The object of study of this book are the policies of access to higher education in Brazil and Portugal, and the effects of these policies in the lives of Brazilians and Portuguese who become holders of higher education diplomas. As a teacher of higher education, many students passed through the courses of Social Communication and Administration in the Institutions I taught, and where I understood that, for them, the great value and relevance of the diploma, in view of their expectations to ascend socially, from their professional choice. The birth of a new world economic order, due to the globalisation of the economy and in different dimensions of human activities, has homogenised some priorities in the agendas of developed and developing nations. These include the need to raise the quality of vocational training, increasing both the number of people trained in higher education and policies for access and permanence - which is the case in developing countries - as the set of options for financing, social programs, entry and permanence in continuing education.