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University Directory · Europe & Central Asia

Top 25 universities in Portugal

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Portugal, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Universidade do Porto

    Porto, Portugal

    • 156,224 research works
    • 8.8 million citations
    • h-index 646
  2. 2

    University of Lisbon

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 147,215 research works
    • 8.1 million citations
    • h-index 604
  3. 3

    University of Coimbra

    Coimbra, Portugal

    • 96,817 research works
    • 5 million citations
    • h-index 513
  4. 4

    University of Aveiro

    Aveiro, Portugal

    • 69,441 research works
    • 4.2 million citations
    • h-index 462
  5. 5

    University of Minho

    Braga, Portugal

    • 71,216 research works
    • 4 million citations
    • h-index 474
  6. 6

    Universidade Nova de Lisboa

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 74,260 research works
    • 3.6 million citations
    • h-index 481
  7. 7

    Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (UTL)

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 17,467 research works
    • 1.2 million citations
    • h-index 322
  8. 8

    University of Algarve (UAlg)

    Faro, Portugal

    • 21,470 research works
    • 1.1 million citations
    • h-index 270
  9. 9

    University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD)

    Vila Real, Portugal

    • 20,422 research works
    • 923 thousand citations
    • h-index 270
  10. 10

    University of Beira Interior (UBI)

    Covilha, Castelo Branco, Portugal

    • 19,459 research works
    • 861 thousand citations
    • h-index 279
  11. 11

    Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 17,167 research works
    • 618 thousand citations
    • h-index 276
  12. 12

    Universidade Politécnica de Bragança (IPB)

    Bragança, Portugal

    • 12,462 research works
    • 601 thousand citations
    • h-index 286
  13. 13

    University of Évora

    Evora, Évora, Portugal

    • 18,645 research works
    • 566 thousand citations
    • h-index 224
  14. 14

    Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC)

    Oeiras, Portugal

    • 4,498 research works
    • 560 thousand citations
    • h-index 303
  15. 15

    Universidade Técnica do Porto (IPP)

    Porto, Portugal

    • 16,353 research works
    • 520 thousand citations
    • h-index 220
  16. 16

    Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL)

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 16,777 research works
    • 364 thousand citations
    • h-index 202
  17. 17

    Universidade dos Açores (UAc)

    Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal

    • 8,329 research works
    • 357 thousand citations
    • h-index 192
  18. 18

    Universidade de Leiria e Oeste (IPL)

    Leiria, Portugal

    • 8,866 research works
    • 287 thousand citations
    • h-index 228
  19. 19

    Universidade da Madeira (UMa)

    Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

    • 6,684 research works
    • 251 thousand citations
    • h-index 190
  20. 20

    Universidade Politécnica de Lisboa (IPL)

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 9,189 research works
    • 195 thousand citations
    • h-index 141
  21. 21

    Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra (IPC)

    Coimbra, Portugal

    • 7,522 research works
    • 163 thousand citations
    • h-index 140
  22. 22

    Fernando Pessoa University (UFP)

    Porto, Portugal

    • 5,855 research works
    • 158 thousand citations
    • h-index 159
  23. 23

    Polytechnic Institute of Viseu

    Viseu, Portugal

    • 4,945 research works
    • 130 thousand citations
    • h-index 140
  24. 24

    Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (CESPU)

    Gandra, Porto, Portugal

    • 3,303 research works
    • 126 thousand citations
    • h-index 125
  25. 25

    ISPA - Instituto Universitário

    Lisbon, Portugal

    • 3,980 research works
    • 112 thousand citations
    • h-index 124

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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