The University of Barcelona and the Technical University of Catalonia jointly announce the opening of the Official Master's Degree Biomedical Engineering, to be offered since the academic year of 2006-07. This Master's degree consists of 120 ECTS credits distributed over 4 semesters. The ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) is the standard adopted across the European Higher Education Area to ensure homogeneity and quality in the degree studies offered. One ECTS credit corresponds to a study load of between 25 and 30 hours and includes learning activities such as class, private study, the preparation of assignments, practical sessions and placements, and the completion of various study-related activities. The student enrolling in 30 credits per semester will have a study load of between750 and 900 hours in that period, representing between 37.5 and 45 hours per week during a period of 20 weeks.

Competences profileThe three professional areas addressed by the program correspond to the public demand made by industry, healthcare, and research, development and innovation:

 • In the area of industry, the principle sub-sectors requiring professional specialists include the following: electromedicine, in vitro-diagnosis, nephrology, cardiovascular care, neurosurgery, implants for orthopaedic surgery and traumatology, single use health products, and dental technology.   

• In the area of healthcare the demand is for personnel in positions of management responsibility for equipment and installations who can also combine technical knowledge with training in the application of these technologies.  

• In the area of company R+D+I, in both public and private scientific and technological centres and research groups the demand is for professionals in biomedical engineering who can provide the impulse and the support for the activities of research, product development, assessment, and product and installation evaluation.

Specialist study areas

In the third term, the students in the program will choose one of the following three specialist study areas:

-         Medical Techonolgy (MT)

-         Clinical Engineering (CE)

-         Research (R)

The specialist study area Medical Technology provides advanced professional and specialist training in biomedical engineering in industry. Students choosing this area will able to complete a company placement as part of their final project.

The specialist study area Clinical Engineering provides advanced professional and specialist training in biomedical engineering in healthcare. It offer students the opportunity to complete a placement period in a hospital centre for the purposes of their final project.

The specialist study area Research is designed to provide an introduction to research in biomedical engineering and is a prerequisite for those students who plan to pursue doctoral students in this subject. The students who choose this area will be able to complete a placement period in a research laboratory as part of hteir final project.