The application is done through an online form and requires the upload of the following documents:

• Motivation letter
• Recommendation letter (optional).
• High School diploma or an official declaration from the School attesting when the candidate will be finishing High school.
• Transcript of records with a full list of courses and corresponding grades*
• Passport copy.
• Certificate of Language Proficiency in English and/or Portuguese (optional).

After submission, the candidate will receive an email acknowledging receipt of documents and providing instructions for enrolment fee payment. 

* Students who are still finishing High School by the time of application must submit the Diploma that proves they finished High School (or a legally equivalent document) by the end of the first month of classes of SUPERNOVA. 

The Admissions Committee is formed by the program’s international recruiters, and coordinated by the Vice-Rector for International Development and Education.

After reviewing all application elements, the Selection Committee makes the final decision and informs candidates by email. This process can take up to 2 weeks.

Candidates interested in following math-based courses must take a mathematical admission test in two phases. The first phase is an online test to determine if the candidate moves on to the interview. The second phase is an additional face-to-face evaluation at the beginning of the programme, students scoring below 7 in the Math in-person test will be removed from the Math course for the semester. They may explore non-mathematical alternatives or seek support for the end-of-semester exam. 

Candidates interested in following chemistry-based courses will be submitted to a Chemistry diagnostic test.

Download here a sample math test for practice.

Please find below a list of the main topics of this exam:

• Basic logic, universal and existential quantifiers. 
• Sets (reunion, intersection, set minus, complement). 
• Operations with real numbers. 
• Solving analytically simple algebraic equations in IR (no trigonometry) involving polynomials of degree up to 3, modulus, logarithms and exponentials. 
• Factorization of polynomials (cases that can be solved analytically). 
• Sequences- Definition, monotonicity, bounded sequences and limits. 
• Functions – Basic definitions (odd, even, injective, surjective, local and global extreme points, monotonicity), domain, composition, inverse, continuity and differentiability. Consider also stepwise functions. 

Approval in each mathematics admission test requires a grade equal to or greater than 10 (out of 20).

After passing the admission tests, all applicants are invited for an interview by the Admissions Committee to review the information provided in the application. The interviews will be conducted online.

After the interview, if accepted, applicants will receive an email from the Admissions Committee informing them about their application results.

Once participation in the program is confirmed, NOVA will contact students with instructions for paying the enrollment fee. After settling this fee, students will receive the acceptance letter, information about the start of classes, timetables, school calendars, etc. 

Even after settling the final fee, international students must have valid travel insurance to cover necessary expenses for medical reasons, including urgent medical assistance, possible repatriation and liability. This insurance must be valid for their stay in Portugal and may be presented when they obtain their visa. If you do not have insurance or if your current one doesn’t provide coverage while you’re studying abroad, we can coordinate comprehensive insurance coverage through our partnership with AON Student Insurance (insurance coverage summary). For more information, please contact us at supernova@unl.pt.

Failure to submit the insurance to the SUPERNOVA team can result in students being prohibited from attending programme classes.

Please note: attendance is one of the criteria to succeed in the program. If a student misses more than 20% of classes (in each subject), they fail the programme.

All our communications are sent to the email that the candidate filled on the application form. Applicants are responsible for checking their email accounts regularly (including spam and junk boxes). 

The non-compliance to SUPERNOVA’s team and Consular services requests could lead to not receiving the required Visa in time, which SUPERNOVA does not take responsibility for. 

Note: Visas must be requested up until 60 days before the start of classes, the 30th of November for Spring editions and the 30th of May for fall editions, respectively. The non-compliance to SUPERNOVA’s team and Consular services requests could lead to not receiving the required Visa in time, which SUPERNOVA does not take responsibility for.