For the 2023/24 academic year, UMinho offered a total of 3,013 places in the National Competition for Access to Higher Education and the Local Competition (the latter for the Music degree, with 46 places). In the National Competition, UMinho expanded its places, now admitting 25 more students than the previous year (from 2,942 in 2022/23 to 2,967 in 2023/24). The results also show that 3,954 young people applied to UMinho as their first choice.

UMinho’s School of Engineering received 827 new students in the 1st phase of the national access competition, taking 93% of the 888 places available, who were part of the 2882 new UMinho students who were welcomed to UMinho on 6 and 7 September.

The Welcome Programme for the new students placed in the first round of applications was organised in collaboration with the Academic Association of the University of Minho (AAUMinho), and had the support of a large group of “UMinho Ambassadors”, students from our Schools/Institutes who generously dedicated themselves to accompanying the various welcome activities.

This programme included the ‘GPS’ initiative – which allows new students to get to know our campuses and cities – and a picnic that took place in the Lola gardens on the Azurém Campus (Guimarães). The latter is an innovative initiative organised by the University of Minho’s 50th Anniversary Commemorative Commission. The venue also hosted the formal welcome session, with speeches by the Rector of UMinho, Rui Vieira de Castro, and the President of AAUMinho, Margarida Isaías, followed by the presentation of the student groups from the different courses and a soiree led by the cultural groups.

The President of the School of Engineering welcomed the new 827 students, along with the course directors, at the Gualtar and Azurém campuses, showing them a little more about the school that will be their second home for the next few years.