It is one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in Europe and the world, the oldest university of Portugal, and one of its largest higher education and research institutions. It is organized into 8 different faculties according to a wide range of fields, granting all the highest academic degrees in architecture, education, engineering, humanities, law, mathematics, medicine, natural sciences, psychology, social sciences and sports.

It is a founding member of the Coimbra Group, a group of leading European research universities, whose inaugural meeting it hosted. The University of Coimbra has approximately 20,000 students, and hosts one of the largest communities of international students in Portugal, being the most cosmopolitan Portuguese university.

The university harbors a huge central library (University of Coimbra General Library), botanical gardens (Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra), stadiums and other sports facilities (Estádio Universitário de Coimbra sports complex and Campo de Santa Cruz stadium), an astronomical observatory, a publishing house, a private chapel (São Miguel Chapel), a theater (Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente), and many support facilities such as dining halls and studying rooms. In addition, the university manages several museums and other cultural organizations, including a science museum (Science Museum of the University of Coimbra), a museum of sacred art (Sacred Art Museum of the University of Coimbra), and an academic museum (Academic Museum of the University of Coimbra). The flag of the University of Coimbra (white flag with the dark green seal in the middle) is always erected, over the top of the old university tower, on the 1st of March, which is the day of the university, being an occasion for a week of debates, conferences, workshops, and special events related with multiple aspects of the institution.

The University has 5 main campus:

• Pólo I (the monumental ancient university core center, with the main library and administration services, as well as facilities of law, medicine, letters, psychology, and natural sciences departments active since the early university times before the 16th century, with major expansions in the 18th century and from the 1940s to the 1960s, during Estado Novo)
• Pólo II (engineering, sciences & technology built during the 1990s and 2000s)
• Pólo III (medicine, pharmacy & the university hospital built in the 1980s with major expansions in the 2000s)
• Faculdade de Economia (economics, social sciences founded in the 1970s)
• Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física (sports sciences founded in the late 1990s in the university sports complex)

Traditions:

Queima das Fitas:

The “Queima das Fitas” of Coimbra is classified as the largest and oldest academic festival in Portugal. It involves not only the entire student community of Coimbra, but also countless people around the country who join in this extraordinary party. It has many attractions and they come for either the concerts, sports and cultural activities surrounding the event or for all the traditional and mystique parades it proudly holds. It is relevant to mention that Queima das Fitas is an event with a national and an international context in which all the activities take place in a consecutive period of four months.

Festa das Latas:

The Festa das Latas goes back to the 19th century when the Coimbra students felt the need to express their joy at finishing the school year in as loud a way as possible, using everything at their disposal that would make noise, namely tin cans. The highlight of this festival, which now takes place at the beginning of the academic year (November) is the special parade known as the Latada. After marching through the streets of the city the new students are “baptized” in the Mondego River thus entering into the Coimbra academic fraternity. Besides the tin cans they have tied to their legs, the new students wear all kinds of costumes made up according to the creativity and imagination of their godmothers or godfathers who are older students. They also carry placards with ironic criticisms alluding to certain teachers, the educational system, national events and leaders.