The school offers university and polytechnical graduate programmes intended to train the future officers of the Portuguese Navy.
It also offers postgraduate programmes, these being open to civilians, as well to naval and other military personnel.
The present Portuguese Naval School was created in the 18th century as the Royal Academy of the Midshipmen (Academia Real dos Guardas-Marinhas).
The Company of Midshipmen was installed in the building of the Naval Arsenal of Lisbon.
In 1823, one year following the independence of Brazil, the faculty and the students of the Academy of the Midshipmen had to choose either the Brazilian or the Portuguese nationality.