The Spanish university system is part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). International students who would like to spend time at our university may design their learning agreement by selecting subjects from any of the currently valid curriculums. They must ensure that the topics or subjects they have chosen will actually be taught as part of the current curriculum of a degree course.
UPM ACADEMIC OFFERING
The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid offers 52 bachelor’s degrees, 67 official master’s degrees and 45 doctoral programmes adapted to the EHEA. UPM offers 35 internationally accredited degree programmes (EUR-ACE, EURO-INF, ABET, NAAB).
Bachelor’s degrees: Bachelor’s degree programmes are designed to prepare students to undertake professional activities. Curriculums leading to a bachelor’s degree have 240 credits to be earned over four years. These courses will conclude with the preparation and public defence of a final-year project worth from six to 30 ECTS credits.
Master’s degrees: Master’s degree programmes are designed to prepare graduates for advanced professional activities and target academic and professional specialisation and research. Curriculums leading to a master’s degree will comprise from 60 to 120 ECTS credits divided over one or two years. Programmes conclude with the preparation and public defence of a master’s final project worth from six to 30 ECTS credits.
Doctoral degrees: Doctoral programmes are designed to provide advanced training for students in research techniques. Doctoral programmes are research degrees and their duration is not determined by credits. They take between three and five years depending on whether the student enrols on a full-time or part-time basis.
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid curriculums are adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and use European Credits Transfer System (ECTS) credits. ECTS credits are the standard adopted by all universities in the EHEA as a way to ensure academic recognition of courses studied abroad. They improve the quality of education and encourage student mobility among universities, as they measure higher education in Europe using common criteria. The ECTS measures the total student workload required to pass a subject: lectures, practicals, self-study, assignments, etc. One ECTS credit is equivalent to a student workload of 25 to 30 hours. The ECTS establishes a workload of 60 credits for a full-time student in one academic year. Therefore, a semester is equivalent to 30 credits. The minimum and the maximum number of hours per credit is 25 and 30, respectively. The European Commission has published a user guide for the ECTS.
The Spanish grading system is a decimal system from 0 to 10. These grades are accompanied on the transcript by a non-numerical grade. A minimum grade of 5 is required to pass a subject. Students are required to pass a final written or oral exam in order to pass most subjects. Students who fail an end-of-semester exam will have the chance to resit the exam in the July exam sessions. 0 – 4.9: Suspenso (SS) – Fail 5.0 – 6.9: Aprobado (AP) – Pass 7.0 – 8.9: Notable (NT) – Very Good 9.0 – 10: Sobresaliente (SB) – Excellent. A distinction of Matrícula de Honor (with honours) may be awarded to the best students who have attained the grade of Sobresaliente (Excellent). Students are entitled to enrol free of charge in one subject in the following academic year for every Matricula de Honor distinction that they attain. Under the ECTS credit system, a student’s outcomes are accredited by a grade. In the EHEA, it is good practice to include a reference to the ECTS, where students are graded on a statistical basis. UPM issues an academic transcript stating ECTS grades.
ECTS Grading
Grade | Cumulative % | Definition |
A | 10 | Outstanding performance without errors |
B | 35 | Above the average standard but with minor errors |
C | 65 | Generally sound work with some errors |
D | 90 | Fair but with significant shortcomings |
E | ~100 | Performance meets the minimum criteria |
FX | Fail | Some more work required before the credit can be awarded |
F | Fail | Some more work required before the credit can be awarded |
Lectures commence: early September
Lectures end: late May
– Lectures: early September – end of December
– Exams: January
– Lectures: early February – late May
– Exams: end of May to mid-June
Resit exams:
– Bachelor’s degree programmes: late June – mid-July
Holidays during the academic year:
– Christmas: two weeks
– Easter: one week
