Program Overview

Introduction to the Degree in Biomedical Engineering

The Degree in Biomedical Engineering is a fascinating discipline for individuals who are drawn to technology, science, biology, and medicine. Biomedical engineering is primarily focused on solving problems in the field of biomedicine through the use of technological tools and engineering principles. It is centered on the development and application of technologies, such as medical devices and algorithms based on artificial intelligence, to understand, diagnose, and treat human diseases.

Program Details

• Duration: Four academic years.
• Price: 1,248.52 €. This is an indicative price for the first year for EU students.
• Places: 40.
• Admissions: Information on how to access these studies.
• Branch of knowledge: Engineering and architecture.
• Schedules: Classes will be taught in the morning and afternoon in all courses.
• Calendar: From September to June.
• Credits: 240 ECTS credits.
  • Basic subjects: 64.
  • Compulsory subjects: 112.
  • Elective subjects: 40 (including up to 9 credits of external practices in companies / up to 30 credits of international mobility).
  • Compulsory external practices: 6.
  • Final degree project: 18.
• Languages: Catalan, Spanish, and English (depending on the subject). Subjects in the third and fourth years are taught in English.

Presentation

Our degree offers solid training, combining technology, basic sciences, mathematics, and biomedicine, enabling students to work on projects that apply technical engineering principles to the fields of medicine and biology. The structure of the degree also allows students to take personalized itineraries according to their interests, thanks to a wide range of elective subjects, many of which follow a teaching methodology based on project-based learning.

Data and Indicators

• The Degree in Biomedical Engineering has a duration of 4 years with 40 new places in the first year.
• In the period from 2020 to 2023, the total number of enrolled students remained around 200, with a gender ratio of around 66%-34% (women-men).
• The cut-off mark has decreased from 12,572 to 12,418 over these years.
• The academic performance rate ranges from 90.18% to 93.21%, with a success rate of credits passed of 92.95% to 95.67%.

Study Plan

• NEW STUDY PLAN: Starting from the 2025 academic year, a new plan for the Degree in Biomedical Engineering (plan 764, version February 2025) will be implemented.
• Each subject has its own teaching guide. Each year, we publish the list with the offer of electives.

Practices

• The study plan includes optional external practices from the third year onwards.
• External practices are a formative action developed by students and supervised by the university, with three main objectives:
  • Apply and complement the knowledge acquired in academic training.
  • Bring the student closer to the professional reality in which they will exercise their activity once they have graduated.
  • Develop the competencies that favor their incorporation into the labor market.
• We have 84 companies and organizations where 229 students have done practices during the last three courses.

Stays Abroad

• The study plan includes optional stays abroad from the third year onwards.
• We have mobility agreements with the main European universities, including those in Germany, Austria, Croatia, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
• We also have agreements with universities outside Europe, including those in the USA, Canada, Korea, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Professional Outcomes

• Biomedical engineers can work in universities, industry, hospitals, research facilities of educational and medical institutions, teaching, and regulatory agencies.
• They often perform a coordination or interconnection function and use their applied experience in both the scientific-technical field and the clinical-biomedical field.
• Possible areas of work include:
  • Artificial organs.
  • Automatic patient monitoring.
  • Chemical sensors for blood.
  • Advanced therapeutic and surgical devices.
  • Application of expert systems and artificial intelligence to clinical decision-making.
  • Design of optimal clinical laboratories.
  • Medical imaging systems.
  • Computational modeling of physiological systems.
  • Design of biomaterials.
  • Biomechanics of injuries and wound healing processes.
  • Sports medicine.

Testimonials

• Maria Sánchez, a third-year student, says: "From the third year onwards, we have access to do practices in leading companies in our sector."
• Anna Barredo, a fourth-year student, comments: "The continuous involvement in real practical projects allows us to develop competencies and skills necessary to work in multidisciplinary teams, while also acquiring fully applicable technical knowledge to work situations."
• Alumni of the Degree in Biomedical Engineering, such as Ivan Luque del Toro and Roser Sánchez, have gone on to successful careers in the field, with Ivan working on the development of implantable sensors at UPF and Roser serving as the research director at Neuroelectrics.

Cut-off Marks

• The latest published cut-off mark for the Degree in Biomedical Engineering is 12,286.