the university

Universidade Aberta (UAb) was founded in 1988, and it is the single public institution of higher education dedicated to distance learning. Since its inception, UAb has been geared towards the education of geographically dispersed populations and it has already provided successful training of tertiary level for more than 10 000 students, in 33 countries over five continents. UAb has already graduated over 9000 students, among which more than a thousand are master's degrees and about a hundred are doctoral degrees.
As a pioneer in distance higher education in Portugal, UAb has promoted actions related to higher education and training that also contribute to the dissemination and expansion of the Portuguese language and culture, with emphasis on the Portuguese speaking countries and communities.
During UAb’s two-decades of existence, its teachers and researchers developed activities of scientific research through the use of ICT, designing and producing teaching materials in the areas of distance education technologies and multimedia educational communications. The university has over 400 titles published, 3500 hours of audiovisual productions and 6000 hours of tv broadcasts produced in its studios.
Keeping in mind the spirit of public service, UAb is committed to encourage the appropriation and self-construction of knowledge. Its study programs are carefully designed and both technicians and teachers are provided specific training.

Target Students
UAb takes on the fundamental mission of training students who, for various reasons, could not, in due time, enter into or continue university studies. Moreover, the university seeks to meet the expectations of those who, having obtained any higher education degree, wish to convert or update it. Thus, by vocation, UAb offers educational solutions to adult populations, with life experience and often already engaged in a professional occupation.
To become a student of UAb only requires to be 21 years old or over (or alternatively, to be 18 years old and have the statute of student-employee since the 16 years old) and to carry out a specific exam to enter this university. UAb is outside the national contest network for access to higher education and its undergraduate programs are not subject to specific vacancies numbers (numerus clausus). Besides, UAb also provides exams specifically designed to evaluate the capacity for attending higher education programs of candidates aged 23 years old and over.

Pioneer in E-Learning in Portugal
UAb is a pioneer institution in distance higher education in Portugal and as such it has developed a most valuable know-how in the area, being presently the biggest provider of online study programs in the country.
In academic year 2008-2009 school, UAb became the first and only public university in Portugal to teach all undergraduate and master's degrees via the Internet - e-learning mode -, through a pioneer and exclusive pedagogical virtual model developed within the institution.
The independent study on Distance Higher Education commissioned by the Portuguese Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education to an international panel of experts considered UAb to be the reference e-learning institution in Portugal.
Currently, UAb is also considered to be amongst the European mega-providers of e-learning. It plays a prominent role in 1st cycle (graduation) and 2nd cycle (master's) teaching, in the areas of Humanities, Sciences and Technology, Education and Distance Learning, Social Sciences and Management.
All UAb study programs follow the Bologna Process.

Virtual pedagogical model
UAb’s pedagogical model is based on e-learning and it relies on the intensive use of new online communication tools. This model promotes interaction between students and teachers and it is deeply focused on students as individuals and active builders of their knowledge. Also, it allows a greater flexibility in learning, in which communication and interaction are conducted according to the students’ availability, sharing resources, expertise and activities with their peers.
The evaluation of knowledge and skills, based on continuous assessment, assumes diverse solutions. In undergraduate programs, students are provided a learning card in which their work (e-folios, tests, presence-based exams, …) is evaluated and credited. In post-graduation programs, assessment is carried out in many different ways, using for example, portfolios, blogs, projects, essays, problem solving, participation in discussions, reports and tests.

Digital  Inclusion
UAb gives an important contribution to the knowledge society and to social inclusion through its digital literacy component: since online teaching requires specific skills from the students, all its certified programs will include a free preparatory course. Students are therefore able to acquire the necessary skills before entering the program in which they have enrolled.