SUPERNOVA Foundation
Programme Access

SUPERNOVA was designed for students who have recently finished high school and plan to apply to Higher Education at European Institutions.

SUPERNOVA will assist students from different countries in adapting to the European education system, developing language and academic skills at an appropriate level for successful progression to an undergraduate course at some of the best and most innovative European Universities, including NOVA and some of its partners.

Students are guaranteed progression to the first year of a relevant degree at one of these partner Universities, provided the progression criteria are met.

SUPERNOVA is organized into two-semester modules:

The Spring semester (applications from July to October) – Classes between February and June.
The Fall semester (applications from January to April) – Classes between September and January.

Candidates will follow two semesters of classes under SUPERNOVA, instead of only one, under the following circunstances:

By request of the candidate;
If the candidate applied for a Math based course and does not pass the face-to-face Mathematics test with a minimum score of 13 out of 20, an additional semester is required to attend Introductory Mathematics, and then proceed to the regular Mathematics course;
Under the recommendation of the Admissions Committee;
If the candidate does not pass the required courses after completing the first semester.

Candidates who need a longer adjustment period will likely have to complete two semesters in SUPERNOVA. The student will only be able to enrol in the second semester after the settlement of the enrollment fee and final payment. For more information, please check the fees page.

Pre-requisites

Candidates to the SUPERNOVA Foundation Programme must meet the following requirements:

A motivation letter;
Recommendation letter (optional);
A document attesting to the completion of High School 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/or the ones completed by that time, including respective grades;*
Passport copy;
Document certifying language level (English and/or Portuguese);
Document proving the payment of the application fee.

* 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) until the end of the first month of classes of SUPERNOVA.

Fluency equivalent to the European B2 level means that the student must be able to understand the main points of everyday matters such as work, school and leisure. Can handle everyday situations in the country where the language is spoken (tourist trip). Can produce simple texts on familiar areas of interest. It can also describe experiences, events, dreams, desires and ambitions. In addition, it can also give limited opinions on plans and discussion.

Applicants must present a certificate indicating their level of proficiency in English or Portuguese, unless they are native speakers, or if they have followed at least 1 year of instruction in either of these languages.

Structure

The programme is consists of a set of courses from six different Schools of NOVA: NOVA FCT, NOVA IMS, NOVA FCSH, NMS, NOVA Law and NOVA SBE.

The simple completion of SUPERNOVA does not guarantee direct access to one of the available Undergraduate Programs at NOVA IMS, those who are interested must apply as international student by the end of the SUPERNOVA program.

In particular, some of the Schools at NOVA and partner Universities guarantee special immediate admission conditions for SUPERNOVA students. Specifically, for this purpose, candidates at the end of the SUPERNOVA must fulfil the following:

Pass to all disciplines chosen from the SUPERNOVA study plan. The Programme’s study plan includes the following mandatory components and the disciplines required by each School mentioned in condition 3:
- Attend and pass Club of Ideas, available in Portuguese and English, candidates can choose according to their fluency of the language; and
- Compulsory English language course, except for candidates who are native speakers or can certify level B2 or above according to the CEFR (1 hour per day); or
- Compulsory Portuguese language course, except for candidates who are native speakers or can certify level B2 or above according to the CEFR (1 hour per day).
Have a minimum attendance rate of 80% in all SUPERNOVA enrolled classes;
Comply with the specific criteria for progression to the Bachelors Program they intend to enter (all disciplines below refer to the offer available to SUPERNOVA):

NOVA FCT (Combination of two of the following subjects, depending on the degree chosen)
- Pass Mathematics;
- Pass Principles of Physics or Principles of Chemistry;
- Biology.
NOVA IMS
- Pass Mathematics;
- Pass Foundational Aspects of Data or Foundational Aspects of Information;
- Pass Physics (in the case of Computer Science).
NOVA FCSH
- Pass Introduction to Methods of Social Science;
- Pass Introduction to Law and Democracy.
NMS
- Pass Biology; and
- Pass Principles of Chemistry.
NOVA LAW
- Pass Law and Democracy with at least 60% grade;
- Pass Introduction to Methods of Social Sciences.
NOVA SBE
- Pass Mathematics with a minimum grade of 70%;
- Pass a subject offered in Economics or Management.

Note: To pass a course, the student must obtain 50%, i.e. a minimum grade of 10 (out of 20), to fulfil the conditions of direct access to each School it is important to consider the minimum grade required above.

Fees


Programme Cost
Application fee: €70*
Enrolment fee: €500* (Upon acceptance)
Final fee: €3000* (30 days before classes start)

*All fees are non-refundable (including cases of visa requests denied).

The program costs include:

Tuition fees;
Costs of all appropriate teaching, supervision, assessment, and examinations related to the programme;
Pre-requisites: language exams;
Language Courses: Portuguese or English;
Program administration;
The Face-to-face Program gives you access to some important services and facilities that you will find useful throughout your time at SUPERNOVA;
The Online Program includes additional online question-solving sessions.

Program Cost does not include:

Expenses not required for the Online Program.

Application Process

Step 1: Online Application
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.
Step 2: Analysis

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.
Step 3: Admission tests

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. Candidates interested in following chemistry-based courses will be submitted to a Chemistry diagnostic test.
Step 3.1: Math 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).
Step 4: Interview

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.
Step 5: Enrolment

After the interview, if accepted, applicants will receive an email from the Admissions Committee informing them about their application results.
Step 6: Registration

Once participation in the program is confirmed, students will be contacted by NOVA with instructions for paying the Programme’s final fee. After settling this fee, students will receive information about the start of classes, timetables, school calendars, etc.

All our communications are sent to the email that the candidate gave 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.

Living in Lisbon

From the beginning of history Lisbon always welcome different persons and cultures. Called the city of the seven hills it is also famous for its exceptional light that enchants visitors and residents, and provides excellent photos. History and modernity live together in a city that wants to progress and keep its traditional way of living.

In the historical quarters you can still find the “ancient Lisbon” and, if you like details, please look around and take a look at the tiles that cover some building façades and to the work in cast iron of the old balconies.

People in Lisbon are friendly and it isn’t very difficult to find someone who understands English especially among young people.

Lisbon has a good public transport network, and nearby you have the beaches of Cascais and Costa da Caparica and the lovely village of Sintra.

The city also offers a wide range of cultural activities and museums.

Lisbon and Portugal are also known for the good food. The city has lots of restaurants from traditional to international cuisine, and some are not very expensive. Going out for dinner is almost a national tradition.

People who visit Lisbon often praise the seafood dishes, the codfish (bacalhau) the sardines (sardinhas), and the famous Pastéis de Belém.

Shops are open, usually from Monday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., but you have various shopping centers opened every day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pharmacies are also open from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. to 7. p.m., sometimes they close at lunch time (from 1 to 3 p.m.).

On Saturdays pharmacies open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Outside of these hours we have what we call Farmácias de Serviço (pharmacies that are open until 10 p.m. or during all night).

Banks are open at the weekdays from 8:30 a.m to 3 p.m., but you can easily find cash machines (ATMs) identified by MB symbol (Multibanco) where you can withdraw money or do different operations (pay bills, top up the mobile phone, charge the electronic pass Lisbon Viva).

In Lisbon besides a quiet and nice ambience for study you can also find sports, nature, leisure, culture, and beautiful places to visit and to enjoy. Be welcome!

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