The Faculty

Mission

The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon is an institution of creation, transmission and diffusion of scientific and technological knowledge that promotes a culture of permanent learning, valuing critical thinking and intellectual autonomy.

Its mission is research and teaching, and the transfer of knowledge and innovation in the areas of exact and natural sciences and techno-sciences, as well as the dissemination and sharing of cultures, stimulating a permanent opening to civil society.

The Faculty's mission is based on the following scientific areas: Chemical Sciences and Technologies | Life Sciences | Earth Sciences | Physical Sciences and Engineering | Mathematical Sciences | Computer Science and Engineering | History and Philosophy of Sciences

Motto

What we do not know today, we will know tomorrow (Garcia de Orta, 1563).

 

 

Video and Leaflet

 

Ciências ULisboa - Institutional leaflet

History

The Faculty was created by Decree on 19 April 1911

Since its creation and until 1985, when it was transferred to its new facilities in Campo Grande, the Faculty of Sciences facilities were in the building that used to hold the Polytechnic School (Escola Politécnica), and before that, other key cultural and scientific institutes. In addition to this shared background, the Faculty of Sciences also takes on the historical, cultural and scientific heritage of its ancestors:

  • Noviciado da Cotovia (1619-1759);
  • Real Colégio dos Nobres (1761-1837);
  • Escola Politécnica (1837-1911).
The Faculty celebrated its 1st centennial in 2011. More than about remembering the past, this anniversary constituted a broad forum for projecting FCUL's image as a prestigious institution that comprises a vast humanistic and scientific heritage. It is this heritage that allows us to use today's challenges to pave tomorrow's future.

As an integral unit of the University of Lisbon, the Faculty of Sciences also belongs to this institution's founding history. Neither should we forget the turbulent beginnings of the University of Lisbon. In the words of A. Moreira Sá: 

"The Portuguese University was founded by King Dinis on March 1, 1290, and was transferred to Coimbra in 1308; thirty years later it was transferred back to Lisbon and then, in 1354, it was moved once again to Coimbra. However, King Fernando ordered, on June 3, 1377, its transferral back to Lisbon, where it stayed for 160 years without interruption - more precisely during the Discoveries, a period which greatly benefitted from the contributions of several of its students and teachers (among many others, the sailor Gil Eanes and two key scientific figures: Pedro Nunes and Garcia de Orta)."

The building on Rua da Escola Politécnica currently houses the University of Lisbon Museum (Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência) - a set of important and rare museological installations and a forum for scientific activities.

Facts and Figures

Students 2022
Students 2022

Degrees 2022
Degrees 2022

 

Staff
Staff