Program Overview

Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Bio and Pharmaceutical Materials Science

The Erasmus Mundus BIOPHAM master's degree is a two-year programme taught entirely in English. The aim of the programme is to meet international demand for qualified graduates with high-level theoretical and applied training in materials science, the physics and chemistry of materials, and the application of these disciplines to pharmaceuticals.

General Details

• Duration and start date: 2 academic years, 120 ECTS credits
• Timetable and delivery: Face-to-face
• Language of instruction: English
• Location: Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering
• Official degree: Recorded in the Ministry of Education's degree register

Admission

• General requirements: Academic requirements for admission to master's degrees
• Places: 25
• Pre-enrolment: To enrol for an interuniversity master's degree coordinated by a university other than the UPC, you must enrol through the coordinating university: Université de Lille

Curriculum

First Semester

• Biopham Short Internship 5
• Disordered and Non-Equilibrium Systems 6
• Large Facilities: Synchrotron and Neutron Sources 5
• Mechanical Properties of Materials 6
• Molecular and Soft Condensed Matter 4
• Pharmaceutical Materials Science 4
• Transport Processes in Materials 6
• Characterisation in Biophysics and Materials Science 4
• Complexity in Biological Systems 4
• Computational Materials Science 6
• Green Chemistry for Materials and Processes 6
• Introduction to Optical Spectroscopy 6
• Machine Learning with Neural Networks 4
• Manufacturing of Polymers and Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications 3
• Material and Biofluid Interaction 3
• Polymer Science and Engineering 6
• Quantum Physics of Matter 6
• Rheology 6
• Solid State Physics I 6
• Stochastic Methods for Optimisation and Simulation 4
• Surface Physics 3
• Transport Phenomena in Materials 6

Third Semester

• Advanced Characterisation 6
• Advanced Characterisation I 3
• Advanced Characterisation II 3
• Atomic Scale Modelling 6
• Atomistic Modelling: from the Gas Phase to Solids 6
• Computer Modelling 4
• Dielectric Spectroscopy for the Dynamic Study of Biological Systems 3
• Dynamics in Amorphous Materials 3
• English/French as a Foreign Language 3
• Fundamentals of Molecular Simulation 5
• Health Entrepreneurship 9
• Introduction to Drug Development and Pharmaceutical Technology 3
• Introduction to Entrepreneurship 1
• Language Course: Scientific English 4
• Molecular Biophysics 5
• Molecular Mobility in Amorphous Materials 3
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Drug Formulation Technology 3
• Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy 5
• Physical State Manipulation, Characterisation and Formulation of Pharmaceuticals 6
• Project Planning and Management 3
• Protection of Intellectual Property, Health and Safety, and Ergonomics 1
• Scientific Topics in the Humanities 3
• Scientific Writing 3
• Selected Topics in Toxicology of Biomaterials 2
• Specialised Laboratory 2
• Thermodynamics of Phase Transformations 3
• Vibrational Spectroscopy for Drug Characterisation 4

Fourth Semester

• Master's Thesis 30

Professional Opportunities

The BIOPHAM master's degree will help address a severe shortage of human resources in the research-based pharmaceutical sector, which includes academic centres, large pharmaceutical companies, SMEs, spin-offs, start-ups, contract research organisations, and drug manufacturers.

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.

The BIOPHAM master's degree provides all students with various transversal skills such as competencies in entrepreneurship, project management, economic and strategic intelligence, marketing, bibliographical search, and synthesis. Students also have opportunities to acquire other soft skills (intercultural communication, research experience, and scientific communication, national language of their host universities) enabling them to easily adapt to their future international professional environment.

Quality Accreditation

Check the degree's main quality indicators in the University Studies in Catalonia portal of the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency. Find information on topics such as degree evaluation results, student satisfaction, and graduate employment data.

Organisation: Academic Calendar and Regulations

• European programme: Erasmus Mundus
• UPC school: Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB)
• Participating institutions:
  • Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
  • Università di Pisa
  • Université de Lille - coordinating university
  • University of Silesia in Katowice
• Academic coordinator: Roberto Macovez