American schools in Lisbon: the short list
The American sector in Lisbon is small but well established. Two schools deliver the full US curriculum to a high school diploma. Carlucci American International School of Lisbon, known to most parents simply as CAISL, has been the anchor of the North American community since 1956 and sits on a campus in Linho, Sintra. United Lisbon International School opened in 2020 in the Marvila district of central Lisbon and added a senior school in 2023, drawing heavily from the wave of US tech families that followed the Digital Nomad Visa.
Both schools issue a US high school diploma and offer Advanced Placement courses across the sciences, humanities and languages. CAISL also offers the IB Diploma in parallel, giving sixth form families a dual pathway choice. Outside these two, a handful of English-medium schools such as TASIS Portugal teach an Anglo-American programme but follow the British IGCSE and A Level sequence rather than a US transcript. For families set on an American-issued transcript, the practical short list is CAISL and United Lisbon.
Because there are only two US-transcript schools, the choice usually reduces to campus type and location. CAISL offers a leafy suburban campus, large playing fields and an established alumni network. United Lisbon offers a vertical urban campus, an explicit innovation and entrepreneurship orientation, and a senior school still building its first cohorts to graduation.
Fees and what they include
American curriculum tuition in Lisbon runs from about $14,000 at lower year groups to $28,000 in the senior school. Most families with a child in upper elementary or middle school will budget $18,000 to $22,000. The premium tier at high school sits around $25,000 to $28,000. Capital fees, registration, lunches, bus transport and the AP and SAT exam fees themselves add a further $3,000 to $4,500 in year one and roughly $2,000 in each subsequent year. For a fuller fee breakdown across the Lisbon market, see our Lisbon international school fees guide.
Two costs to flag in the American sector specifically. First, AP and SAT exam fees of $100 to $130 per sitting are paid directly to the College Board, not to the school. Second, in-house US college counselling is included at both CAISL and United Lisbon; families using external US counsellors will see fees of $1,500 to $5,000 per child on top. The all-in cost for a senior year at the premium end of the Lisbon American market lands at roughly $30,000 to $33,000 once exam fees, transport and a typical capital levy are included.
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Illustrative example schools
The schools below illustrate the American curriculum landscape in Lisbon. They are illustrative, not ranked.
Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (CAISL), in Linho near Sintra, is the historic flagship of the North American community in Portugal. The school holds dual accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Council of International Schools, offers AP across the standard subject blocks and the IB Diploma in parallel at senior level, and places leavers consistently into US and UK universities. The campus is the classic American suburban model, with extensive playing fields, a theatre and dedicated arts facilities.
United Lisbon International School, in the Marvila district of central Lisbon, is the newer entrant. Opened in 2020 and accredited through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the school runs an AP pathway with an explicit innovation and design-thinking thread. The senior school is still building toward full cohort maturity but already places students into selective US programmes. The Marvila campus suits families wanting a city-centre school day rather than a Sintra commute.
TASIS Portugal, in Sintra, opened in 2020 as a sister site to the long-established TASIS England. While it follows IGCSE and A Level rather than a US diploma, the campus culture, faculty mix and university counselling have a strong American flavour. Worth a look for North American families who can flex on the transcript format.
Where American families live
North American families in Lisbon split, broadly, between the Sintra and Cascais corridor in the west and the central Lisbon districts of Marvila, Beato and Parque das Nacoes. Linho, Sintra and the surrounding villages sit closest to CAISL and offer the suburban-villa, garden-and-pool format most familiar to families relocating from the US sunbelt. The trade-off is a longer drive into Lisbon for spousal work or social life.
Cascais and Estoril, on the coastal train line, work well for families splitting school runs between CAISL and a British curriculum sibling at St Julian's or PaRK Cascais. Most families here lean on a combination of school bus, the Cascais line train and a single car. Marvila, Beato and Parque das Nacoes, in central and eastern Lisbon, sit close to United Lisbon and to the riverside tech employer cluster, and have attracted a new cohort of US tech and finance families since the Digital Nomad Visa launched in 2022.
For wider context on relocating, our moving to Lisbon with kids guide covers neighbourhood selection, healthcare and visa routes in more depth, and the cost calculator models school fees against the wider monthly Lisbon family budget.
AP, SAT and the US university pathway
Both CAISL and United Lisbon run a US-style college counselling programme from grade 9 onwards, with formal one-to-one sessions starting in grade 10. Students sit the SAT in their junior year, take between three and seven AP courses across grades 10 to 12, and submit a transcript plus essays through the Common Application or directly to UK and European institutions. Recent CAISL leavers have placed at Stanford, MIT, several Ivies and the leading US liberal arts colleges, alongside a long-standing flow into UK Russell Group universities.
For families weighing the US route against UK universities, our American curriculum hub sets out the broader pathway logic. For the IB Diploma alternative at CAISL, see the Lisbon IB schools hub. Application deadlines for the US run from early November for early action to 1 January for regular decision; UCAS deadlines are mid-October for Oxbridge and medicine, end of January otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
How many American curriculum schools are there in Lisbon?
Greater Lisbon has two established schools delivering the full American curriculum to a US high school diploma: Carlucci American International School of Lisbon in Sintra and United Lisbon International School in central Lisbon. A handful of newer English-medium schools offer AP courses inside a broader international programme.
How much do American schools in Lisbon cost?
Tuition for the American curriculum in Lisbon runs from about $14,000 at lower year groups to $28,000 in the senior school. The median senior fee in 2026 is roughly $22,000. Capital levies, lunches and bus transport add a further $3,000 to $4,500 in year one.
Will my child be eligible for US universities from Lisbon?
Yes. Students at CAISL and United Lisbon sit the SAT, complete AP courses, and submit transcripts through the Common Application. Both schools place leavers regularly into top US universities, including selective liberal arts colleges and large state flagships, and provide in-house US college counselling from grade 9.
Are Lisbon American schools accredited in the United States?
CAISL holds dual accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Council of International Schools. United Lisbon is accredited through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Both accreditations are recognised by US universities for transcript purposes.
When should I apply for an American school place in Lisbon?
Applications for the August intake open in November the previous year. Priority entry points are Pre-K, Kindergarten, grade 6 and grade 9. CAISL runs a competitive assessment from grade 1 upward. Both schools maintain waiting lists at most year groups since 2021 and recommend applying at least nine months ahead.
