Católica Porto Business School Math Entrance Exam (OMPT)

Católica Porto Business School, the economics and management faculty of Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto, accepts OMPT-A for two bachelor programmes: the Licenciatura em Economia (Economics) and the Licenciatura em Gestão (Management). It is not a general entry route. The OMPT only applies to applicants under International Student Status whose own final exams are not accepted as equivalent to the Portuguese entrance exams, and even then it is one of two options for the maths part, next to the university's internal maths exam. No OMPT percentage is published: the rule is a minimum of 95 out of 200 on the maths exam, which carries 30% of the application score. Examify checked this on 27 September 2026 against the 2026/27 call for applications, the international admissions page and the school's FAQ.

Católica Porto OMPT requirements by programme

Both degrees take three years (180 ECTS) and can be followed entirely in English. Students on the Portuguese track still get at least one English-taught course per semester.

The school's website now calls itself Católica Porto School of Business and Economics, while the 2026/27 call for applications, which sets the rules, still says Católica Porto Business School. It is the same faculty.

Who can use the OMPT route at Católica Porto

The OMPT sits inside the International Student Status regime, and that regime has a narrow definition. You fall under it if you are not Portuguese, not a national of an EU member state, not a family member of an EU citizen, not legally resident in Portugal for more than two uninterrupted years on 1 January of your starting year, and not covered by a treaty that gives you the same rights as Portuguese students.

If you hold an EU passport, which covers most Dutch and German readers, the OMPT is not your route. EU applicants go through the regular regime, which asks for the Portuguese national exam Matemática A plus one exam from Economics, Portuguese, English, Physics and Chemistry, Geography or History, or foreign exams the school accepts as equivalent. Neither the regular-regime page nor its foreign exams table mentions the OMPT.

For international applicants, the order of checks decides whether you need the test at all:

1. Católica Porto first compares your own final exams with a published correspondence table, organised by country and by international diploma. For Economics and Management it lists, for example, Mathematik in the German Abitur, a mathematics final exam for the Dutch VWO, IB Mathematics Analysis and Approaches at SL or HL (or Applications and Interpretation at HL), A-level Mathematics, and AP Calculus AB or BC for a US high-school diploma. The US entry gives no SAT route for these two degrees.
2. If your exams match, you do not need the OMPT. Your own grades are converted to the Portuguese 0 to 200 scale and used instead.
3. If they do not match, or your country is not in the table (Turkey, for instance, is not listed), you sit two knowledge assessments: maths, which can be the UCP internal exam or OMPT-A, and English, which is always the UCP internal exam.

The OMPT's practical advantage is timing: the internal exams are listed as "to be scheduled" in each call, while an OMPT slot can be booked online from home with 72 hours' notice. If you cannot find your case in the table, the notice says to submit the documents you have and wait for a ruling, so ask before you pay for a slot.

Which OMPT module Católica Porto uses and what it looks like

The call for applications names OMPT-A and no other module. The figures below come from the official OMPT-A syllabus.

The eight chapters are Numbers, Algebra, Linear formulas and equations, Systems of linear equations, Quadratic equations, Functions, Exponential functions and logarithms, and Differentiation. The first five are secondary-school algebra. Functions and Differentiation are the biggest chapters, and Exponential functions and logarithms is where applicants who left maths behind a year or two ago tend to lose marks. Examify's OMPT-A syllabus page has the full chapter list with topic counts.

Católica Porto OMPT minimum score in context

Católica Porto does not publish an OMPT percentage. What the call for applications does publish is a set of floors on the Portuguese 0 to 200 scale:

Foreign marks are converted to the Portuguese scale under the applicable legislation, but the notice does not say how an OMPT percentage converts. If the conversion is proportional, 95 points is 47.5%. That is our arithmetic, not a published rule, so do not plan around it. The school also reserves the right to raise the minimum application score in each call, depending on how strong the applicants are.

For comparison, Católica Lisbon asks 70% on the OMPT for its international bachelors without naming a module. Across the programmes Examify tracks, OMPT-A thresholds run from 50% at Arcada UAS to 75% at Utrecht, Maastricht and KU Leuven.

Our advice is to treat 70% as the real target at Católica Porto. In 2026/27 there were 20 places for international students across all three calls, and maths is the largest exam component. To show the effect, assume a proportional conversion: an applicant with a secondary grade of 150 and 140 on English who scores 50% on OMPT-A ends up at 133; the same applicant at 75% ends up at 148. Each 10 points on the OMPT moves the application score by 6 points. On OMPT-A, 70% means at least 37 correct answers out of 52. The full threshold comparison is in OMPT passing scores.

How to prepare for the Católica Porto OMPT test

The official estimate for OMPT-A is about 80 hours. Since there is no pass line to aim at, the plan below builds a margin rather than scraping a minimum, and it leaves time for the English exam that comes with the same route.

1. Sit a full-length diagnostic mock first: 52 questions, 120 minutes, timer on, answers typed. The free OMPT practice test shows two of the harder OMPT-A questions in the real answer box, so you learn the input rules before anything else. Then take the full OMPT-A generation-1 mock built by Examify.
2. Mark the mock chapter by chapter. Rank the eight chapters from weakest to strongest and spend the first hours on the bottom three. If Numbers and Algebra come in above 80%, leave them until the last week.
3. Put most of the 80 hours into Functions, Exponential functions and logarithms, and Differentiation. The early chapters cost you careless slips; these three cost you whole questions.
4. Practise in the answer format from the first day. The OMPT checks final answers with a computer algebra system and a mathematician reviews the notation, so a correct method with an ambiguous final answer scores nothing.
5. From week two, work every drill set at 2.3 minutes per question, and keep two or three hours a week for English. The notice does not describe the UCP internal English exam, so ask admissions for its format when you apply.
6. Take a second full mock about a week before your planned test date. Book only if it lands at 70% or above; otherwise move the slot. There is no published attempt limit, but every retake costs €240 and about 12 days.

For a week-by-week version, see improve your OMPT score in 30 days. How long does OMPT preparation take turns a diagnostic score into an hour estimate, and how hard is the OMPT explains where the marks go.

Booking, deadlines and results for Católica Porto applicants

An OMPT-A slot has to be booked at least 72 hours in advance, and each attempt costs €240 (€270 applies only to OMPT-D and OMPT-F, which Católica Porto does not use). Results and the digital certificate arrive within 8 business days, which is about 12 calendar days depending on the weekday.

The 2026/27 international call for Economics and Management ran in three rounds:

The second and third rounds only open if places are left. Applicants marked "Next Round" move into the following call automatically, with no new application and no extra fee. If you need a visa, the school strongly recommends the first call. When Examify checked on 27 September 2026, the 2027/28 notice had not been published yet.

The notice does not say whether an OMPT certificate can be added after you submit, so have it in hand before you apply. Using the 2026/27 first call as a reference, with its 15 January close: with one attempt and no buffer, test by about 3 January. With one retake in reserve, count 38 days back (12 for the first result, 14 to fix weak chapters and rebook, 12 for the second result), which puts the first attempt around 8 December. The notice publishes no validity period for the OMPT result.

The university's own costs come on top. The 2026/27 notice prints the 2025/26 figures, to be updated: a €175 application fee, €455 registration, and tuition of €630 a month for ten months, which is €6,300 a year or €18,900 for the three years. Application and registration fees are not refundable. Applicants abroad pay the application fee by bank transfer and email the proof to admissions. Booking steps, ID rules and the proctoring setup are in how to book the OMPT, and the programme table with source links is kept current on the Católica Porto page.

Rules can change between intakes, so confirm the module, the minimum and your eligibility on the official Católica Porto admissions page before you pay for a slot. Examify is independent and not affiliated with the OMPT, SOWISO or any university.