Curriculum

The duration of the undergraduate program is 4 years (8 semesters) and consists of 240 ECTS. The curriculum is designed for a full-time student to take 60 ECTS per academic year. The Permanent Committee of the Academic Board of IQS School of Engineering will allow students to study part-time, provided they take a minimum of 30 credits per academic year.

First Year

Subject	Semester	ECTS	Subject information
General Chemistry	1 + 2	12
Applied mathematics	1+ 2	12
Fundamentals of physics	1	6
Cell biology and genetics	1	6
Informatic applications	1	4
Thermodynamics and kinetics	2	5
Animal and plant biology	2	4
Microbiology	2	5
Laboratory 1+2: Chemistry and Biology	1 + 2	6

Second Year

Subject	Semester	ECTS	Subject information
Fundamentals of process engineering	3	6
Biological organic chemistry	3	5
Molecular biology	3	5
Structure and function of biomolecules	3	5
Biochemical analysis and bioassays	3	5
Laboratory 3: Biochemistry	3	4
Recombinant DNA technology	4	6
Bioreactors	4	5
Metabolism and regulation	4	5
Business management and economics	4	5
Applied statistics	4	5
Laboratory 4: Molecular biology	4	4

Third Year

Subject	Semester	ECTS	Subject information
Bioinformatics	5	6
Protein engineering	5	5
Downstream processes	5	5
Molecular physiology	5	5
Ethics	5	5
Laboratory 5: Bioreactors and bioprocesses	5	4
Genomics, Proteomics and Metabolomics	6	5
Advanced experimental techniques	6	5
Therapeutic targets and pharmacology	6	5
Cell cultures	6	4
Immunology	6	4
Laboratory 6: Biotechnologies for healthcare	6	4
Oral and written communication	6	3

Fourth Year

Subject	Semester	ECTS	Subject information
Biocatalysis and Biotransformation	7	5
Biomedical devices and biomaterials	7	5
Optional Subject 1	7	5
Optional Subject 2	7	5
Optional Subject 3	7	5
Integrated Laboratory	7	5
Bio-businesses and entrepreneurship	8	4
Interdisciplinary seminars	8	3
Optional Subject 4	8	5
Internship	8	6
Final Degree Project	8	12

Optional Subjects

Mentions	Elective Subjects	Subject	Subject information
Mention Bioprocess Engineering	Elective 1	Biotechnology in Food, Environment, and Energy
	Elective 2	Plant Biotechnology
	Elective 3	Biotechnological Products and Drugs
	Elective 4	Bioprocess Simulation and Analysis
Mention Biotechnology applied to Health	Elective 1	Molecular Physiopathology
	Elective 2	Plant  Biotechnology
	Elective 3	Tissue Engineering
	Elective 4	Transgenic animals and Gene therapy
Mentions to other Masters' Degrees
Mention Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Optativa 1	Molecular Physiopathology
	Elective 2	Structural Determination
	Elective 3	Biotechnological Products and Drugs
	Elective 4	Transgenic animals and Gene therapy
Mention Analytical Chemistry	Elective 1	Biotechnology in Food, Environment, and Energy
	Elective 2	Structural Determination
	Elective 3	Biotechnological Products and Drugs
	Elective 4	Environment, Safety and Quality Management

Final Degree Project

In the Final Degree Project, students will individually carry out a project containing elements relating to research or innovative industrial applications, thus approximating professional practice. Final Degree Projects are managed under the supervision of a program professor while the student is part of a research team. Providing that the academic criteria have been met and a professor of the degree has been assigned as the tutor, students will be able to undertake final degree projects in other institutions, such as national or foreign universities, public or private research centers or industries and companies in the chemical and biotechnological sectors. The last step for the final degree project will be to draft a thesis, which must be defended publicly before a tribunal.

Final Degree Projects consist of three distinct parts:
 
1. Independent drafting of the project by the student:

a) The project will be carried out under the direction of a professor from the degree and the student will be part of a research team at the University or at another institution or company that has a collaboration agreement with IQS.

b) The student must have first defined the subject to study, its relevance, the objectives proposed and the methodologies to be applied, all with a detailed descriptions.

c) The project must include innovative elements and research, as bibliographic compilation projects or projects of ordinary applications of known methodologies will not be accepted.



2. Drafting of a thesis on the project managed by:

a) The project carried out will need to be written up by the student into a thesis; the student will remain with the same thesis director as for the final year project.

b) The format of the thesis follows that typical of any scientific research project.


 
3. Presentation and defense of the project before a tribunal appointed for this purpose:

a) The student will present the project before a tribunal appointed by the Dean of the University. The presentation will last for approximately 20 minutes and there will be additional time for questions and clarifications at the discretion of the tribunal.

b) The tribunal typically consists of three professors from the degree, although a specialist from another University or from the industry may also take part.


In order to begin the final year project, students must have passed 80% of the degree contents. To present the Final Degree Project, students must have passed all of the other subjects of the degree.