Details

• Portugal
• MASIMC-17
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 9 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Only suitable travel choice to Lisbon is to fly in my opinion. No visa required if you're from the EU but apartments can be a little difficult. We used Uniplaces for an apartment of 3 and it worked pretty well, would recommend. Apart from the apartment there's not much to prepare except for the the course registration.

2. Accommodation

We used uniplaces, went pretty smooth. Private apartment for 3 people (2 friends and myself) which was pretty nice because you don't have to live with random people. Location: Martim Moniz (sometimes a little sketchy at night but overall okay, central location was super cool. Proximity to university was okay (super close to metro station but total way around 35 mins.) Recommendation: choose a central apartment close to a metro station. Central location is more important than proximity to university in my opinion.

3. Academic life at host university

Compared to SIMC at WU, I'd rate campus facilities, academic culture, and teaching style at Catolica Lisbon as a downgrade. Campus is pretty old and not central, academic culture and english level a little weak sometimes compared to SIMC, and teaching style felt less personal. A course I would highly recommend is International Negotiation, by far my favorite course at Catolica.

5. Every day life in the host country

Lisbon is a great city to live in, especially to experience the mediterranean way of life. Public transport is free if you're under 23, otherwise around 30 EUR per month I believe. Metro is okay but can be a little unreliable, Uber and bolt are super cheap alternatives in Lisbon. I didn't have any negative experiences regarding safety in Lisbon, but some of my female friends in Lisbon mentioned they wouldn't recommend walking alone at night, though nothing serious ever happened. Lots of social and leisure activities (beach, surfing, padel, tons of events, etc.) - super nice!

6. Testimonial

Lisbon is an incredible city to live in for a year with real mediterranean vibes. Great food and drinks, always something to do - especially on weekends. Catolica might be a slight downgrade compared to SIMC to be honest, but I'd still choose the double degree in Lisbon again, mainly because living there was a real pleasure.