Objectives and competences
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are disciplines at the cutting-edge of scientific knowledge. They combine aspects of basic and applied sciences applied to specific fields, such as biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, materials engineering, sciences and electronic engineering. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are therefore key areas of interdisciplinary research and development, in which activity is increasing across the globe.
The master's degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of Barcelona is taught in English and intended for students with an academic background in science.
The master's degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the University of Barcelona is taught in English and intended for students with an academic background in science.
The aim of the master's degree is to provide students with professional competences in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, for industry and science. Students must be capable of addressing problems that require interdisciplinary skills. On completion of the master's degree, graduates will be equipped to work on creative tasks in a new scientific or technological environment and form part of interdisciplinary research groups. The compulsory subjects are designed to bolster this interdisciplinarity. The practical component of the optional subjects is very useful for the development of different types of applications for society. Therefore, the focus of the master's degree could be suitable for a career in either the public or private sector. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are fields whose origin is the interaction between scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biotechnology, medicine and pharmacy, and their relationship with engineering disciplines such as electronic, chemical and materials engineering. Consequently, nanoscience and nanotechnology are interdisciplinary fields, in which new areas of research and development are emerging, with an increasing amount of activity at international level. The main aim of nanoscience and nanotechnology is to understand and control the fundamental structure of matter at the nanometric scale, and to use this knowledge to design and develop new products and systems that could affect a wide range of areas of special socioeconomic significance, for example:
- Medicine and pharmacy
- Food and industrial agriculture
- The aerospace industry
- Sociotechnological information
- Energy
- Environmental science
Basic information
| Type | Master's degree |
|---|---|
| Faculty or school | Faculty of Physics |
| Branch of knowledge |
|
| Mode of delivery |
|
| Credits | 60 |
| Number of places available | 30 |
| Length of course | 1 academic year |
| Language(s) of instruction | English |
| Approximate price per credit | 27.67 euros per credit (82 euros for students who are not EU nationals and do not currently reside in Spain). Fees for the academic year 2024-2025 |
| Coordination | ERIC LANGENBERG PEREZ |
| nanotec@ub.edu | |
| Course details | Indicators |
| Open pre-enrolment | Yes |
| Open enrolment | No |
| Lead to doctoral studies | Yes |
| Admission for applicants not holding a degree qualification | No |
| Bridging courses | Yes |
Objectives and competences
Objectives
- Medicine and pharmacy
- Food and industrial agriculture
- Aerospace industry
- Information technology and communications
- Energy and the environment
These are fields in which interdisciplinary postgraduate training is essential, to meet the increasing demand for research and for professionals with experience in nanotechnology.
The aim of the master's degree is to train competent professionals in this field, in industrial and scientific aspects. Therefore, students who join the course should be versatile enough to speak about disciplines as diverse as biology, physics, chemistry or engineering, and must be capable of acting as a link between professionals who work in one of these areas specifically.
Competences
- Knowledge forming the basis of original thinking in the development or application of ideas, typically in a research context.
- Capacity to apply the acquired knowledge to problem-solving in new or relatively unknown environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the specific field of study.
- Capacity to integrate knowledge and tackle the complexity of formulating judgements based on incomplete or limited information, taking due consideration of the social and ethical responsibilities involved in applying knowledge and making judgements.
- Capacity to communicate knowledge and conclusions and the grounds on which they have been reached to specialist and non-specialist audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner.
- Skills to enable lifelong self-directed and independent learning.
General competences:
- Capacity to identify the scientific and industrial situation at national and international level in relation to nanoscience and nanotechnology.
- Ability to participate in research or technology development projects.
- Ability to work independently, manage time and projects effectively, and gain the specific knowledge required to access doctoral programmes on nanoscience and nanotechnology.
- Initiative to develop innovative work methods that can contribute to the scientific or technological development of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Specific competences:
- Capacity to recognize the technological advances and current problems in nanotechnology as an interdisciplinary science.
- Capacity to carry out a technical task in the area of nanotechnology.
- Capacity to use calculation tools and theoretical models to advance understanding of properties or basic phenomena, and the capacity to model and predict the behaviour of nanosystems.
- Capacity to design a synthesis protocol and processing stages in the manufacturing of nanostructured materials.
- Capacity to apply microscopy techniques to nanoscale characterization.
- Capacity to handle the basic tools of nanomanufacturing and nanomanipulation.
- Capacity to carry out research and development of new nanostructured materials and nanodevices with innovative functionalities and applications in biotechnology, pharmacotherapy, the treatment and storage of information, and improved energy use.
- Abilities and skills in the field of nanotechnology to establish future areas of research, development and production in companies associated with the field.
Access and admission
Applicant profile and access requirements
Recommended applicant profile
The master's degree is intended for students with a university degree in science or engineering disciplines in areas that are addressed by nanotechnology and nanoscience (physics, chemistry, biotechnology, medicine, pharmaceutical science, materials science and engineering and electronic engineering, among others), who wish to obtain postgraduate, interdisciplinary training in nanoscience and nanotechnology.Students should be in possession of a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree qualification in one of the following subjects or a closely related discipline: biology, biomedicine, biotechnology, pharmacy, physics, chemistry. Materials engineering, electronic engineering.
Students with other degrees may occasionally be admitted.
The course is primarily designed for three groups of learners:
- Recent graduates
- Professionals interested in receiving advanced training and perfecting their existing skills
- Mature students taking the course as a lifelong learning activity
Students should have basic knowledge of physics, chemistry or biology or have carried out professional work in an area related to these disciplines, and have specific abilities and skills in engineering or related technological tasks.
Students should have user-level IT skills, and credit is given for advanced computer skills.
The Coordination Committee will assess candidates' training and professional experience to determine their suitability for the course.
Students will also need to be proficient in the English language.
Access requirements and conditions
General requirementsStudents wishing to be admitted to a university master's degree must hold one of the following qualifications:
- Official Spanish university degree.
- A degree issued by a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area framework that authorizes the holder to access university master's degree courses in the country of issue.
- A qualification issued by an institution outside the framework of the European Higher Education Area. In this case, applicants must request homologation of the degree to its equivalent official Spanish university qualification or obtain express approval from the University of Barcelona, which will conduct a study of equivalence to ensure that the degree is of a comparable level to an official Spanish university qualification and that it grants access to university master's degree study in the country of issue. Admission shall not, in any case, imply that prior qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to a Spanish master's degree and does not confer recognition for any purposes other than that of admission to the master's degree course.
Specific requirements
Students who wish to apply must hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in one of the following subjects: biology, biomedicine, biotechnology, pharmacy, physics, chemistry, materials engineering or electronic engineering.
In exceptional cases, students with other degrees may also be admitted. Students with fewer than 240 credits may be admitted to the master's degree if they have a solid scientific background with knowledge of physics, chemistry or biology, or professional experience related to these disciplines and skills. These students must take bridging courses, designed by the Coordination Committee to ensure that they have a high enough level in these disciplines (maximum 30 credits). The Committee will assess the academic training (previous studies) and professional experience of candidates to determine their suitability for the course.
Students will need to be proficient in the English language. Students must also have user-level IT skills, and credit is given for advanced computer skills.
Admission criteria:
- University degree in science or engineering disciplines that are thematically involved in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
- Average grade on the academic record in the year of graduation.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Good level of English (the minimum level of English is B1, in the common European framework of reference).
Pre-enrolment
Calendar
The pre-registration period for the academic year 2024-2025: February 1 - June 21.Notes:
- Pre-enrolment fee: A pre-enrolment fee of 30,21 euros is charged. Students who apply to more than one master's degree must pay the fee for each pre-enrolment request. Pre-enrolment requests cannot be processed until this fee has been paid.Fees will only be refunded if the master's degree in question is suspended.
- Reserved places: A maximum of 5% of the new places of the master's degree are reserved for students who meet the general and specific access requirements and accredit the recognition of a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.
Required documentation
- Pre-enrolment application
- Photocopy of degree certificate or equivalent qualification. In case of admission, foreign degrees that require so should be translated and authenticated through diplomatic channels before completing the enrolment.
- Other specific documentation related to the selection criteria
Selection criteria
- Academic transcript (80-90%)
- Level of English above the minimum required (B1), with an official certificate (10%)
For international students, the following considerations also apply:
- Position of their university of origin in international rankings (5%)
- Year of completion of their bachelor's degree, pre-EHEA degree or master's degree qualification (5%).
The criteria are used to select candidates, depending on the number of pre-enrolled students. However, they are not compulsory requirements for admission to the master's degree.
Notification
The Master's Degree Committee is responsible for the selection process. Applicants shall be notified of the decision.Enrolment
As a general rule, at the UB you will be required to enrol online. Remember that you can lose your place if you do not enrol on the day you have been assigned
- Documents required for enrolment
- Procedure to formalize enrolment
- Grants and financial aid (in Catalan)
- Economic information (in Catalan)
Course curriculum
Subjects and course plans
Distribution of credits
| Type | ECTS |
|---|---|
| Compulsory | 15 |
| Optional | 25 |
| Compulsory placements | 0 |
| Compulsory final project | 20 |
| TOTAL | 60 |
List of subjects
Previous years
Placements
Placements in a company or another type of organization are an integral part of university studies, providing first-hand experience of working methodologies in students' chosen professional fields. They offer invaluable practical experience for the transition into work after graduation.
Placements are supervised by tutors and subject to assessment. They are therefore included in the academic record. There is also an option to complete non-curricular placements of up to 500 hours, which can be extended to 900 hours. For both curricular and non-curricular placements, an educational cooperation agreement is signed between the UB and the company, institution or other organization at which the placement will be carried out.
Institutional information
Career opportunities
What can you work on ?
This master's degree qualifies students to undertake a doctoral degree in one of the university research groups that participate in the Mestre Consortium. Doctoral studies may focus on one of the following research areas:- Modelling and simulation of material properties at nanoscale.
- Nanobiotechnology.
- Nanopharmacotherapy.
- Nanomagnetism, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics.
- Nanostructured materials.
- Nanoenergy: nanomaterials and nanodevices for energy production, storage and rational use.