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Department of Electronic Engineering (UPM)
Doctorate in Electronic Systems Engineering (RD 99/2011)

Admission criteria and profiles

Access to the doctoral program

The UPM has approved the UPM DOCTORAL PROGRAM MODEL, by Rectoral Resolution of December 21, 2011, published in the Official Gazette of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (BOUPM).

This model is an application of the R.D. 99/2011, of January 28, with the modification introduced with RD576/2023 of July 4, which regulates official university education, including Doctorate studies. In its article 6 “Access requirements for the doctorate” it establishes:

  1. In general, to access an official doctoral program it will be necessary to be in possession of the official Spanish Bachelor’s degrees, or equivalent, and University Master’s degrees.
  2. Those who are in any of the following cases may also access:
  3. a) Be in possession of an official Spanish university degree, or from another country that is a member of the European Higher Education Area, which qualifies for access to a Master’s degree in accordance with the provisions of article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in the set of official university studies, of which, at least 60, must be be Master level.
  4. b) Be in possession of an official Spanish Graduate degree, the duration of which, in accordance with community law regulations, is at least 300 ECTS credits. These graduates must take the complementary training referred to in article 7.2 of this standard, unless the study plan of the corresponding degree includes research training credits, equivalent in training value to the research credits from Master’s studies.
  5. c) University graduates who, after obtaining a training place in the corresponding access test to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the official title of one of the specialties in Health Sciences.
  6. d) Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems, without the need for its homologation, after verification by the university that it accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish University Master’s degree and that it authorizes access to doctoral studies in the country issuing the degree. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree of which the interested party is in possession or its recognition for purposes other than that of access to Doctorate education.
  7. e) Be in possession of another Spanish Doctorate degree obtained in accordance with previous university regulations.

In the second additional provision “Incorporation to the new doctoral teachings established in this royal decree” of the R.D. 99/2011, with the modification introduced with RD576/2023 of July 4, the following aspects are specified:

  1. Doctoral students who have started their doctoral program in accordance with previous university regulations may access the doctoral courses regulated in this royal decree, upon admission by the corresponding university, in accordance with the provisions of this royal decree and the regulations of the university itself.
  2. Graduates, Architects or Engineers who are in possession of the Diploma of Advanced Studies obtained in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or have achieved the research proficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/1985, of January 23, may be admitted to the doctoral studies regulated in this royal decree.

The UPM Doctoral Commission will be responsible for verifying for those students who are in possession of degrees obtained in accordance with educational systems outside the European Higher Education Area that the degree accredits a level of training equivalent to the corresponding Spanish University Master’s degrees and that it authorizes access to Doctoral studies in the country issuing the degree. Admission to a UPM Doctoral Program will be governed by the specific criteria of the program as long as you meet the general admission conditions of the UPM.

Admission criteria

Once the conditions required in RD 99/2011 have been met, with the modification introduced with RD576/2023 of July 4, for access, the Academic Commission of the Doctoral Program will be in charge of carrying out the selection and admission, in accordance with the following criteria:

  1. Academic training and academic record will be valued, especially degrees with skills and knowledge related to the areas of specialization of the Doctoral Program. Aspects related to the subjects taken, their relationship with the Doctoral Program and the grade obtained will be assessed. The weighting will be 40% of the final assessment.
  2. Professional and research experience will be valued, especially in activities related to the areas of specialization of the Doctoral Program. Aspects related to the temporal duration of your experience, the greater or lesser research orientation, its international nature, and its relationship with the areas of the Doctoral Program will be assessed. The weighting will be 30% of the final assessment.
  3. Accreditation that certifies sufficient knowledge of the English and Spanish language (if applicable) to allow teaching in those languages ​​to be tackled without difficulty will be valued. The assessment procedure is as follows: in the case of accrediting a level B2 or higher, the maximum qualification in this section will be obtained, and otherwise, a brief in-person interview will be carried out to assess your real knowledge.
  4. The presentation of a letter of recommendation from accredited professionals in the scientific and professional fields related to the Doctoral Program will be valued. The content of the letter, the level of responsibility of the person issuing the letter and the institution to which it belongs will be assessed. The weighting will be 5% of the final assessment.
  5. The motivation letter required from candidates showing their interest in pursuing the Doctoral Program will be assessed, as well as the specific reasoned topic in which they would like to investigate if admitted. This letter is intended for the student to reflect on his or her motivation for undertaking a doctoral thesis and to represent a base commitment from the student. The adequacy of the topic of interest to the student with the lines of research of the program will be assessed. The weighting will be 5% of the final assessment.
  6. The interview that candidates must have with a member of the Academic and Quality Commission of the Doctoral Program will be valued. The aspects that will be assessed will be your interest in writing the doctoral thesis, your maturity to undertake a research project, and additionally, it will allow you to deepen and clarify the scope of the aspects included in the previous criteria (academic training, professional experience, languages, etc.). The weighting will be 10% of the final assessment.

With prior authorization from the UPM Doctoral Commission, at the request of the person responsible for the doctoral program, part-time doctoral studies may be carried out. If granted, the authorization will come into effect the semester following its authorization. In this case, such studies may have a maximum duration of five years from admission to the program until the deposit of the doctoral thesis. For the purposes of calculating the previous period, absences due to illness, pregnancy or any other cause provided for by current regulations will not be taken into account. For the admission of PART-TIME students, the following additional criteria will be taken into account:

  1. The student must prove that he or she has enough time to dedicate a minimum of 10 hours of weekly effort to research work related to his or her doctoral thesis.
  2. In the event that the candidate is working, it will be valued that those responsible for the candidate in that job are informed of his intention to do the doctoral thesis and support said decision.

These criteria will also apply if a full-time student wants to change their dedication to part-time. Part-time students may change to full-time if the dedication to research tasks to carry out the doctoral thesis becomes full-time, without having any contract other than the one whose objective is to carry out the doctoral thesis. In case of doubt, for the admission of graduates, and if the candidate’s training and experience is very far removed from the topics of the Doctoral Program, the candidate may be admitted on the condition that he or she passes some additional training that is indicated, and that allows him to acquire the necessary skills to carry out the Doctoral Program. This admission would be carried out in accordance with procedure PR 19 “Leveling Actions” of the E.T.S.I. Quality Assurance system. Telecommunication. If admitted, students can find on the UPM website, (https://www.upm.es/Estudiantes/Estudios_Titulaciones/Estudios_Doctorado/…), the pre-registration and enrollment procedure in the Doctoral Program for Spanish, community and non-community students.

Access profiles

Profile A: recommended entry profile

Considering the different lines of research included in the Doctoral Program, the recommended entry profile includes the following degrees:

  1. Master’s Degree in Electronic Systems Engineering.
  2. Master’s Degree in Telecommunications Engineering. This recommended entry profile includes the qualification of Telecommunications Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, which has been accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), or equivalent qualifications from other universities.
  3. Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering. This entry profile includes the degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, which has been accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), or equivalent degrees from other universities.
  4. Master’s Degree in Materials Engineering.
  5. Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering.
  6. Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering.
  7. Master’s Degree in Photovoltaic Solar Energy.
  8. Master’s degrees taught in the Faculties of Physical or Chemical Sciences, specifically the following:
  9. Master’s Degree in Biomedical Physics
  10. Master’s Degree in Nanophysics and Advanced Materials
  11. Master’s Degree in New Electronic and Photonic Technologies
  12. Qualifications equivalent to those mentioned above taught in other national or international universities with prior approval from the CAPD.

In the case of profile A, the recommended entry profile, training complements will not be considered.

Profile B: other income profiles

This profile is made up of the following degrees:

  1. Master’s degrees taught in the Mathematics Faculties, specifically the following:
  2. Master’s Degree in Mathematics
  3. Master’s Degree in Mathematical Engineering
  4. Master in Aeronautical Engineering
  5. Master in Naval Engineering.
  6. Qualifications equivalent to those mentioned above taught in other national or international universities with prior approval from the CAPD.

In the case of profile B (other entry profiles), students must take between 6 and 18 ECTS of complementary training corresponding to subjects of the Master’s Degree in Telecommunications Engineering:

  1. User Equipment and Terminals (6 ECTS) mandatory subject of the Master
  2. Systems Engineering with Processors (6 ECTS) compulsory course subject.
  3. Microelectronic Design (6 ECTS) compulsory course subject.
  4. Nanoelectronics (6 ECTS) optional course subject.
  5. Neurosensory Engineering (6 ECTS) optional course subject.

The Academic Commission of the Doctoral Program will be responsible for analyzing the specific needs of each of the students and defining a number between 6 and a maximum of 18 ECTS of training complements from among those specified above. These complements can be adapted, with prior approval from the CAPD, as the degree map changes and the evolution of technology.