About us

We’re a public higher education institution founded in 1980 and established across the region of Leiria and Oeste. We’re committed to high standards of education and research and concerned about producing knowledge of high cultural, economic and social value.

We have five schools, located in the cities of Leiria (the School of Education and Social Sciences; the School of Technology and Management; and the School of Health Sciences), Caldas da Rainha (School of Arts and Design) and Peniche (School of Tourism and Maritime Technology).

Our work is driven by five core values: inclusion, cooperation, responsibility, innovation, and a critical and entrepreneurial thinking.

Why choose Politécnico de Leiria?

• We were the first institution in Portugal to offer some of the programmes that today exist in the Portuguese higher education system.
• We invest in innovative and high-quality teaching practices.
• Many of our undergraduate and postgraduate prgrammes are taught in English.
• We promote a culture of evaluation and quality, which means that our programmes are regularly assessed by internal and external officers.
• The relationship between society and our research clearly distinguishes us from other higher education institutions. As a proactive organisation, we facilitate and promote an entrepreneurial mindset.

research centres and teams

Research and Development