Polytechnic Institute of Maia - IPMAIA

IPMAIA is pleased to welcome you to its Institute and hopes you will enjoy your stay and studies in Maia.

The International Relations Office, IPMAIA and its staff are always available and await your arrival with enthusiasm.

The Polytechnic Institute of Maia - IPMAIA is located in the city of Maia, 12 km from Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. The university campus occupies an area of 70,000 m2 and offers students excellent infrastructures, transport facilities and state-of-the-art technological equipment. For academic members' convenience, IPMAIA is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Starting 2016/17, a new state-of-the-art, on-campus Sports Complex will be available for all IPMAIA students.


IPMAIA is a prestigious higher education institution that offers 4 Bachelor's degree programmes and 19 short-cycle programs, all of which have been accredited by the Portuguese Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) and/or the Directorate-General of Higher Education (DGES).


All course programmes are taught by highly professional and qualified academic staff members, holders of a PhD to an extent that largely exceeds the national legal requirements. 

 

 

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Course Offer

IPMAIA offers a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in different areas.

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International Student Applications

Application deadlines and necessary documents

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LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

With some exceptions, the programmes at IPMAIA are conducted in Portuguese. For international and/or Portuguese students interested in attending English-taught courses, some programmes might be available in English  (provided there is a minimum number of students required for the course to run). International students typically have special permission to sit exams and/or carry out project work in languages other than Portuguese (usually English, French or Spanish). Language support is provided through Portuguese language courses offered by the International Relations Office. The timetables of the classes are normally flexible, so as to suit students' needs.

TEACHING AT IPMAIA

  • Steered by a learner-centred approach
  • Close and direct contact with academic and non-academic staff as well as with the management board
  • Based on respect, responsibility and dignity
  • Safe and reliable academic organisation
  • Plenty of reference sources for students' work and research.
  • Intensive use of information and communication technologies.

SCHOOLS AND FUNCTIONAL UNITS

IPMAIA is divided into two Higher Schools:

  • Higher School of Social Sciences, Education and Sports
  • Higher School of Technology and Management

Academic and research activities rely on the support of both research and functional units. IPMAIA is in the process of creating its own institutional Research Unit, and many of its teachers are already integrated in other national Research Units.

Regarding Functional Units, IPMAIA provides the academic community with a(n):

  • Multiplatform Studio (Centre for Communication Sciences)
  • Advanced Laboratory of Telecommunications
  • Multimedia Centre and Laboratory
  • Photography Laboratory
  • Physical Condition Centre and Human Kinetics Laboratory
  • Laboratory of Forensic and Criminal Sciences
  • Occupational Safety Support Centre
  • Physics Laboratory
  • Chemistry Laboratory
  • Entrepreneurship Centre
  • Centre for Psychological Support Services 
Frequently Asked Questions

The international student is the student who:


  • does not have Portuguese nationality;
  • is not a national of a European Union Member State;
  • has not legally resided in Portugal continuously for more than 2 years (on 31 August of the year in which s/he intends to enter higher education, as well as any children who legally reside with him/her);
  • does not request entry to higher education through the special entry regimes regulated by Decree Law no. 393-A/99 of 2 October 1999, amended by Decree Law no. 272/2009 of 1 October 2009;
  • does not attend IPMAIA as part of an international mobility programme to complete part of a course at a foreign higher education institution with which IPMAIA has established an exchange agreement.
  •  

The following international students may apply to matriculate and register on undergraduate courses:

  • Holders of a qualification that grants access to higher education, which is considered to be any diploma or certificate issued by a competent authority that proves that a secondary education course has been passed in that country and gives the holder the right to apply for and enter higher education in the country in which it was issued;
  • Holders of a Portuguese secondary education diploma or legally equivalent qualification.

International candidates will sit admission exams at IPMAIA  OR provide documentary proof that they have knowledge of the admission exam subject matters established for the course in question (higher education admission exams or secondary education exams that prove knowledge of the admission exam subject matters).

Candidates must provide:
• Certificate/ diploma of completion of secondary education, certified by the official education services;
• Certified declaration issued by the official education services in the country of origin, translated into English or Portuguese, proving that the secondary qualification held, obtained in that country, is sufficient to enter official higher education in the country for courses equivalent to the one to which the application is made (OR a certificate of equivalence to Portuguese secondary education issued by a competent Portuguese body);
• Documentary proof of the knowledge of the admission exam subject matters (exams taken in the country of origin to enter higher education in that country or secondary education exams that prove knowledge of the admission exam subject matters);

N.B.
• Qualifications and other education documents must include the grading scale used and the final grade achieved in the education programme.
• For application procedures, sudents are allowed to submit certified copies of the necessary documents electronically. For enrollment/ matriculation, students must submit the original documents authenticated by a Portuguese consular or diplomatic authority (or with a Hague Apostille from the competent authority in the state in which the document was issued). Whitout these, students will not be able to matriculate at IPMAIA.
• Documents which are not originally written in Portuguese or English must be translated (certified translation) into one of these languages. Documents in French or Spanish may also be considered for application.

The following exams can be considered for application to IPMAIA undergraduate courses, if applicable:

• Turkey: Undergraduate Placement Examination (LYS)

• Brazil: ENEM - Exame Nacional de Ensino Médio

• China: Gaokao

• Colombia: Examen de Estado - Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (ICFES)

• Indonesia: Secondary school certificate (Ijazah Sekolah Menengah Atas, SMA) + state exam (Surat Keterangan Hasil Ujian Nasional)

• India: High School Certificate (Standard XII)

• Mexico: Bachiller ou Bachiller Técnico + EXANI - II – by Centro Nacional de Evaluación para la Educación Superior- (Ceneval)

Other exams might also be considered for application purposes, after institutional analysis.

Candidates may attend a free information session on the admission exam.

Candidates must have knowldge of the language in which the degree programme is taught.
For that purpose, candidates must provide documentary proof of language knowledge OR sit a language test at IPMAIA.

Yes. Candidates may attend a free information session on the language test.
  1. The candidates shall be ranked by course by assigning a mark to the application on a scale of 0 to 200, calculated as follows:

    1. 65% based on the grade achieved in the education programme that grants international students the right to apply for and enter higher education in the country in which it was awarded or the final grade achieved in Portuguese secondary education or legally equivalent qualification;
    2. 35% based on the grade achieved in the exams or documentary proof grade referred to in Article 2(5) of the Regulations on the Application of International Student Status at Instituto Politécnico da Maia – IPMAIA.
  2. The grade achieved in the programme referred to in paragraph 1(a) shall be converted to a scale of 0 to 200 based on the final grade achieved in the programme and the grade scale on the foreign documents established in Article 2(3) of the Regulations on the Application of International Student Status at Instituto Politécnico da Maia – IPMAIA.
  3. The minimum entry grades:
    1. Written exam, possibly complemented by an oral or practical exam – 95;
    2. Application mark – 95.
  4. Candidates shall be ranked in descending order of application mark, and they shall be assigned to the places available.
  5. The placement lists shall be made public and the results expressed in the following way:
    1. Admitted;
    2. Not admitted;
    3. Excluded.

Applications shall be made by delivering or digitally submitting the application form, together with the necessary documents, and paying the respective applicable fees.

For enrollment/ matriculation, students must submit the original documents authenticated by a Portuguese consular or diplomatic authority (or with a Hague Apostille from the competent authority in the state in which the document was issued).

Whitout these, students will not be able to matriculate at IPMAIA.

Documents which are not originally written in Portuguese or English must be translated (certified translation) into one of these languages.

Documents in French or Spanish may also be considered for application.

  • Application form
  • Passport/ ID card;
  • Fiscal no. card;
  • Certificate/ diploma of completion of secondary education, certified by the official education services;
  • Certified declaration issued by the official education services in the country of origin, translated into English or Portuguese, proving that the secondary qualification held, obtained in that country, is sufficient to enter official higher education in the country for courses equivalent to the one to which the application is made (OR a certificate of equivalence to Portuguese secondary education issued by a competent Portuguese body);
  • Documentary proof of the knowledge of the admission exam subject matters (exams taken in the country of origin to enter higher education in that country or secondary education exams that prove knowledge of the admission exam subject matters);
  •  Proof of knowledge of the language in which the course is taught (when applicable)
  •  Sworn declaration of the applicant stating that s/he does not have Portuguese nationality and is not impeded to apply to IPMAIA under International Student Status, as laid down in Decree-Law nº 36/2014, of 10 March 2014, amended by Decree-Law nº 113/2014 of 16 July 2014 and in the "Regulations on the Application of International Student Status at Instituto Politécnico da Maia – IPMAIA".

 Nota bene:

  • Qualifications and other education documents must include the grading scale used and the final grade achieved in the education programme.
  •  For application procedures, sudents are allowed to submit certified copies of the necessary documents electronically. For enrollment/ matriculation, students must submit the original documents authenticated by a Portuguese consular or diplomatic authority (or with a Hague Apostille from the competent authority in the state in which the document was issued). Whitout these, students will not be able to matriculate at IPMAIA.
  • Documents which are not originally written in Portuguese or English must be translated (certified translation) into one of these languages. Documents in French or Spanish may also be considered for application.

Application deadlines are defined annually and made known on a public notice.Applications usually open in March/ April but deadlines can vary.


Application deadlines

For information on applications, please contact

info@ipmaia.pt

The amounts to be paid for application, matriculation and annual tuition fees are defined annually.
Fees and charges

If you hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant area, you can apply for a postgraduate course at IPMAIA.
To apply for a Mater’s degree at IPMAIA, the following documents are required:
• Passport/ ID card
• Undergraduate Diploma/ Certificate
• Statement from the university/ country’e educational authority stating that the undergraduate degree is official and allows application for postgraduate courses
• Curriculum Vitae
• Fiscal number card
Nota bene:
 - Qualifications and other education documents must include the grading scale used and the final grade achieved in the education programme.
 - For application procedures, sudents are allowed to submit certified copies of the necessary documents electronically. For enrollment/ matriculation, students must submit the original documents authenticated by a Portuguese consular or diplomatic authority (or with a Hague Apostille from the competent authority in the state in which the document was issued). Whitout these, students will not be able to matriculate at IPMAIA.
For further information, please contact info@ipmaia.pt

No. International Students cannot apply under the regulations for students over 23.

Yes, IPMAIA implements initiatives directed towards the social and academic integration of the students admitted, and organises suitable actions – namely in the scope of language and culture – including a visit to the most culturally important and economically significant places in the Porto metropolitan area.

International Relations Office - Email: gri@ipmaia.pt

Secretariat - Email: info@ipmaia.pt

For further information

gri@ipmaia.pt