Brazilian exam accepted for admission to Portuguese university

The University of Beira Interior, in Portugal, will now accept Brazil's National Secondary Education Examination (ENEM) as an admission qualification for Brazilian students.

Introduced in 1998 by the Brazilian government as a non-compulsory school-leaving examination which could help gauge the quality of Brazil's secondary education, ENEM scores are used as an entry requirement by public and private higher education institutions throughout the country, as well as a prerequisite for obtaining government-run student loans. In 2013, over 5 million applicants took the exam.

The University of Beira Interior is located in the city of Covilhã, over 200 kilometers Northeast of Lisbon. It has about 7,000 students and 600 faculty, and Brazilians rank among its largest overseas communities, with 60 students. The annual fee charged to foreign undergraduate students is about $6,730.00, or $10,320 for those opting into the university's accommodation and meals program.

The university provides a web page for Brazilian students wishing to take one of its undergraduate programs beginning in the second half of 2014, who have sat for ENEM in 2012 or 2013. The page provides a course listing, information on how the ENEM scores will weight into admission, and a list of application documents.

The University of Coimbra was the first non-Brazilian university to accept ENEM scores as its entry qualification.

Translated by Mayra Borges