 Nowadays, the Catholic University of Portugal, a private university with branches in the cities of Lisbon, Oporto, Braga, Viseu, and Figueira da Foz (founded before the others, in 1967, and officially recognized in 1971), offers some well-recognized degrees.This private university has a unique status, being run by the Catholic Church.The Portuguese universities have been the exclusive granters of master's and doctoral degrees in the country and are to this day the major source of research and development in Portugal.