Research Centre for Spatial and Organisational Dynamics
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research
- Chemistry Research Centre of Algarve
Career
It is an important centre for cultural, scientific and technological development, with strong regional, national and international ties, offering students the opportunity to explore various careers as they gain transferable skills.
Short Courses
University Ranking
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2024
801 200
2023
1001 -200
2022
801
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2024
-
2023
1121 -40
2022
1081
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Student services
The Student Union organises several important and well-known events, such us:
- The Semana Académica (Student Academic Week) in May with a broad programme;
- The Sports Festival in September, in the streets of downtown Faro, with exhibitions and workshops on a variety of sports activities;
- The Snow Campus, a winter event for skiing and snowboarding;
- The Sports Exchange Programme, with national and international teams;
- The Academic University Sports Federation tournaments, such as the Open Tennis, Volleyball and Beach Rugby tournaments; the Non-Federated National University Championships;
- The University Student Union Mini-Half-Marathon.
Housing services
The University has four campuses:
- The Penha Campus
- The Gambelas Campus
- The Saúde Campus
- The Portimão Campus
Library services
The University Library is composed of different services, with library on each campus. The Library receives, organizes and provides access to bibliographic and documentary resources in several formats.
The Gambelas Campus Library and The European Documentation Centre (EDC)
- ca. 100,000 documents
- 350 seated places
- 26 study group (max. 8) rooms
ICT services
The Statistics Portugal information network in libraries of higher education establishments
The Statistics Portugal's Portal Access Point is located at the Gambelas Campus Library.
It seeks to serve the entire region, allowing researchers, teachers, students, enterprises and the community in general, to easily access all statistical information and services offered by the Institute (INE).
Campus life
The Saúde Campus is situated at the entrance of city of Faro. New facilities were built for the Faro School of Nursing, incorporated into the University of Algarve in June 2003, now called the Faro School of Health (Escola Superior de Saúde - ESS) in order to adopt the new health science degree courses.
The Portimão Campus, located in the city of Portimão, is situated near the train station square. Portimão is the second largest city in Algarve and the campus developed out of the need for decentralisation.Sports facilities
The Students Union Sports Department, promotes all kinds of sport activities with very low prices for students. You can choose from Salsa to Hip-hop, from Tai Chi and Yoga to Bujinkan, from Basketball to Football.
The Sports Department of the Student Union also organises water sports activities such as canoeing, windsurfing and sailing are free of charge at the Nautical Sports Centre at Faro Island.
Competitive sports include handball, women’s futsal, women and men’s volleyball and men’s rugby. Federated teams (district championships) are active in men and women’s basketball, men’s futsal and men’s football 11.Student clubs
The Student Union of the University of Algarve (Associação Académica da Universidade do Algarve, AAUALG) is a representative body of all the students belonging to the institution, founded on 1st October 1997.
The importance of sports and the physical balance and psychological well being of university students is a concern of the Student Union. For this reason, sports activities are under the auspices of the Student Union in close collaboration with the University and the Student Support and Welfare Services.Officially recognized by the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Portugal.