To keep pace with the evolving needs of society, the University of Macau (UM) has been constantly improving its curriculum in order to provide a greater variety of choices for the students. Also, to support the SAR government’s higher education policy, UM has been constantly seeking international academic accreditation. For example, three bachelor’s degree programmes offered by UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology have been recognised by Washington Accord signatories (including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Russia, etc). Three bachelor’s degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Business Administration have also gained international accreditation. Other faculties at UM are also developing plans to seek accreditation from independent international academic institutions. UM expects to see more academic programmes gain international accreditation in the future. The reason that the new five-year Bachelor of Law programme (conducted in Chinese and Portuguese) launched after the handover of Macao and the Bachelor of Law programmes in Chinese and Portuguese that have been reformed after the handover are not automatically recognised by the Portuguese government is as follows: the programmes launched by UM before the handover of Macao were recognised automatically through publication on Portugal’s Official Gazette (Diário da República) by the Portuguese government, after an academic process was completed for each programme involving UM, the Macao government, the Ministry of Education in Portugal, and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP). As Macao is no longer a territory under Portuguese administration, programmes launched or revised by UM after the handover will not be published on Portugal’s Official Gazette and recognised by the Portuguese government automatically. Like the other faculties at UM, the Faculty of Law is developing a plan to seek accreditation from independent international academic institutions. All law schools in the world, including those in Portugal, have been improving the syllabus of their law programmes to meet the needs of society. The purpose of the curriculum reform in UM’s Faculty of Law is to produce high-quality bilingual graduates who are proficient in Chinese and Portuguese to meet the needs of the Macao society.
