Master Programme in Materials Science and Engineering

The Technical University of Catalonia (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, UPC) offers for the first time in Spain, a program of studies conducting to an Spanish Official diploma in Materials Science and Engineering (Master in MSE) addressed to Spanish and foreign students. All the courses are taught at the ETSEIB of UPC (Barcelona, Spain).

At the same time, UPC also offers an international master degree in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering (AMASE) in collaboration with other European universities in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus program of the European Union. The studies conduct to a double diploma, that is, to the diplomas of the two universities in which the students are registered. The studies have to be carried out in two of the following four universities:

		University of Saarlandes, Saarbrücken, Germany.
		University of Luleå, Luleå, Sweden.
		National Polytechnical Institute of Lorraine, Nancy, France.

The procedures of admission and registration are different for each Master program of studies. Please, look at:
a) Spanish Official Master Degree in MSE: http://www.upc.edu/officialmastersdegrees/
b) International Erasmus Mundus Master Degree AMASE: http://www.amase-master.net

Materials Science and Engineering

The education and research in materials science and engineering plays a pivotal role in determining and improving economic performance and the quality of life in many areas of our society, from transport to health and from communications to living environment.

Materials underpin everything we do and are central to all areas of technology and economic activity. Crossing the scale from nano-technologies to system engineering, material science affects most of future and global challenges. Education in Materials Science and Engineering opens many opportunities to work in order to contribute to overcome many technical barriers which delay the development of transport, energy, better leaving environment, communication systems , etc.

Duration of Studies

The duration of the studies for both degrees (MSE and AMASE) is of two years. The duration of the Spanish Master in MSE can be reduced to one year for those students that have a fundamental knowledge of Materials Science and Engineering equivalent to the background given in the first year of the Master degree.

The duration of the studies is necessarily of two years for the students registered as AMASE students and it is compulsory to stay at least the third semester in one university of the consortium different from the entry university.

Objectives and Structure of the Studies

At UPC the subjects offered in materials science and engineering in both masters are practically the same. In the first year, the objective is to give a wide and solid knowledge in Materials Science and Engineering by offering 60 ECTS in subjects, each generally of 5 ECTS, while the second year is addressed to offer specific knowledge on different advanced subjects. About 50 ECTS in the first year are on the following fundamentals part of Materials Science and Engineering:

a) Structure

b) Characterization and Modelling

c) Properties of Materials

d) Technology of Materials

The subjects of the second year are mainly optional and give way to different specialised profiles: professional, research and mix profiles.

Main research areas at UPC in MSE

• Biomechanics and biomaterials

• Mechanical behaviour of metals, ceramics and coatings

• Metallic materials forming processes

• Micromechanics of materials

• Polymer and composite technology

Admission to the Master Studies

For both Master degrees there is a common general requirement: to hold an university degree in scientific or technical disciplines, which give strong backgrounds in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, Materials Science and English. Please, look at the website of UPC:

http://www.upc.edu/officialmastersdegrees/

Specific requirement for AMASE International Master is to have a sufficient knowledge of the language of the first hosting university (at least an EU- B2 level, see grading of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and some knowledge of the language of the second university.

Registration Fees

Spanish Master in MSE

The tuition fees are fixed for students of any nationality, and it may change slightly each year. For the academic year 2006/07 the cost was around 1648 Euros per year.

International Master Erasmus Mundus AMASE

The cost is fixed independently of the university. It is recommended to look to the web site of AMASE http://www.amase-master.net. For students from third countries, for the course 2007/08 the tuitions fees are 2000 Euros per year, and 1000 Euros per year for European Union students. Additional low registration fees should be added to this amount which depends of each university.

Languages

The courses of Lulea University are taught in English, in French at INPL, in German at UdS and in Spanish in the first year at UPC. In the second year at UPC, there are subjects taught in English and other in Spanish, so that it is possible to study the complete second year only in English. The master thesis at UPC can be written in either Spanish or English.

Scholarships

The AMASE Master Programme has financial support by the EU. Scholarships for non EU students (third-country graduate students) are available, consisting of a monthly grant of 1600 € and an additional fixed amount of 5000 € per year.

The AMASE Consortium and the UPC can help you to apply for a scholarship in other programmes, like: ERASMUS/SOCRATES (for EU students); DAAD (to study in Germany); Alßan (students from Latin America); Swedish Institute, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI) Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Generalitat de Catalunya, Agence Universitaire de Francophonie (AUF), etc.

Applications

For the studies conducting to the Spanish Master degree in MSE at UPC the application can be made on-line, see:

http://www.upc.edu/officialmastersdegrees/

Alternatively, you can send the following documents to the address below (1 original and 1 hardcopy): a) Application form; b) Curriculum Vitae; c) Certificates of previous studies; d) Letter of motivation to join the UPC MSE Master programme; e) Letters of recommendation from your home universities; f) Proof of sufficient knowledge of Spanish. g) Proof of knowledge of English if you choose to follow the second year in English.

Send your application to:

Mercé Carbó

Secretary of the UPC Master Degree in MSE ETSEIB, Diagonal 647, 08028-Barcelona, Spain, e-mail: merce.carbo@upc.edu

For the International Erasmus Mundus Master AMASE, see: http//www.amase-master.net). For further information you can contact the Secretary of AMASE, Dipl.-Ing. Flavio Soldera (e-mail: secretary@amase-master.net).

Technical University of Catalonia (UPC)

The Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) has been the first university in Spain to give an engineer’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. There is a Ph.D. programme of studies in this field, which has obtained the status of “Ph.D. Programme of Quality“ awarded by the Spanish Agency ANECA. The Department of Materials Science and Engineering also participates in interdepartmental Ph.D. Programmes in Biomedical Engineering and Aeronautics and Space.