Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering

Leading the way in technological advances that will define the medicine of the future
Type of programme
Official degrees
Duration
8 semesters
Credits
240 ECTS
Price
€191.00 / ECTS x 60 = €11,460.00* (1r course 2024-2025). *Subject to change each year. Contact our Admissions department for the payment terms and conditions.
Places
40
Schedule
Morning and afternoon
Language
2 first courses in Spanish and 2 last courses in English
  • Home
  • Presentation
  • Curriculum and teaching team
  • Internship
  • Final Degree Project
  • Prerequisites & admissions
  • Grants & financial aid
  • FAQ
  • International mobility

Why study Bioengineering at UIC Barcelona?

Our mission is to train inquisitive professionals whose knowledge enables them to develop and transform the world around them. We do it through innovation, rigour and personalised support. As a university, we are pioneers in research with national and international projects. We have an entrepreneurial spirit but we are also a community of people where the student is at the centre.

Our mission involves:

  • A unique approach to the curriculum focusing on materials divided into two main areas: the interaction of the material with cells and their ability to regenerate tissue; and the application of these materials to replace limbs and create biomedical devices.
  • A multidisciplinary faculty with international experience at both teaching and research levels.
  • A Bioengineering Institute within the university, allowing students to engage in practical experience from their first year.
  • Individual attention and support in small groups
  • Practical experience and Final Degree Project with customised and flexible research projects. The faculty will advise you and help you discover the best way to carry out your project.
  • International mobility: Possibility of developing research projects in research centres around the world.

The Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering is well-established in countries like the United States, Germany, Finland and Belgium, and there are several Master's degrees in Spain. However, UIC Barcelona is the only Spanish university to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering.

Our students talk about the degree

Job Opportunities

The Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering has a high employability rate due to the wide range of professional opportunities. Being a new form of technology means that there is little competition as of yet, and the sector is rapidly growing, with a high demand for labour.

You will be able to work in sectors as different as medical technology, the pharmaceutical industry, the cosmetic industry, the dental sector, the food industry or even in technology.

  • In the healthcare field, forming part of medical teams.
  • Head of R&D&I departments and manufacturing
  • Design of new devices and creation/production of new materials
  • Quality assurance department
  • Medical device testing
  • Design and production of custom-made devices
  • Insurance company consultancy
  • Research

Bioengineering is also a leading sector in industrial growth in Catalonia, with an industry that exports more than 50% of the products of the Spanish state as a whole and a growth of 260% in investment in the last 6 years

Presentation

According to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, life expectancy increased by 1.1 years between 2007 and 2013. Sociodemographic change and long life expectancy in Europe have meant that healthcare is focusing on new horizons. The electrical and communications industry have facilitated the creation of batteries, microcomputers, new polymers and plastics, which mean that prosthetics and orthoprosthetics have become lighter, more resistant and look more real.  In the area of robotics and electronics, it has been possible to develop improved prosthetics through control and adaptation systems until the point where they can create prosthetics controlled through muscular stimulation.

An innovative bachelor’s degree that combines science and technology to improve clinical care. The Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering applies the principles of engineering to biological systems and strives to improve patients’ quality of life through devices and materials that can substitute or regenerate damaged body parts.

You will use your knowledge of basic sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology to design materials capable of stimulating biological processes in our organism and combine them with concepts of engineering to develop materials that can substitute or regenerate tissue.

Who is it intended for? Prospective students

If you have a desire to help society in the field of health sciences, this could be the profession for you.  Becoming an engineer via this degree and learning about the latest technology will ensure you can manage to design and manufacture prosthetics and orthotics (depending on the specialisation you choose) for patients who need it. This will allow them to become more integrated into society and ensure they can obtain a physical or aesthetic improvement.  ​

Anyone who fulfils the admission criteria and general prerequisites for access to the degree programme is eligible to apply. You must be able to prove that you have a vocational attitude towards science, techniques and healthcare in which the following skills stand out:

  • Organisational skills, a good memory and motivation
  • Good decision-making skills
  • Psychological qualities and empathy
  • Emotional balance
  • An interest in research
  • Responsibility and a strong work ethic
  • Observation skills
  • Good at teamwork
  • An interest in helping people and the community
  • Assertiveness
  • Manual skills

Professional opportunities

 

This bachelor’s degree allows students to develop a future professional career in various fields. These include: 

Research
  • Directing R+D+I departments and manufacturing processes
  • Designing new machinery and creating/producing new materials 
  • Quality departments
  • The verification of medical devices 
  • The design and production of custom-made devices
  • Consultancy in insurance companies
  • Competences
  •  
  • As bioengineers, these future professionals will learn to both design and manufacture using the latest technology, to help people who need to integrate into society better and also achieve physical or aesthetic improvements.
  • Students will learn to become professionals in the field of engineering with an approach based on professional specialisation and innovation. 
  • Students will acquire the conceptual and manual tools and necessary skills to design devices. 
  • Students will learn to form part of a multidisciplinary team. 
  • Students will learn how to create and manage a R+D department, from required administrative and healthcare documentation to managing products, buying material and human resources. 
  • Students will learn to check healthcare devices to detect any faults and identify measures to correct them.  

Academic accreditation

Graduado o Graduada en Bioingeniería por la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya.

Study programme and subjects 2024-2025

Subjects in course 1 Type Term ECTS
Algebra Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Anatomy and Physiology Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Chemistry/Biochemistry Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Materials Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Mechanics Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Anthropology Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Basic Biomechanics Type: FB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Biomaterials and Biocompatibility Type: FB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Calculus Type: FB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Cell and Molecular Biology Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Subjects in course 2 Type Term ECTS
Applied Pathology Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Biomedical Instrumentation Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Graphical Design Techiques Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Informatics Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Material Selection Type: FB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
The Basics and Electronic Systems Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Biostatistics Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Cell and Molecular Biology 2 Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 3
Ethics Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Laboratory Techniques and Methodologies Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 3
Shaping Technology of Materials Type: FB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Signals and Systems Theory Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Subjects in course 3 Type Term ECTS
Biology Materials and Biomaterials Laboratory Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Business Psychology Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 15
Biomaterial Characterization Techniques Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Computing, Robotics and Bionics 1 Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Micro and Nanotechnology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Modeling and Simulation Techniques Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Neuroscience Applied to Orthoprosthesis Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Pharmacology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Computing, Robotics and Bionics 2 Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Drug Delivery & Discovery Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Fundamentals of Physiopathology Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Physics of Biological Processes Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Protein and Genetic Engineering Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Tissue Engineering Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Biomedical Systems Prototyping Laboratory Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Cell Therapy Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 12
Biomaterial Characterization Techniques Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Computing, Robotics and Bionics 1 Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Micro and Nanotechnology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Modeling and Simulation Techniques Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Neuroscience Applied to Orthoprosthesis Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Pharmacology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Computing, Robotics and Bionics 2 Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Drug Delivery & Discovery Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Fundamentals of Physiopathology Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Physics of Biological Processes Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Protein and Genetic Engineering Type: OP Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Tissue Engineering Lab Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 6
Subjects in course 4 Type Term ECTS
Business and Society Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Cross-Disciplinary Bioengineering Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 12
Advanced Tissue Engineering Lab Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Applied Immunology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Design and Diagnostics by Image Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Startup Design Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Treatment Methods in Orthoprosthetics Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Advanced Tissue Engineering Lab Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Applied Immunology Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Design and Diagnostics by Image Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Startup Design Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Treatment Methods in Orthoprosthetics Type: OP Term: First semester ECTS: 6
Science and Technology Policies Type: OB Term: First semester ECTS: 3
Final Degree Project Type: TF Term: Second semester ECTS: 17
Introduction to Bioengineering Research Type: OB Term: Second semester ECTS: 3
Prácticas Académicas Externas Type: PR Term: Second semester ECTS: 10
  • ECTS: European Credit Transfer System
  • Term: calendar period
  • (a): subjects which are taught in English

Internship

Objectives

Introduction to the world of work to integrate and apply theoretical knowledge in different professional contexts. Work placements will help students develop skills, competencies, attitudes and abilities:

  • To promote entrepreneurship and acquire knowledge applied to the organisation and management of bioengineering companies while learning about their legal framework and the regulations in force at that time.
  • To understand company organisation and the science that governs their activities; to have the ability to apply work-related rules and the relationship between planning, industrial and commercial strategies, quality and profit.
  • To know how to communicate learning results to other people, both verbally and in writing, as well as thought processes and decision-making; to participate in debates in each particular specialist area.
  • To detect gaps in students’ own knowledge and overcome this through critical reflection and choosing better actions to broaden this knowledge.
  • To convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Organisation of the work placements

The Universitat Internacional de Catalunya offers students the opportunity to undertake a work placement during the final academic year of the bioengineering degree programme. The work placements are undertaken in the place determined by the company or technology centre and with professionals from the sector of interest.

Each student is tutored by a professional from the company or technological centre during the 240-hour placement period (external tutor). In addition, a lecturer from our University (academic tutor) monitors the student by conducting ten hours of tutorials to ensure their learning and satisfaction level during the placement and to encourage them to reflect on their experience.

The coordinator and placement tutors supervise and plan for the smooth running of the placement, as previously agreed in the work plan.

The distribution of the work placement hours is planned and agreed upon with the company or technology centre. The work placements should start from the second semester and preferably be full time. It is not possible to recognise previous external work placements without having established a work plan and without having followed the assessment systems and criteria.

The content of in-company learning is subject to the host centre and the type of project proposed in the work plan. The content and the period of the placement must be specified in the work plan and must be agreed upon with the external tutor from the company or technology centre. The work plan will be evaluated by the University's academic tutor and must be approved before the work placement begins.

Work placements must be part of a curricular agreement between the University and a company or technology centre. It is impossible to start accredited external placements as part of the curriculum without an established agreement.

Students can take other subjects whilst undertaking their work placement in order to complete their curriculum. However, it is the student's responsibility to combine the different obligations and in no case should it affect the activities involved in the external placement.

Students must choose their work placement category in the first semester and it must be organised in good time, taking into account the possibility of interviews with the company or technology centre and the time needed to establish the cooperation agreement.

The work placement categories are:

  1. Work placements in a national external organisation, aside from the internal Final Degree Project at UIC Barcelona.
  2. Work placements in national external organisations merged with the student’s Final Degree Project.
  3. Work placements at UIC Barcelona merged with the student’s Final Degree Project at the same institution.
  4. Work placements in international external organisation (Erasmus model) merged with Final Degree Project in the same organisation.

Final Degree Project

The Final Degree Project (TFG) is fundamentally a self-led project that each student will complete under the guidance of a tutor who will help to motivate and facilitate their learning. The student will present and defend their Project before an academic jury. The TFG must demonstrate the acquisition of competences and the content studied during the Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering in a comprehensive manner.

The 17 ECTS credits awarded for the TFG are compulsory for students to obtain their degree, as indicated in Royal Decree 1393/2007, modified by Royal Decree 861/2010, which establishes the organisation of official university education. Final Degree Projects should be produced in accordance with the subject's Course Guide and the UIC Barcelona TFG regulations. In the curriculum for the Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering, the TFG is a subject assigned to students in their last academic year of the programme.

Pre-requisites

The TFG is the final subject of the degree programme. For this reason, students can only enrol during the final enrolment period of the Bachelor’s degree. As usual, enrolment must not exceed 72 ETCS credits per academic year.

Objectives

To apply all the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the degree programme in an integrated manner by carrying out and defending an individual, autonomous, supervised, original and unpublished research project:

  • To make competent use of information resources, identifying one's own information needs and using the collections, spaces and services available to design and execute searches appropriate to the subject area.
  • To manage the acquisition, structuring, analysis and visualisation of data and information in your specialist area and critically evaluate the results of this management.
  • To carry out a project in the field of specific bioengineering technologies of a professional nature in which the competences acquired in the courses are synthesised and integrated and in which the correct use of project management techniques and tools is demonstrated, including their planning, development and execution.
  • To have the ability to assess and analyse the economic cost and the social and environmental impact of the different tasks involved in the Project.
  • To know how to complete the work assigned to them following the basic guidelines given by the tutor, deciding on the time to be spent on each section, including personal contributions and expanding on the sources of information indicated.
  • To write texts with an appropriate structure to communicate objectives and present the text to an audience using the appropriate strategies and means.

Prerequisites & admissions

Grants & financial aid

Faqs

International mobility

Bioengineering

Study abroad temporarily

As a student in this degree programme, you may complete part of your degree or a work experience placement abroad and receive academic recognition.

Spend a semester or a full academic year at one of your Faculty’s partner universities or find a company abroad to do an internship. You may also:

For information about everything you need to do before, during and after your mobility stay, check out the "Study abroad" section and download all the documentation specific to your Faculty:

Study with us temporarily

If you are a student from another Spanish or foreign university, you can do a mobility stay at UIC Barcelona for a semester or a whole academic year.

If you want to know the specific criteria, please contact the International Relations Office (exchange.scu@uic.es).