Environmental Engineering
(2010 program)
The aim of the Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering is to provide in-depth knowledge of concepts and criteria that are fundamental to an understanding of the relations between human activity and the environment. The master’s degree provides up-to-date training in technologies for the prevention and treatment of pollution, as well as basic tools for managing and guaranteeing the quality of the environment. It produces graduates who are able to practise their profession with due regard to ethics and the proper management of environmental issues.
Academic year starts in
Fall semester (Q1): September
Spring semester (Q2): February
Duration
2 years
Study load
120 ECTS (including the Master's Final Thesis)
Minimum academic progress
The minimum academic progress for first year students is 30 ECTS
Delivery
On-campus
Enrolment
- Full-time
At least 30 ECTS enrolled on the first year, and up to 72 ECTS the rest of the years - Part-time
At least 30 ECTS (and up to 60 ETCS) enrolled on the first year, and up to 72 ECTS the rest of the years
Language
Spanish
Places
30
Official degree
Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (recorded in the Spanish Ministry of Education's degree register)
Fees
More information about fees and payment options
More information about grants and loans
Academic coordinator
Specific admission requirements
In order to gain admission to the Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering, you must be a:
- Holder of a bachelor's degree in architecture or engineering in the areas of civil engineering, industrial engineering, chemistry, the environment, forestry, mining, physics, biology or agriculture.
- Holder of a bachelor's degree in environmental, chemical, physical, biological or geological sciences.
- Holder of a pre-EHEA Spanish degree in architecture or engineering in the areas of civil engineering, industrial engineering, chemistry, the environment, forestry, mining, physics, biology or agriculture.
- Holder of a pre-EHEA Spanish diploma in environmental, chemical, physical, biological or geological sciences.
- Holder of a pre-EHEA Spanish degree in environmental, chemical, physical, biological or geological sciences.
Candidates seeking admission who have qualifications other than those mentioned above will be reviewed by the master's degree committee with the aim of establishing the bridging courses they must take.
Students pending obtaining the degree that gives access to the master's degree
UPC undergraduate students who, despite not having obtained the bachelor’s degree, have pending the TFG and, at most, up to 9 ECTS (including credits pending recognition or transfer) or who have completed their studies, but are waiting to achieve, if possible, transversal competence in a third language. Under no circumstances will students who access this route be able to obtain a master's degree if they have not previously obtained a bachelor's degree.
Candidates from other universities who are enrolled in all the credits to complete the studies that give access to the master's degree can apply for access. Acceptance will be conditioned to the fulfillment of the general and specific access and admission requirements at the time of formalizing the registration.
You will find all the information about the general Access requirements to UPC master's programs here.
Admission criteria
The following factors or parameters are considered for admission to the Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering:
- Academic record (F1 = 40%)
Weighting as established by the Academic regulations for Master's Programs at UPC-BarcelonaTech. - Curriculum Vitae (F2 = 50%)
- Additional certified training (F3 = 10%)
The relationship between prior formation and the academic and professional competencies established for this master's degree will also be taken into account in the final weighting score.
You can check the results of the evaluation and selection of the applications for the current academic year here.
Pre-enrolment and enrolment
Check here the general admission requirements for UPC masters and information on pre-enrolment: calendar, how to apply for admission, how to reserve a place if the resolution is favourable, etc.
Career opportunities
The master’s degree in Environmental Engineering is a strategic, high-level master’s programme aimed at training environmental engineers and providing them with the skills needed to take decisions and lead teams. Graduates will have the scientific and technical knowledge required to identify, measure, prevent and correct environmental problems, and the skills needed to define, select and develop appropriate solutions and technologies, technological and management tools, and related action programmes. The master’s degree combines advanced scientific content and applied engineering methods in a balanced way to produce graduates who are able to solve complex problems involving different aspects of environmental engineering or successfully undertake doctoral studies in these areas. Graduates are hired mainly by engineering and environmental consulting firms, construction companies, government agencies (local, provincial, regional and state-level), universities (doctoral-level teaching) and research institutes.
Competencies
General competencies
Generic competencies are the skills that graduates acquire regardless of the specific course or field of study. The generic competencies established by the UPC are capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social commitment, knowledge of a foreign language (preferably English), teamwork and proper use of information resources.
Specific competencies
On completing this master's degree, students will be able to:
- Conceptualise engineering within the framework of sustainable development.
- Know and familiarise themselves with legislation applicable in the sector and become involved by making proposals.
- Direct, coordinate and develop complete projects in all areas of environmental engineering.
- Identify and design solutions for environmental problems within an ethical, social and economic framework.
- Understand the interaction of their work with society and the environment, locally and globally, in order to identify possible challenges, risks and impacts and to design appropriate solutions.
- Design and use infrastructures and installations for purifying and treating water, correctly managing waste, maintaining air quality and the treating polluted sites, taking the regulatory and legal framework into account.
- Come up with systems for monitoring the quality of air, water and soil.
- Define, coordinate and implement environmental management systems and environmental impact studies.
- Be involved in the design of processes and products through the use of appropriate techniques (cleaner technologies, life cycle analysis, etc).
- Identify, design, construct, operate and deconstruct the systems of modern society, taking into account the legal, economic and social framework, which involves the management and the optimum use of natural resources.
- Develop new systems to protect people and the environment from existing environmental damage, while progressing towards sustainable development.
- Understand the contribution and the effect of their work in different cultural, social and political contexts.
COURSES | ECTS |
| First year | |
| Fall semester | |
| 250653 Climate & climate change | 5 |
| 250654 Introduction to environmental biotechnology | 5 |
| 250655 Environmental systems | 5 |
| 250660 Characterization, management & treatment of air pollution | 5 |
| 250661 Environmental economics, legislation & policy | 5 |
| 250673 Characterization, management & treatment of waste | 5 |
| Spring semester | |
| 250462 Life-cycle analysis & sustainability assessment | 5 |
| 250656 Geochemical processes | 5 |
| 250658 Characterization, management & treatment of soil & groundwater contamination | 5 |
| 250662 Systems & tools of environmental management | 5 |
| 250672 Modeling of environmental systems | 5 |
| 250680 Energy & environment | 5 |
| Second year | |
| Fall semester | |
| Mandatory courses | |
| 250659 Characterization, management & treatment of water pollution | 5 |
| 250663 Management of environmental projects | 5 |
| Elective courses | |
| 250665 Noise pollution | 5 |
| 250666 Water of provision | 5 |
| 250674 Organic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems & their environmental risk | 5 |
| 250667 Integrated environmental assessment of building materials | 5 |
| 250668 Ecomaterials & sustainable construction | 5 |
| 250670 Food industry & environment | 5 |
| 250679 Socio-environmental statistics & decision-making | 5 |
| 480092 Industrial ecology | 5 |
| 250681 Laboratory of environmental engineering | 5 |
| 820742 Biogas and biofuel | 5 |
| Spring semester | |
| Elective courses | |
| 250669 Advanced treatment of industrial wastewater | 5 |
| 250675 Management of infrastructures of waste treatment | 5 |
| 250677 Environmental geology | 5 |
| 250678 Environmental & ecological economics | 5 |
| 250683 Environmental oceanography | 5 |
| 480081 Urban metabolism & ecological urbanism | 5 |
| Fall & spring semesters | |
| 250699 Master's thesis | 30 |
| Professional placement | 12 to 15 |
Students enrolled at UPC for the Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering can access the following information:
Choose the subjects you want to study and simulate how your schedule will be with the UPC Timetable Viewer:
Wednesdays from 12:00 to 14:00 there are no classes and these periods can be used for cultural activities (culture period).
The Master's Thesis is an original exercise to be done individually and presented and defended before a university panel consisting in a project in the sphere of the specific civil engineering technologies synthesising and integrating the competences acquired on the course.
Defenses
These are the defenses scheduled for the current call:
Related links
Institutional information
Contact
- Admission: admissions.masters.camins@upc.edu
- Information enrolled students: masters.camins@upc.edu

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