Sme Management - Portimão

Conditions of access

1.    Holders of a bachelor's degree, or legal equivalent, whose curriculum reveals adequate essential scientific preparation;
2.    Holders of a foreign higher academic degree, awarded following a 1st cycle of studies organised under the principles of the Bologna Process by a country that has signed up to this Process, whose curriculum reveals adequate essential scientific preparation;
3.    Holders of a foreign higher academic degree, which is recognised as satisfying the objectives of the bachelor's degree by the Technical-Scientific Council of the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism of the University of the Algarve;
4.    Holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum recognised by the Technical-Scientific Council of the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism of the University of the Algarve as attesting their ability to complete this cycle of studies;
5.    Graduates from 1st cycle programmes (from the EU), whose curriculum reveals adequate essential scientific preparation, with a minimum of 138 ECTS approved and able to provide proof of graduation before the scheduled date for the announcement of results for the last round of applications.

The recognition referred to in points 2 to 4 only has the effect of giving access to the cycle of studies leading to the master's degree and does not confer on its holder the equivalence of a bachelor's degree or recognition of that degree.

Criteria for selection of the candidates

The ranking of applications is carried out through the application of the following criteria:
-    Classification of the bachelor’s degree (50%);
-    Professional experience: assessment of the relevance to the study programme's field of professional activities carried out, in terms of the importance of the position held and its duration (40%);
-    Additional training: assessment of the candidate’s supplementary training and its relevance to the scientific field of the master’s programme (10%).

Complementary notes:

1) Bachelor's degree classification:
-    The degree classification is expressed on a scale of 0 to 20 and rounded to the nearest integer, obtained in a degree that shows adequate essential scientific preparation;
-    In the case of EU finalists, the degree classification is taken as the weighted average of all ECTS taken up to the time of application;  
-    In the case of foreign diplomas with an arithmetic progression classification, the final classification is converted using the equivalence formula for foreign academic qualifications of the Directorate-General for Higher Education, as established in article 7 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 August:

Cfinal = {[(C-Cmin)/(Cmax-Cmin)]*10} + 10

where:
Cfinal     =        final classification converted to the Portuguese scale;
C     =        final classification of the foreign degree or diploma;
Cmin    =        minimum pass mark on the foreign final classification scale;
Cmax    =        maximum classification on the foreign final classification scale.
    If the above conversion results in a non-integer number, it is rounded up to the nearest integer if the decimal point is greater than or equal to 0.5 or down to the nearest integer if the decimal point is less than 0.5;

2) Graduates of the University of Algarve: Can replace the certificate of completion of the 1st cycle course (bachelor's degree) with a pdf document with the same information registered in the UAlg internal system;

3) Call for interview: During the selection period, any candidate may be called for an interview with the Master's Coordinating Committee, with the aim of gathering additional clarifications that may prove necessary for the assessment of their application. The invitation will be sent via email to the address provided in the application. Failure to attend the interview, when called, will result in the candidate being excluded from the selection process;

4) Tie-breaking: The following successive tie-breaking criteria will be used whenever necessary:
-    Ranking of the master's programme options selected by the candidate;
-    Comparative assessment of the motivation letter;
-    A selection interview;

5)    Conditionally placed final-year candidates must register (on a conditional basis) within the same deadlines established for the other candidates and are required to present proof of completion of the 1st cycle by 9 September 2026. The registration will become definitive upon submission of this proof. Failure to present the required document by the specified date will result in the cancellation of the placement, and no refunds will be granted;

6)    Applicants classified as “admitted but not placed” in each phase will not automatically progress to the subsequent phase, should one occur. If they are from the UAlg, they will be contacted by ESGHT and asked whether they wish to keep their application valid for the next phase (without any additional fee). In the absence of a reply, they must submit a new application for the desired phase. If they are external to UAlg, they must also submit a new application, which will be exempt from fees, provided that no changes have been made to the submitted documentation and that a transfer of the previously paid application fee is requested during the application period. The request must be sent by e-mail (safa@ualg.pt), indicating the application number of both the previous and the current phase.

Necessary documentation

-    Online enrolment form;
-    Certificate(s) of completion of the 1st cycle course (bachelor's degree) indicating the final classification and the classifications of the curricular units taken. Graduates of the University of Algarve should consult “Complementary notes” in the “Criteria for selection of the candidates” tab;
-    Declaration on honour, prepared by the candidate themselves and replacing the certificate of completion of the 1st cycle course certificate, attesting to the completion of at least 138 ECTS, indicating the weighted average of all ECTS completed up to the time of application. This declaration must be accompanied by a supporting document naming the curricular units taken, their ECTS and respective classifications (in the case of EU finalist candidates);
-    An official declaration issued by the higher education institution of completion of the academic degree, containing information on the final classification and the scale used with an indication of the number of positive points (in the case of foreign qualifications and where the qualification certificate or diploma does not contain this information). The declaration must be written in Portuguese or English and duly validated by a competent organisation. If this declaration is not submitted, the candidate will be considered to have obtained a mark out of 10 on the Portuguese scale;
-    NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre) declaration, obtained online at https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/declaracoes-naric (in the case of foreign qualifications);
-    Certificate issued by the Centre for the Assessment of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (CAPLE), an entity recognised for this purpose, attesting to knowledge of the Portuguese language at the level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), equivalent to at least level B2 of the CEFR (in the case of candidates whose mother tongue is not Portuguese);
-    Programmes of the subjects taken by the candidate in the pre-Bologna degree (if applicable);
-    Curriculum Vitae;
-    Photocopy of identification document (identity card/citizen's card or passport);
-    Photocopy of taxpayer's card or tax identification number, if the identification document is not a Portuguese citizen's card;
-    Proof of payment of the application fee;
-    Motivation letter expressly addressed to the Coordinating Committee of the Master’s in SME Management and written in Portuguese;
-    Other documents relevant to analysing the selection criteria.

Failure to present any of the above-mentioned documents required to assess the application will result in the candidate being excluded from the selection process.

Application here