Master's in Law – Specialization in Business Law and Health
Regulating and Navigating the Healthcare Ecosystem
Presentation
The Master’s Degree in Law – Specialization in Business and Health Law responds to the need for specialized training designed for professionals who work or intend to work in the health sector and provision of healthcare services combining Health Law with general topics in Business Law.
Subjects such as the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, the protection of health data in a digital world, intellectual property rights in the field of medicines and medical devices, corporate social responsibility, the ethical and legal challenges of biotechnology and biomedicine and the legal applications of medicine form the core of this Master’s.
The programme includes not only a theoretical component but also a practical dimension to stimulate the ability to recognize and formulate legal problems, and address such problems.
Language of instruction:
- Primary: Portuguese
- Secondary: English (required)
Why choose this Master’s ?
- Health and healthcare face growing legal challenges in an evolving global context.
- Integrated training in Health Law and Business Law, designed for professionals in healthcare and health services.
- Exploration of key links between Medicine and Law, addressing emerging legal issues in healthcare.
Coordination
Maria de Lurdes Pereira
Scientific Commission
President: Francisco Pereira Coutinho | Board Members: Lúcio Tomé Feiteira (taught component) | João Zenha Martins (taught component) | Veronica Corcodel (taught component) | Lucila de Almeida (research phase) | Filipe Brito Bastos (research phase) | Helena Bolina (research phase) | Orlando Scarcello (research phase) | Francisco Costa-Cabral (research phase)
Goals
This Master’s aims to develop to develop knowledge and skills in Health law and Business law, preparing students to interact effectively with other health professionals while giving them a competitive advantage in their respective market sectors (pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, regulatory agencies, law firms and the judiciary, among others).
Target Applicant
Graduates in Law, Health Sciences and related academic areas.
Timetable
This course is taught during working hours.
Certification
| Study Cycle | Degree | A3ES Decision | Number of Years | Publication of the A3ES decision | DGES registration number | Publication in Diário da República |
Law | Master | accredited | 6 | R/A -Ef 3196/2011/AL08 |
Employability
Students on the Master’s degree programme in Business and Health Law can pursue professional careers in law firms, regulatory entities, hospitals, public administration, pharmaceutical industry or consulting.
Research with Impact
The Knowledge Centres at the NOVA School of Law provide Master’s students with the opportunity to conduct scientific research in a variety of legal fields.
Find out more about the Knowledge Centres that complement the Master’s in Law – Specialization in Social Law and Innovation and enrich your research journey:
Testimonials
Curricular Plan
+ 2026/2027
In addition to the mandatory curricular unit, students must complete 32 ECTS in restricted-option courses from the list below and 22 ECTS in free-option courses that they can freely choose from any course taught at NOVA School of Law. Total ECTS for the teaching phase: 60 ECTS
From 2024/25, students will need to approve the curricular component with, at least 13,50 points out of 20 (13,5/20) to be able to enrol in the research phase (2nd year of the course).
Completion of the curricular component (60 ECTS), with any positive grade, grants the award of a Diploma in Postgraduate Studies in Law.
1st year – Taught Component
| 1st Semester | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Restricted Option | |
| Direito Farmacêutico | 6 |
| Life Sciences Law | 6 |
| Corporate Governance | 6 |
| Corporate Tax Law | 6 |
| Direito da Contratação Pública | 6 |
| Direito da Proteção Social | 6 |
| Environmental Law | 6 |
| Industrial Property Law | 6 |
| Regulação e Riscos de Saúde Pública | 4 |
| Business, Human Rights and Sustainability | 4 |
| Free Option | |
| Introduction to Law for Non-Lawyers | 4 |
| 2nd Semester | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Mandatory | |
| Metodologia da Investigação Jurídica | 6 |
| Restricted Option | |
| Competition Law | 6 |
| Direito das Contraordenaçõe | 6 |
| EU Data Protection Law: From Theory to Practice | 6 |
| International Tax Law | 6 |
| Medicina Legal e Ciência Forense | 4 |
| Direito Administrativo da Regulação | 4 |
| Direito Civil Avançado | 4 |
| Direito e Políticas Públicas | 4 |
| Regulação e Riscos Ambientais | 4 |
| Free Option | |
| Direito e Cinema | 4 |
| Sustainability for All 2 | 3 |
2nd year – Research Phase
| Research Phase | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Mandatory | |
| Dissertation, internship at national or international institution or project work. | 60 |
Objectives and Structure of the Curricular Units
Tuition Fees
In master’s degrees and doctorates, the tuition fee for part-time students corresponds to 65% of the tuition fee owed by full-time students.
*Tuition fees as deliberated by the General Council on 16 December 2025
**Applicable only if the course is not terminated inside the established deadline
Reading of this information does not exempt consultation of the Regulation for Tuition Fees, and full documentation regarding fees, emoluments and taxes for the academic year in question.
Tuition fees are annual and due in full upon enrolment in the course. Payment in instalments is allowed for students’ mere convenience.
In the case of withdrawal from the course, the amounts already paid are not refundable. The remaining tuition fee payments due for the academic year of the application must also be paid.
Refund of the tuition fee is only possible where the previous course has not been completed by September, and is conditioned by its completion. In this case, the applicant must give proof of the situation through a declaration from the home institution, before the end of September. Amounts other than tuition fees (fees, school insurance and administrative costs) are not refundable.
Payments must be made via Visa, PayPal, MBWay or Multibanco payments, through NetPA. The system validates payments in a few minutes, maximum. Failure to pay tuition fees within the time limits indicated results in an increase in the amount to be settled and/or the suspension of enrolment and registration, as well as the invalidity of all curricular acts practised in the academic year in which the payment dates are not respected.
Payment by instalments
Annual tuition fees for the taught component
The annual tuition fees for the taught component can be paid in 10 instalments
- 10 instalments: 1st instalment of 20% of the total amount paid at the time of enrolment, and the remaining amount in 9 instalments paid between the 1st and 10th of the months of September to May.
Tuition fees of the Research Phase
Tuition fees for the Research phase can be paid in 10 instalments.
- 10 instalments: 1st instalment of 20% of the total amount paid upon enrolment and the remaining amount in 9 instalments paid between the 1st and 10th of the months of October through June.
Tuition fee for an additional Research Phase semester
Additional semester tuition fees for the Research Phase can be paid in 4 instalments.
- 4 instalments: 25% of the total amount paid at registration, remaining instalments:
- 1st semester: between the 1st and 10th (October, November, January);
- 2nd semester: between the 1st and 10th (March, April, May).
Fee for the extension of Deadline of delivery of the Research Phase:
Fees are paid in full at the time of registration.
Merit Awards
The number of awards is established annually by the NOVA School of Law Board. Merit awards for admission to a Master’s degree are awarded as follows:
- Each selection panel for admission to a 2nd cycle of studies at NOVA School of Law submits a reasoned proposal with the candidates it proposes to award a merit award, taking into account the admission classification for the respective Master’s programme.
- The decision on the awarding of merit awards is made by the Merit Awards Jury. This Jury will set the criteria and evaluate the applications in order to rank them according to merit, with a view to selecting candidates with a previous track record indicative of talent.
- The merit award is granted subject to enrolment in the relevant study cycle and consists of a cash amount corresponding to 30% or 50% of the tuition fees that candidates will pay in the academic year of entry to the course, this amount being set by the Merit Award Jury taking into account the candidates’ graduation.
- For each Master’s degree or, in the case of the Master’s in Law, for each specialisation, at least one merit award of 50% and one merit award of 30% will be awarded.
In the research phase of the Master’s degree, three academic merit awards are awarded each academic year in each cycle of studies, or in each area of specialisation in the case of the Master’s degree in Law:
- The best student in the teaching phase of each cycle of studies or area of specialisation of a cycle of studies who continues and attends the research phase will be awarded a cash prize corresponding to 100% of the tuition fees payable for the research phase of the Master’s degree, if their average grade is equal to or higher than 18.00 (on a scale of 0/20).
- The second best student in the teaching phase of each study cycle or area of specialisation of a study cycle who continues and attends the research phase, or the two best students, if the first does not achieve an average equal to or higher than 18.00 points, a cash prize corresponding to 60% of the tuition fees payable for the research phase of the Master’s degree is awarded.
- The third best student in the teaching phase of each study cycle or area of specialisation of a study cycle who continues and attends the research phase is awarded a cash prize corresponding to 40% of the tuition fees payable for the research phase of the Master’s degree.
To assess the best grades in the teaching phase, only grades obtained at NOVA School of Law are taken into account.
Only students who complete the teaching phase on time and attend full-time are eligible for academic merit awards.
The merit award for the research phase only covers the time specified in the Regulations for the respective study cycle for the completion of this phase, not including additional semesters.
Scholarships for Access to Study Cycles at NOVA University Lisbon
The Scholarships for Access to Study Cycles are available to students of the three study cycles, being students of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, nationals or stateless persons, foreigners with tax residence in Portugal or with refugee status, who are in a situation of financial need and who do not benefit from the scholarships awarded by the Directorate-General for Higher Education, or whose value proves to be insufficient.
Full scholarship details here.
Emoluments/Charges and Taxes Fees
- Application fee: 51.00€
- Administrative costs per registration/enrolment (each year): 35.00€
- Institution insurance (each year): 3.00€
- Registration Certificate: 6.00 €
- Improvement grade exam: 15.00 €/enrolement
- Conclusion Certificate: 50€
Applications
Important Notice to All Prospective Students
NOVA School of Law wishes to inform all prospective students that we do not employ or authorize any representatives, agents, or intermediaries for admissions, application processing, or fee payments.
Our only partner is Keystone, but exclusively as a provider of information to prospective students. All applications, registrations, and payments must be handled directly by the candidate with the School’s Applications and Academic Services.
Please be aware of potential scams, especially those targeting international students, where third parties claim to facilitate the admissions and VISA process for a fee. These claims are false and unauthorized.
All applications are received through our official portal, and assessed according to their merit, taking into account the selection criteria defined by the scientific committees.
For your safety and to ensure a legitimate application process, always communicate directly with the School’s Applications and Academic Services through our official contact channels, by e-mail or telephone (+351 21 384 74 00).
We do not accept any liability for losses incurred due to interactions with unauthorized third parties.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation
2026/2027
General course information
- Number of places: 25
Applications:
- Submission of applications: From 8 to 28 June 2026
Admission requirements
Applications will be accepted from:
- Holders of a bachelor’s degree certificate from a higher education institution in countries that subscribe to the Bologna Declaration and others considered to be similar, taking into account the respective curricular structure, with mention of the final average.*
- Holders of a foreign higher academic degree that is recognised as satisfying the objectives of the degree of licenciado by the competent scientific body of NOVA School of Law, with a mention of the final average.*
For bachelor degree finalists:
- Conditional applications are accepted from students who can demonstrate that they are in their final year of their course. If accepted in the programme, they must submit a certificate of completion by 15 October 2026.
Applicants who are required to complete their degree must present:
- A formal statement from the educational institution where they are enrolled, showing all subjects they have completed, their final grade and their current average grade. This document must also state the expected date for the completion of the program. Without this official document from the institution of origin, signed and stamped, the final grade awarded will be of 10/20 points. Print screens from academic portals are not accepted.
For the purposes of evaluation by the jury, students from NOVA School of Law must attach the free of charge document ‘Mapa de Notas e Média’ taken from their NetPA. The grade point average indicated in the document will be used for the calculation in the application.
Current finalist averages will be granted to the closest whole number to their current grade.
*Failure to prove the final classification of the Academic Degree in the terms mentioned above will result in the final classification of 10 points being awarded for the purposes of the application process
Selection and Ranking Criteria
Applications are ranked according to the score obtained in the selection process, based on individual merit. The following criteria are taken into account:
- Final grade in the degree course you are applying for (50%);
- Relevance and suitability of previous experience for the master’s course (50%) – the jury will give each candidate a score on a scale of 0 to 20, based on an analysis of the letter of motivation and curriculum vitae, and the members of the jury may decide to hold interviews with all or some of the candidates. These interviews can be held online, and each candidate who is selected for interview will receive notification to this effect via the email address used for the application
Candidates assessed with a mark lower than 9.5 will be automatically excluded.
Linguistic admissibility criteria
Proficiency in English, as evidenced by:
- Language certificate, at least B2 level (examples of accepted certificates: Cambridge ESOL FCE, CAE, CPE, LINGUASKILL; IELTS: above level 6; TOEFL iBT above 87; TOEIC: above 880; BULATS: above 75);
- or a Final Assessment Certificate from the 11th grade Portuguese National Examination in English (550) with a minimum mark of 10 (100);
- or equivalent documentation that must be presented at the time of application (the documentation will be validated by the Scientific Committee).
Students who have graduated from NOVA School of Law do not need to attach any documents, as proficiency in English is a requirement for graduation.
Students who have completed their secondary education at an English-speaking secondary school or who have other academic qualifications in English need only present a certificate proving that they have completed an education programme entirely in English (e.g. transcripts of records).
Application process
Submission of applications:
The application must be accompanied by the following elements:
- Motivation letter;
- Curriculum vitae (European model);
- Copy of the certificate of completion of the course(s); candidates with foreign qualifications must send transcripts showing the coefficient of performance or a statement with the final average of the degree, as well as the grading scale used in the country of origin of the course. Diplomas that are not presented in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish must be accompanied by a translation certified by the relevant authorities (the grade will be converted to the Portuguese scale in accordance with DGES criteria, rounded up to the nearest whole number);
- Document proving proficiency in English, as mentioned above;
- Proof of Tax ID Number, where applicable;
- Proof of ID;
- In the case of an International Student **, a declaration, sworn on honour, in which the candidate declares that he/she does not have Portuguese nationality, nor is covered by any of the exceptions in Article 2(2) of Regulation no. 687/2020, of 20 August, which, under the terms of Decree-Law no. 36/2014, of 10 March, excludes him/her from the status of International Student – model Declaration of honour | International Student;
- For applications for the national student scheme whose applicants present an identification document with a nationality other than Portuguese or EU, a declaration on honour that the applicant has Portuguese nationality or is covered by one of the exceptions in Article 2(2) of Regulation no. 687/2020 of 20 August, which, under the terms of Decree-Law no. 36/2014 of 10 March, excludes him/her from International Student status – model Declaration of Honour;
- Applicants who are required to complete their degree must send a statement from the educational institution where they are currently enrolled, showing all subjects they have completed, their final grade and their current average grade. This document must also state the expected date of completion of the program. Without this official document from the institution of origin, signed and stamped, the degree mark awarded will be 10/20 points. Print screens from academic portals are not accepted.
For the purposes of evaluation by the jury, students from NOVA School of Law must attach the free of charge document ‘Mapa de Notas e Média’ taken from their NetPA. The grade point average indicated in the document will be used for the calculation in the application. - After submitting the application, candidates must pay the fee according to the designated references (€51, which can be paid via Multibanco, MB way, Paypal or Visa). The application will only be sent for assessment once payment has been made.
Applications that are not accompanied by all the documents, or for which the application fee has not been paid, will be rejected outright.
** For the purposes of the provisions of Decree-Law no. 36/2014, of 10 March, amended by Decree-Law no. 113/2014, of 16 July and republished under the terms of Decree-Law no. 62/2018, of 6 August, an international student will be those who meet the conditions described at https://novalaw.unl.pt/candidatos-internacionais.
Optional documents
Candidates may submit a request for accreditation of academic training and professional experience obtained prior to entering the study cycle. Accreditation processes take into account the level of credits corresponding to previous training, and under no circumstances will accreditation be allowed for further studies in a study cycle for training undertaken as part of a study cycle at a lower level of qualification. For the purposes of accreditation, the candidate must fill in a specific form and attach all the relevant documentation. When the request for accreditation is made at the time of application, accreditation is not a sufficient condition for admission to the study cycle and only takes effect after admission and only in that same study cycle.
Important information about documentation
Whenever the above-mentioned documents are issued in a language other than Spanish, French, English or Portuguese, you must provide a translation of them, accordingly. The translations must be duly certified by relevant authorities. Otherwise, the applications will be rejected.
If there are any inquiries about the documents presented, particularly in the case of documents obtained abroad, recognition may be requested by the local Portuguese consular agent and/or legalised by the Apostille system under the terms of the Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Acts (better known as the Hague Convention), signed in The Hague on 5 October 1961, with the exception of documents issued by Higher Education Institutions in European Union countries.
Deadline for the submission of the course completion certificate, according to the point “Copy of the course completion certificate(s)” for successful candidates: 15 October 2026.
Application fees
The application fee is €51 (fifty-one euros) and will not be refunded if the application is rejected or not selected. This information does not dispense with consulting the 2026/27 tuition fees notice, available on the NOVA School of Law website, as well as the NOVA fees table applicable for the current academic year.
For more information on tuition fees candidates should consult the NOVA School of Law’s Regulations on Tuition Fees, Fees and Emoluments.
Applications through the NOVA School of Law applications portal.
Readmissions
Readmission is the act by which a student, after interruption of studies in an institution/course of higher education, enrols in the same institution and in the same course or in the updated version of the course.
Requirements:
Students who can apply for readmission to any cycle of studies:
- Must have already been enrolled at NOVA School of Law, in the same course in which they are already registered, without having completed it;
- Must not have been enrolled in that course in the previous academic year to the one in which they intend to be readmitted to;
- Those students whose registration has lapsed due to the requirements in force may apply for readmission once two school semesters have elapsed since the date of the lapsing.
Pursuant to Regulation No. 27/2024, students may only re-enroll in the research phase of a master’s degree program if they have completed the research phase with an average grade of 13.50 or above (Article 2(1)).
The Faculty reserves the right to refuse readmission to applications from students whose curricular record indicates serious difficulties in adapting to the study plan in force and to the type of lecturing provided at NOVA School of Law. Requests from students who are in debt to the School for tuition fees or any other amounts will be rejected, subject to the provisions of Law Nº. 75/2019, of September 2.
Deadlines for submission of applications | School Year 2025/26:
2nd Semester
Submission of the application | From 12 to 16 January 2026 |
Enrolment and Registration for Curricular Units | From 02 to 6 February 2026 |
Deadlines for submission of applications | School Year 2026/27:
1st Semester
Submission of the application | From 29 June to 3 July 2026 |
Enrolment and Registration for Curricular Units | From 31 August to 4 September 2026 |
2nd Semester
Submission of the application | From 12 to 16 January 2027 |
Enrolment and Registration for Curricular Units | From 2 to 5 February 2027 |
Instructions for submitting the application (online):
The application is submitted online through NetPA by filling in a form and uploading the necessary documents, namely:
- Online submission of a simple digital copy of the citizen card or passport (international applicants)
- Payment of the application fee through the PayPal, Visa, MBway or Multibanco references on the system: 70.00€ (non-refundable), validated by the system in few minutes.
- For candidates who present identification documents with a nationality other than Portuguese or EU, a declaration, under oath, stating that the candidate has Portuguese nationality or is covered by one of the exceptions in Article 2(2) of Regulation No. 687/2020 of 20 August, which, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 36/2014 of 10 March, excludes them from International Student status – model Declaration of Honour.
Incomplete and/or unpaid applications will be automatically rejected.
Fees and Emoluments
Application Fee: 70,00€
Note: All due tuition and other fees should be checked in the course’s webpage, as well as in the tuitions annual order and NOVA fee’s table.
Tuition fees are fixed annually by the General Council of the NOVA University Lisbon.
Regulations Applicable: Decree-Law Nº. 36/2014, of March 10th, altered by Decree-Law Nº. 62/2018, of August 6th, and Regulation Nº. 436/2020, of April 28th, of NOVA School of Law.
Applications through the NOVA School of Law applications portal
Clear all your doubts
We are at your disposal to answer any questions you may have about studying at NOVA School of Law.
Please do not hesitate to contact us by email: apoio.candidato@novalaw.unl.pt.