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Student profile for prospective students

This degree targets holders of bachelor degrees in any field of informatics, as well as degree holders in disciplines related to the speciality of computation.

The minimum requirements for students to be able to follow the degree programme are as follows:

• Personal characteristics:
  • Be able to independently learn and upgrade their knowledge and identify their needs in the field of informatics.
  • Know how to work under pressure in situations where there is a shortage of information, coming up with new ideas and being creative.
  • Be able to work as part of team, organizing, planning, making decisions, negotiating and solving conflicts, relating to each other and adopting a critical and self-critical attitude.
  • Be able to take the initiative, adopt an entrepreneurial spirit, and have an ability for leadership, management, team and project management.
  • Be a good communicator, both orally and in writing, in different languages with audiences from diverse backgrounds.

• Competences:
  • Knowledge of high-level programming languages.
  • Knowledge of the concepts and basic techniques of software engineering, as well as requirements engineering, and software analysis and design.
  • Basic knowledge of software project management.
  • English speaking and writing skills

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Admission requirements

Academic achievement

The general entry requirements for a master degree are as stipulated in R.D.1393/2007, article 16:

• Candidates shall hold an official Spanish higher education or other degree issued by a higher education institution in the European Higher Education Area qualifying the holder for entry to master’s programmes in the issuing country.
• Also, holders of degrees earned in conformance with educational systems outside the European Higher Education Area shall qualify for entry without having to gain official approval of their qualifications provided that the higher education institution finds that their degrees certify to an equivalent educational level to the respective Spanish university degrees and entitle holders to enter postgraduate education in the issuing country. Admission shall in no case imply official approval of the earlier degree held by the applicant, nor its recognition for any other purposes than taking the master’s programme.

To be admitted to the EMSE program, students must have either an undergraduate degree related to the area of Software Engineering or proven professional experience in Software Engineering. Otherwise, students should take the corresponding bridge courses in basic subjects.

Given that this master encompasses 120 ECTS, students with 3-year grades (180 ECTS) can be admitted without the need of additional bridge courses. Shorter masters require 4-year grades for admission (240 ECTS).

English level

Students must have a good level of English language, so they will be required a B2 English level from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) established by the Council of Europe, or similar (language certificates accepted as a B2 level equivalent).

Should the student have completed undergraduate studies at a university where English is the regular teaching language, it will be only required a certificate of the university stating such condition.

If students do not have any certification of the above, there will be a personal interview with the candidate to verify the English level.

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Pre-registration

To apply for admission to any UPM University Master’s Degree, the candidate must pre-register for this programme within the established period through the online application “HELIOS”.

Applicant students shall submit all the required documentation through the online platform to assess whether they meet the access conditions.

The assessment and decision on access and admission of students corresponds to the Academic Committee of the European Master in Software Engineering and to the Doctoral and Postgraduate Commission of the UPM.

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Admission process

Process

The Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos’s Internal Quality Assurance System has in place a procedure for selecting and admitting students for any of its degree programmes (PR/CL/007). The Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos’s IQAS provides suitable and accessible pre-enrollment information mechanisms through the Welcome actions process (PR/CL/002), Career guidance process (PR/CL/006), Information publishing process (PR/ES/004).

Each year, the Academic Committee will assess applications for admission to the Master and organize them in a list sorted by the following criteria:

• Qualification type of access, defined as the bachelor degree that students present for accessing the program and its proximity to Software Engineering. This criterion will be justified by sending a copy of student’s title. As a guide, the Academic Committee may consider the following four situations:
  • Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer or Software Engineering and additional courses related to the Master program.
  • Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Software or Computer Engineering and similar.
  • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in related engineering disciplines (such as Computer Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, etc.)
  • Other Bachelor degrees.
• Results of student’s studies, using a weighted average of the student’s academic record. This criterion will be justified by sending a copy of the student’s academic record.
• Work experience and professional qualifications, considering only the experience in software-related tasks. This criterion will be justified by sending the student’s appropriate documentation supporting the referred merits.
• Student’s motivation and interest in doing the Master program. This criterion will be justified by sending a motivation letter, with the possibility of providing any additional documentation students deem appropriate.

Based on the documentation provided by students to justify these selection criteria, the Academic Committee will assess each student’s suitability quantifying and weighting the criteria to obtain the list of admitted students to the program. In the admission process performed for 2011-2012 academic year, 35% of the 96 requests received were granted admission to the Master programme.

If a candidate’s education is insufficient for admission, Academic Committee shall establish which bridge courses related to the admissions profile the candidate shall have to take and pass to qualify for the Master’s degree.

The list of admitted students is published on both the UPM and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos websites at the end of the application period.

Students admitted to the programme shall be entitled to enrol. The UPM establishes the enrolment schedule. There are at present two enrolment periods: one in July, for the first semester, and another in February, for the second semester.

Bridge courses

Those students admitted with bridge courses by the EMSE Academic Committee should complete the requested number of credits among the following subjects of the Informatics Engineering Degree:

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Enrollment

The European Master in Software Engineering is a two-years master’s course with a workload of 120 ECTS credits distributed across 4 semesters.

According to UPM enrollment policy, students shall have to make annual enrollment and to enroll annually for at least 12 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits or what they lack to complete studies. However, it is recommended to enroll for between 27 and 33 ECTS per semester (1 ECTS credit is equivalent to a student workload of 27 hours). Therefore, the typical duration of the programme is 2 years.

Students will be considered to study on a part-time basis when the credits enrolled in the course do not exceed 30 ECTS annually.

If you have any doubt, you should contact, before registering, with the EMSE email address.

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Credit Recognition

The Governing Council of the University will establish the periods of presentation of applications for the recognition and transfer of credits, as well as the calendar for the resolution of the same and their subsequent communication to the interested persons.

The UPM Recognition and Transfer Commission will be responsible for responding to requests for recognition and transfer of credits from the teaching commissions of the centers. The composition, powers of said committee, as well as the terms and procedure for the transfer and recognition of credits, are described in the Regulations for recognition and transfer of credits of the UPM.

The Academic Committee of the European Master in Software Engineering will analyze the requests for recognition of credits for students from other degrees and will prepare the corresponding reports, which will be sent to the Academic Organization Commission (COA) of the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, which in turn will analyze and forward them to the Commission for the Recognition and Transfer of Credits of the UPM.

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New students

Reception and Orientation Actions

The welcome and guidance procedure starts as soon as fresher students are admitted to the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos and includes the following actions:

• Welcome designed to inform students about the degree programme structure and how the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos is organized, as well as announcing the guidance and welcome actions available to students.
• Provision of information on grants and support for Master students participating in any of the research groups of which programme faculty are members.
• Personalized attention from the Coordination responsibilities of the Master to provide any additional information about the Master’s course structure, contents, orientation, etc.
• Students will receive guidance about the enrolment process as part of the Enrolment Scheme implemented by the EMSE Academic Committee. Students shall enrol via the online enrolment platform.

The Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos‘s IQAS has set up a Tutoring Process that provides student support and guidance mechanisms:

• Help with finding accommodation provided by the External Relations Office to supplement the information posted by the UPM’s student support service on the UPM’s web server.
• Tutoring Scheme: the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos‘s IQAS has set up a Tutoring Process that provides student support and guidance mechanisms. This process establishes that the EMSE Academic Committee shall assign each enrolled student a tutor. The tutor shall be a member of EMSE academic personnel. The list of tutors assigned to each student shall be drawn up at the end of the enrolment process. The student will have the option of consulting with the tutor regarding academic matters and offer support for his or her academic development. The EMSE Academic Committee shall provide any personalized advice on the enrolment process and choice of subjects required by students before a tutor has been assigned.
• Academic tutoring by each faculty member to answer questions about the subject he or she teaches. 
• Special-purpose information sessions on mobility programmes for students, especially regarding international mobility. This is the responsibility of the External Relations Office, which provides students participating in or intending to opt for mobility programmes with guidance and administrative support.
• Spanish language training programmes for foreign students, offered by the Language Programme for International Students (PROLINTER) run by the Vice-Rector’s Office for International Relations.
• Master’s Thesis Assignment Scheme: the Master’s Academic Committee shall be responsible for internally assigning supervisors and master’s thesis topics to eligible students in each academic year, taking into account student preferences for a specific research line and the workload of potential tutors. Whenever possible, the same faculty member will act as the supervisor of the Master’s Thesis and the student’s tutor.
• Information on grants and bursaries from the Associate Dean’s Office for Student Affairs and on the UPM and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos web servers.
• Special-purpose actions for international students who will receive assistance with the academic documents required to process visas.
• Special-purpose actions for students with special educational needs and information on accessible entrances for people with disabilities.
• External Relations Office offers also guidance and informative support to students intending to apply for industrial internships or grants to complete their Master’s Software Project or for jobs after they have completed the course.
• Annual employment forum organized jointly with sector companies to offer recruitment advice to students. This is the responsibility of the Students’ Guild in partnership with External Relations Office.
• UPM email account. Information on how to activate your email account will be available at the UPM web site.
• The Sick Bay is open every day at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos.