FAQ’s

01. What is the ADN Jurista Programme?

The ADN Jurista Programme was created in close collaboration with partners from diverse professional sectors.

Its purpose is to help Law students develop the critical competences required for success across all legal professions, the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, act ethically, and understand the social context in which the law operates.

By fostering these dimensions, the programme promotes more conscious, critical, and active citizens, while enhancing students’ employability as future jurists.

02. Who can apply and how?

Applications are open to students during the first academic year of their undergraduate degree in Law.

To enrol, simply contact the Academic Services Office and request registration in the programme.

03. Is there a fee to participate?

No.
The ADN Jurista study plan includes curricular units that are already part of the Law degree. Each semester, students must choose one non-legal elective, and those enrolled in the ADN Programme simply select the electives listed in the ADN curriculum.

There are no additional tuition fees.

Moreover, ADN students have access to exclusive subjects, Expressão Dramática, Oratória and Escrita Jurídica, at no extra cost.

04. What does the ADN study plan include?

The ADN Jurista Programme extends over six of the eight semesters of the Law degree and includes the following modules:

1st Semester: Argumentação e Retórica;
2nd Semester: Expressão dramática;
3rd Semester: Oralidade;
4th Semester: Negociação e Tomada de Decisão no Mundo Jurídico;
5th Semester: Escrita Jurídica;
6th Semester: Oficinas de Empregabilidade.

In addition, every student must take part in two complementary components: the Premium Sessions and Individual Sessions.

05. What are the Premium Sessions and Individual Sessions?

Individual Sessions provides one-to-one guidance to help students apply what they learn in ADN modules to real-world challenges, using critical thinking and argumentation techniques.

Premium Sessions feature guest speakers who explore interdisciplinary topics related to Law, including political, media, and European literacy.

Attendance at these sessions is mandatory for continued participation in the programme.

06. How many absences are allowed?

Attendance is an essential part of the ADN Jurista Programme.
Each curricular unit defines its own attendance requirements, but for the complementary activities, the Premium Sessions, students are allowed only one absence per academic year.

Regardless of the number of sessions held, missing more than one session results in exclusion from the programme.
The count resets at the start of each academic year.

07. How can I enrol in the Oficinas de Empregabilidade?

The Oficinas de Empregabilidade are coordinated by the Students and Employability Office and offered in both semesters.

During the first week of classes, send an e-mail to ee.emprego@ucp.pt to request inclusion in the mailing list for available schedules.
You may then select the timetable that best fits your availability.
If no compatible option is available, you can enrol in the following semester.

08. What is the ADN Jurista Award and how is it granted?

Each year, the ADN Jurista Award is granted to the three students with the highest average grades in the ADN curricular units (grades from other subjects in the Law degree are not considered).
Award recipients are offered the ADN Internship, a professional placement within one of the programme’s partner organisations.

9. What is the ADN Jurista Internship?

The ADN Jurista Internship provides students with a professional experience in a real working environment.

It can be completed in two ways:

Integrated Internship: within the Internship curricular unit (a legal elective), with placements distributed according to academic merit;
Independent Internship: carried out with an external organisation, followed by a request for academic recognition worth 5 ECTS credits.

Internships may take place in law firms, companies, foundations, associations, public institutions, local authorities, or NGOs, and may be undertaken during the semester (140 hours) or over the summer (6 weeks / 210 hours).
An internship report is required upon completion, its structure can be consulted here.

Note: When the internship is registered as a curricular unit, the corresponding tuition fee applies, as with any other subject.

10. What does Individual Mentoring involve?

Complementing ADN classes and Premium Sessions, Individual Mentoring provides personalised academic coaching designed to strengthen critical reasoning, analysis, and communication competences.

Students develop key areas of literacy essential to a modern jurist:

Political literacy – understanding the context and systems shaping society;
Media literacy – identifying reliable sources and narratives;
European literacy – recognising the impact of EU law on national legislation.

Students who demonstrate significant engagement in this component may receive up to two additional points added to their final ADN grade.

Meetings are arranged according to the availability of the student and the Programme’s Executive Coordinator, Dr. Ana Martins.