Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Social Support and Grants

In the area of social empowerment, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa has, since its foundation, endeavoured to ensure that no student is unable to complete their course due to financial issues. Committed to the goal of leaving no one behind and in order to reduce the financial strain on students' families, UCP provides financial support, using its own funds and through various protocols with partner organisations:

merit scholarships and monetary prizes that can be up to the value of the tuition fees, to reward students who achieve the best results;
benefits for families with more than one child attending UCP;
social support for undergraduate and integrated master's degree students;

This last area includes the Fundo Papa Francisco, which is national in scope and is designed to enable particularly needy students, migrants and refugees to access the University's courses.

Scholarship programme for refugees

Universidade Católica lança programa de bolsas para refugiados

The Universidade Católica Portuguesa has launched a scholarship programme to help welcome and integrate Ukrainian refugees.

Católica has opened 24 places on 17 degree programmes in Lisbon, Braga, Porto and Viseu, with tuition fees waived.

According to Unesco, only 3% of refugees are enrolled in higher education, so the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has set a target of 15% of refugees having access to higher education by 2030.