More than 1,600 American students chose Portuguese universities and polytechnics for an exchange period in the 2022/2023 academic year, the highest number of American university students in Portugal ever, and an increase of almost 60% compared to the previous year, according to the Open Doors 2024 – Report on International Education Exchange.

The report, released today by the United States Department of State, shows that, after the recovery achieved in the 2021/2022 academic year in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent figures confirm that Portugal is increasingly a bet for American university students, due to the unique conditions that the country offers, and the growing recognition of the quality of Portuguese Higher Education.

“This is a result that the Luso-American Development Foundation welcomes with great satisfaction and pride in the work carried out, together with our institutional partners, and Portuguese Higher Education institutions, in promoting Portugal as a Study Abroad destination, and in raising awareness and training Portuguese higher education institutions.” – Michael Baum, member of the FLAD Executive Board.

About 10% of American students have been studying in Portugal through the SiPN – Study in Portugal Network program, the student exchange program developed by FLAD since 2014, and through which FLAD has already brought more than 1,700 American students to study in Portugal.

“The numbers we have for 2023/2024 point to the number of American students in Portuguese universities continuing to grow exponentially – in the SiPN program alone, the number of students who took the program in Portugal increased by 65% last academic year – demonstrating the quality of Portuguese Higher Education, the good work that has been done, and the great potential that can still be explored.” – Michael Baum, member of the FLAD Executive Board.

In the last decade, FLAD has invested in promoting the internationalization of Higher Education with the support of initiatives by Portuguese universities, and the creation of the UP Higher Education Program, which has funded more than 100 thousand euros, per year, projects for the internationalization of Portuguese higher education since this program was created. Together with our partners in the USA-Portugal Campus initiative – Fulbright Portugal and the National Agency Erasmus+ -, FLAD also supports the Portuguese pavilion at NAFSA, the largest study abroad fair in the world, and organizes the FLAD Forum on Portugal and USA Higher Education every two years. The Open Doors 2024 report can be found at: https://opendoorsdata.org/ More detailed information for the press at: https://opendoorsdata.org/annual-release/