Description: The main research question this study aims to answer is: Does student mobility in higher education promote the Europeanization of Portuguese universities?I take student mobility as the main indicator of Europeanization, i.e., the creation of the European Dimension of higher education or, to use the formal aim introduced by the European Union (EU) in 1999, the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). My decision is based on the fact that the implementation of initiatives to promote student mobility implies changes in universities that correspond to indicators that these institutions have a European character. I will look at and collect data concerning student mobility since in order for students to study abroad there must be an entire institutional structure behind them that has become more 'European'. This European character is achieved at university level by the establishment of partnerships with other universities abroad, changes in curriculum, the introduction of credit transfer schemes, the creation of local commissions and national agencies, the introduction of language courses and, in some cases, the provision of teaching in a foreign language. Methodology: Although my main object of analysis will be data concerning student mobility, I will also take into account the larger framework to include the opinions and attitudes behind the decisions: policy makers (I will look at political statements to summarise the policies of the Portuguese government); university staff (I will have informal conversations with staff directly involved in the implementation of the ERASMUS programme and, if further information proves necessary, I will conduct semi-interviews with the main members of staff at the University of Porto, University of Coimbra and University Nova of Lisbon); and I will look for connections between data collected from these different sources and data concerning student mobility (both quantitative, from statistical sources, and qualitative, from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with Portuguese ERASMUS students from the three universities).My level of enquiry will be institutional, with the three main institutions taken as representative of Portuguese universities as a whole. The target of my analysis will be the people and actions involved in the process of implementing the ERASMUS programme. Conclusions: 1) The European Dimension in higher education has a hybrid character: the EU provides initiatives to develop a stronger European citizenship but the Member-States have to deal with the lack of resources when implementing changes and when participating in the construction of a European project;2) The mobility of students plays a key role in developing the European Dimension of higher education in the Portuguese context and it is an indicator of the process of Europeanization of universities within the EU, i.e., the creation of the EHEA;3) There are trends towards the Europeanization of Portuguese universities: the number of foreign students in Portuguese universities has grown radically, as well as the number of students going abroad, since the country joined the EU in 1987. This phenomenon is a result of the implementation of EU initiatives happening with equal importance in the main Portuguese universities;4) The concept of a European strategy in higher education is gradually being accepted by the Portuguese government and universities (staff and students);5) The ERASMUS programme is seen as highly positive by Portuguese politicians and participants. The majority of Portuguese participants in the ERASMUS programme are interested in getting a degree and/or professional training as well as learning a second culture and achieving personal growth;6) In general 'European self-identification' remains a marginal phenomenon in EU countries but most Portuguese ERASMUS participants think of themselves as 'European'.